ACE confirms permanent race and disability advisory groups

Arts Council England’s (ACE) National Council has decided to make the funding body’s Race Advisory and Disability Advisory groups permanent.

According to the most recently-published council meeting minutes, from last July, the two groups will now act as permanent standing advisory committees to the council, a non-executive board that holds overall responsibility for ACE’s governance.

ACE told Arts Professional that it will present the terms of reference for the Race Advisory Committee and Disability Advisory Committee to its National Council next month.

It was first reported ACE would consider the long-term future of both advisory groups in March 2024, with a review recommending they become a lasting fixture.

According to the minutes from last July’s meeting, the review “highlighted the work and contributions of both advisory groups” since their inception in autumn 2020, with council members acknowledging that the groups had supported ACE “to make progress on its ambition for equity, diversity and inclusion”.

The council members then tasked each group with making recommendations on their terms of reference and priorities for the next three years.

Arts Professional has contacted ACE for details on the Race Advisory and Disability Advisory groups’ work since last July’s meeting.

The National Council is made up of 15 members, including chairman Nicholas Serota and the five chairs of the funding body’s area councils. According to ACE’s website, the group meets around six times annually.

In February, a report found the proportion of ethnically diverse chief executives at ACE-funded organisations doubled during the five years of the last national portfolio.

Women’s Advisory Group

The National Council’s latest meeting minutes also reveal that a Women’s Advisory Group may also be established, with a decision scheduled for last autumn.

In October, ACE invited a group of senior arts professionals to discuss how it can respond to the under-representation of and discrimination against women in the sector.

ACE told Arts Professional that at its May meeting, the National Council will also consider whether to establish a Women’s Advisory Group.