Arts Council under review as government plans to streamline public sector activities in Northern Ireland.
Plans for a massive shake-up of local government and public bodies in Northern Ireland could have a dramatic impact on the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI). Consultation is now underway into a range of options including scrapping the Arts Council and devolving many of its grant-giving responsibilities to local government.
The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland was launched at the end of March. It draws on a previous consultation in 2003 into public administrative bodies which attracted heated responses from the arts sector. Despite delays, due to the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the review document has now been published and consultation will continue until the end of September. Launching the review, Minister Ian Pearson MP described it as ?a once in a generation opportunity to consider how the public sector in Northern Ireland should be administered.? The wide ranging exercise, which is examining the role of health authorities and local councils as well as nearly 100 quangos which deliver public services in Northern Ireland, clearly states that maintenance of the status quo is not an option. Its stated aim is to develop ?a new, leaner, more accountable public sector, working together with common purpose?. It appears likely that many of these bodies, which include the Sports Council, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission, as well as the Arts Council, will be abolished, merged or stripped of many of their powers following the review. A target of £150?200m in administrative savings has been set by the Minister.
ACNI has organised a number of independently-facilitated workshops across Northern Ireland throughout May and June to gather the views of the arts community on arts administration in Northern Ireland. Quintin Oliver, former Director of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action and leader of public affairs and government relations firm Stratagem, will facilitate these with the intention of presenting collective findings to the review body.
Nick Livingston, Director of Strategic Development at ACNI said, ?Throughout its 60-year history the Arts Council has been the principal agency for developing the arts and has supported and sustained artists and the creative arts. The Review holds important implications for the arts, not least for the long- established principle that funding decisions are best done at arm?s- length from government. The consultation on the Review of Public Administration represents an important strategic opportunity to marshal support from the sector and to strengthen the role of the Arts Council so that it has the capacity to work for the arts and the wider community?. Rosemary Kelly , Chairman of the Arts Council, added, ?It is vital that the Arts Council accurately represents and reflects the collective view on the major issues that affect our artists and organisations, and that the value of this to our life in Northern Ireland is understood by everyone.?