The first cut isn't the deepest...
At 8am this morning, all 808 of Arts Council England’s regularly funded organisations (RFOs) were given news of how ACE was applying the £19m immediate budget cut handed down by the DCMS on 24 May. By 10am, journalists were gathered for a briefing from Chief Executive Alan Davey to breakdown how, why and where the finances had been juggled.
For “front-line arts providers”, the promise to minimise the impact has been upheld. A total £1.8m has been cut from revenue grants, resulting in a 0.5% reduction across the board. A policy of equal misery for all if you will, but a sensible and sensitive one if truth be told. For the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, this amounts to roughly £140k, £100k and £80k respectively. Take out the top ten RFOs from the equation (those funded in the millions) and the average budget cut per organisation is between £1500 and £2000. Let’s be honest, this is good news. It’s not brilliant, it is testing, but it’s by no means awful.
Organisations not directly producing art, namely Creativity Culture and Education (CCE) and Arts & Business (A&B), fare less well with a 4% cut. Both, understandably, are upset. “Damaging philanthropy damages the arts” insists Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of A&B, facing a loss of £160,000. Paul Collard, Chief Executive of CCE, reassures that their £1.6m loss to in-year funding is being managed “without impacting on the schools and children”.
Meanwhile, another £6m has been cut from ACE’s public engagement initiatives “which aren’t stopping, but are being done differently” according to Davey. What are those initiatives, you ask? Details are sketchy at the moment – keep an eye on @ArtsPro on Twitter for updates when we have them. Plus, in addition to the £6.5m ACE has pledged to save in operating costs for 2010/2011, another £0.4m is being squeezed out by the organisation.
The biggest saving comes from the use of ACE’s reserves: permission has been granted by the Treasury and in turn, the DCMS, for ACE to access £9m – half of what’s in its coffers. Negotiating the use of this money has historically been tricky; this is the first time ACE has been allowed to use the money and the figure is one we’re told the DCMS has to “cover” (or account for within its own budget) in order for the withdrawal to be made.
All in all, tense business but not without a sigh of (temporary) relief.
What do you think about the cuts?
Tell us at @ArtsPro or editors@artsprofessional.co.uk