London Arts has released more details of the progress of the new organisational structure as the national and regional offices of the Arts Council of England prepare to merge.
The London office is preparing for delegation of 125 organisations, with grants totalling £95m due to be transferred from April 1 2003. These include the national companies and touring companies based in London, together with a number of other arts organisations that have previously been funded through the national office. Work is currently underway to develop new and greatly simplified open application funding programmes, more details of which will be published early next year.
At present, the companies affected by the re-structuring are continuing to liaise with their existing lead officers at the national office who are advising them about the transfer process until a new staffing structure is announced in the new year. Following a consultation period, existing staff were informed of the new structure last month, and further formal consultation is to continue until early December when the position of individual staff will be confirmed. Staff who are taking up positions in the new structure will do so between December 3 2002 and April 1 2003. Nigel Pittman, Regional Executive Director for London said ?The last few months have inevitably been unsettling for our staff and I would like to pay tribute to their commitment and dedication over this period.?