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The impact of Arts Council England’s (ACE) funding review earlier this year continues to be felt. Some organisations still stagger under the blows, while others have a Damoclean sword hanging over their heads. The story of the London Bubble (p3) should fill us with a mixture of admiration and rage. Having lost its entire core funding of £420,000 at a stroke, it has done that horror movie thing of appearing to be as dead as a doornail, and yet managing to spring back into life at the last moment. Arts professionals, whether or not they know or love the work of this company, can only applaud its resourcefulness and sticking power. In removing such a large sum of money at such short notice, ACE must have realised that it was dealing a death blow. The fact that London Bubble has managed to recover does not mitigate the starkness of that fact – and indeed, nearly 30 jobs have been killed off. There must be many other organisations out there which have not survived similar thrusts to the heart administered by ACE, or which have had to scale back to the point that their effectiveness and quality are greatly compromised. Furthermore, there are those for whom the funding review has become a longer process. Both Arts & Business (p3) and English National Opera (ENO) had their funding continued this year, albeit in A&B’s case at a lower rate, but with the proviso that they would each have to undergo a review later this year. Failing this second review could lead to the removal of the entire grant, and, in all probability, the demise of the organisations. The fact that these reviews were to take place was not widely disseminated at the time, appearing only when ACE’s January Council Minutes were published. A potential furore over the closure of our national English opera company was thus averted. ENO has assured AP that the targets and objectives set them by ACE have been achieved, and they are confident of retaining their position. A&B will be carrying out consultations and reviews to reassess their priorities. This may have been something of a horror story for both organisations, but, had London Bubble been offered the option of reviewing and renewing its practice instead of being cut, it would have embraced it with open arms.

Catherine Rose, Editor