There?s a rash of births, deaths and deferred arrivals this month; and news of the consolidation of Scottish Lottery funds for the next three years; and Arts Council England reveals its snapshot of English theatre immediately prior to its recent £25m slug of cash. What can it all mean?
Well, if there?s a single thread running through these events, it is the fact that cash, generally, is tight. Lottery revenues are down, and there?s apparently no real prospect of a shift upwards anytime soon. The knock-on effects are that capital projects across the UK, particularly the larger ones that are not already underway, must be at serious risk of cancellation or curtailment. Arts organisations that were not in an especially healthy financial state prior to the recent downturn in Lottery funds, or more importantly, the recent uplifts in revenue-funding, will need all their creative and business skills to weather the ups and downs of the next few years. It is not just the Lottery suffering burnout. With the increases in government spending (and consequently borrowing) for other priorities such as health and education, and warnings from international agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that UK taxes will soon have to rise, there?s no reason to anticipate continued year-on-year increases in funding; nor, if taxes ultimately rise, is there likely to be a ground shift in discretionary spending by either the ticket-buying public or arts-aware businesses. This is not a Doomsday call, merely an interpretation of today?s events and the probable resulting financial environment over the next three to five years. Armed with such information, arts organisations and funders at least have time to develop their plans to ?thrive and not just survive? in the longer term.
Published: 26-01-2003