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Individual theatres and consortia of venues are being invited to apply to deliver Arts Council England’s new ‘free ticket’ scheme by a deadline of 14 November. Under the scheme, young people will be able to book up to six free tickets at a time, and there will be no limit on how often any one person may attend. Theatres will set their own weekly or annual targets for ticket giveaways, and can implement their own policy on whether under-16s should be accompanied by an adult. Applications for funding worth either £50k, £30k or £10k will be judged on the quality of the offer, including the proportion of a venue’s tickets available free of charge; the clarity of purpose in applying; and the activities and marketing action proposed for the opening week in February half-term. A moderation process will ensure geographical spread and prioritise not-for-profit and local government owned theatres. Arts Council England (ACE) has admitted that it is “not going to resolve all the legal and logistical issues” before its new free ticket scheme goes live, and that it can give no guidance on VAT. It acknowledged “that this programme is innovative in its nature and has been devised and will be launched at considerable speed”, and committed to a review process after six months. A national broadcast, marketing and media plan will create a specific brand for the scheme. However, ACE has recognised venues’ concerns that the marketing budget of £100k is insufficient for this. The application form and guidance are available at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk