England’s 990 regularly funded arts organisations (RFOs) are this week being told by Arts Council England (ACE) whether they will have their revenue funding renewed for the period 2008–11. Seventy-five per cent will receive inflation-or-above increases, including 45 which are getting a rise of between 50 and 100%, and a further 41 getting more than 100%. However, 194 organisations, almost 20%, are having their regular funding terminated.
None of the allocations to individual arts organisations are being made public, and all the funding proposals are deemed to be provisional until they are confirmed by ACE’s Regional Councils at the end of January. Those organisations whose funding is being either terminated or reduced are being given four weeks in which to “comment”, and any comments made will be passed on to the Regional Councils. An ACE spokesperson confirmed that the funding decisions “theoretically could change”, and allocations earmarked for the regular funding of 80 new organisations that have not previously received core funding is being held back until those to existing RFOs have been finalised.
Exeter’s Northcott Theatre was among the first to hear that its annual funding is being axed. The theatre, which only reopened on 11 December following a £2.1m redevelopment programme, has immediately launched a campaign for support to get its grant reinstated. Expressing his “anger and disbelief” at ACE’s decision, Chairman Steve Gratton said, “I simply cannot understand why the Arts Council would say it is committed to the theatre, allow public money to be spent on its redevelopment and then pull the plug just as the theatre reopens… We had no inkling at all that this was going to happen… Given that the theatre has an annual turnover of about £1.6m, a cut of £547,000 will be fatal.” Defending the decision, Nick Capaldi, Executive Director of Arts Council England, South West said, “Over the past year, we have made it clear to the Northcott that we had concerns in a number of areas. We offered funding towards the refurbishment believing that those concerns would be addressed but unfortunately they remain. The Arts Council received a good settlement from government and we must now ensure that the money is used in the most effective way. In this case, that means investing in organisations that are producing the most innovative work that reaches out to the widest audiences.” Clarie Middleton, Acting Chief Executive of the Northcott, which had been closed since January 2007, rejected the implied criticism of its work. She told ArtsProfessional, “…a new artistic policy was drawn up earlier this year in response to the Arts Council’s comments about our 2006/07 programme, and in preparation for our reopening. ACE has since congratulated us on our progress on this. It is beyond belief that they are now suggesting they are unhappy with it.”
ACE’s funding decisions for the next three years have been partially determined by its own strategic objectives, and partially by the outcomes of organisations’ own annual performance reviews. Particular priority is being given to strengthening the visual arts infrastructure, for which budgets have been increased by 15%, and for areas of regeneration and urban renewal, and extending engagement in the arts across the whole population, but also to the development of new work and ‘excellence’ as it is currently being defined through the McMaster Review (see AP 158), the report of which is due to be published next month.