Threat to ACE funding

Arts Council England grants for the third year of the current settlement may be “revised in light of the ongoing recession and a desire within central government to trim public spending”, according to Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham. Following this admission, which emerged during an interview with The Stage, the DCMS confirmed the likelihood of cuts in 2010/11. “The Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report announced £5bn of efficiency savings to be delivered across Government,” a DCMS spokesman told AP. There is no expectation of further Treasury money, and the DCMS “will need to look carefully at whether we are getting maximum benefit from our current expenditure plans”. The spokesman added that “Andy [Burnham] was under no illusions about his role in all this: he will champion the importance of investment in the arts with the utmost vigour when negotiating with the Treasury.”