Arts Council England (ACE) has confirmed that 20 of its staff are to be made redundant following an internal review, which has culminated in plans to create a new service centre in Manchester. Over 160 staff are to be affected by the plans, which will see around 50 posts moving out of London to Manchester, where they will work alongside ACE North West in new premises, following the expiry of its current lease. Denying that the organisation had come under cost-cutting pressure from the DCMS in the wake of last weeks Comprehensive Spending Review, an ACE spokesperson said that the changes follow an internal review (see AP issue 148) aimed at examining how and from which locations, services such as finance, grant management, information technology, human resources, office and customer enquiry services, should be delivered by the organisation. ACE also said that the cuts in its administration overheads were being used to maintain funding levels, stating that the current proposed changes could reduce annual costs by £750,000. Implementation of the new plans is set to begin immediately, with the first service team operating from temporary offices in Manchester from spring 2008, and the new service centre expected to be fully functional by April 2009. The organisation has also said that it is committed to bringing together the London regional office and the national office in a single location in the capital in the longer term. Defending the changes, ACE Chief Executive Peter Hewitt said, We must deliver value in every way, so that the maximum amount of our income is invested in developing the arts. These plans will reduce administrative costs while improving customer service. But we also recognise their impact on a dedicated and highly professional group of staff and will be offering full support and a number of proposals to minimise redundancies.
