Arts Funding in the United Kingdom

[vinteuil]

... this flows from discussion on an unrelated thread ["Further Reflections on the Funeral"] - it seemed worthy of a thread of its own.

I should like to start with the claims for 'instrumental funding' - ie that Arts Funding produces other good results beyond the artistic experience (social, economic... ) -

Not to mention benefits in terms of national profile and exporting possibilities, given that we're forced to see all this in these terms.

and the corrective from ahinton that Arts Funding should be primarily for the art per se

Indeed - and there's nothing wrong with seeing all this in such terms insofar as it goes, provided that these are not the only or the primary terms in which it's seen.

.

...

Any views - not just as regards the overall amount which the Dept of Culture usw and the Arts Councils - plus the Arts provision from the Lotteries - have to spend, but how far priorities shd be "arts for arts sake" (regardless of the punters?) - or how far this public funding should also attempt to meet other public social goals - accessibility, inclusion, social cohesiveness, 'multicultural' concerns, export and tourism revenue...?

[vinteuil]

Richard Barrett's latest on the "Funeral" thread seems pertinent -

My "main claim" is that decreasing funding for music and the other arts since the Thatcher years is a reality and has resulted in a decline in activity.

I have drawn attention to the cuts made during Thatcher's time and the current round of cuts being made by Cameron. I've also mentioned that these cuts have resulted in the disappearance of many arts companies up and down the country, especially outside London. Here you can download Fin Kennedy and Helen Campbell Pickford's report on the present state of theatre in the UK, conceived in response to remarks from Ed Vaizey (with whom you'd presumably agree) that funding cute are having "no effect" on the number and quality of performances. This document, which makes very depressing reading, was recommended to Vaizey in an open letter signed by sixty-odd leading figures in British theatre, which can be read here together with Vaizey's non-answer. I don't know whether a similar survey has been carried out for music but I am assuming that the situation is not dissimilar. If that isn't enough for you, and I'm sure it won't be, I shall just say I am too busy trying to earn my living as a musician to pander to someone whose responses show no equivalent commitment to marshalling facts.

Regarding the National Lottery: Section 12 of the Lottery Act (2006) states that "proceeds of the National Lottery should be used to fund projects, or aspects of projects, for which funds would be unlikely to made available by (...) a Government department [or its equivalent in the devolved administrations]." The principle is that the government's funding decisions should not be influenced by the lottery's contributions, which according to an ACE spokesperson are "to fund something additional, not to fund core running costs of organisations." Moreover I don't think the figure of a 30% increase in lottery funding has much basis in reality. The increase in lottery spending on the arts is due to increase by £55m in real terms between 2010/11 and 2014/15, while ACE funding is due to decrease in real terms over that same period by £137 million. (fullfact.org)

[Anna]

Perhaps a passing Host could transfer the other Arts Funding posts across as well?

[french frank]

And much closer to home, the BBC spent slightly more on Radio 1's content than on Radio 3's last year - for the first time. Still, musicians are musicians, I suppose.

Radio 3 also reduced the number of its music commission commitments from 30 to 20 this year; new drama commission commitments from 35 down to 25; and percentage of live or specially recorded music (i.e. not CDs) down from 50% to 40%.

The Ofcom Annual Report (on Publc Service Broadcasting) for 2012 reported:

"Arts/Classical Music first-run spending fell furthest between 2010 and 2011 – down by 15% year on year to £41m; and spending on education was also down by 12%, although this genre accounts for only £18m of the annual budget for PSBs in 2011.


Over a five-year period ... [s]pending among the smaller genres of Arts/Classical Music, Religion/Ethics and Education fell by 41%, 35% and 33% respectively ..."

The largest proportional reductions in spend on all hours (excluding Sport) were in Arts/Classical Music (-12%), Drama/Soaps (-11%) and Education (-11%).

The only genre where spending increased over a five-year period was Feature Films, where spending rose by 41% since 2006 to £228m. The greatest reductions in spending across the same period were in Arts/Classical music (-39%)..."

[ahinton]

Perhaps a passing Host could transfer the other Arts Funding posts across as well?

That would indeed be great if possible - and thanks for vinteuil for initiating this thread!

Quite how Richard Barrett has indeed found the time to put forward all the facts, references and links that he has I cannot say, but I hope that it's not taking too much time away from his proper work! I am nevertheless grateful to him for taking this trouble and especially relieved to see the point being driven home that lottery funding of the arts is not and never was intended to replace any part of government arts funding but, au contraire, to enhance it; as far as I am aware, no such"replacement" principles or responsibilities were ever included in the National Lottery's original constitution and, after all, as ACE was set up (as CEMA) in 1940 and A&B in 1976 - long before the inception of the National Lottery - it is clear that government arts funding had been broadly dependent upon those first two organisations for many years before there was ever any input from the third one.

The fullfact.org link that RB has provided goes to show not only a very dismaying trend indeed but also that journals - even those as respected as The Spectator - don't always get their facts right; no surprise there, then!...

[Ian]

No doubt merely anecdotal and of no real significance, but music/arts provision in my home town of Cardiff has improved beyond recognition since the the late 70’s. St.David’s Hall 1982, Millennium Centre 2004, Hoddinott Hall 2009, Dora Stoutzker 2011. Additionally, as far as I can remember, none of the preexisting venues have closed but rather have been extensively modernized - Sherman Theatre, Chapter Arts Centre etc.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Perhaps a passing Host could transfer the other Arts Funding posts across as well?

I've had a look at this. The difficulty is that moving some of the posts would disrupt the flow of discussion on the Thatcher thread.

[An_Inspector_Calls]

No doubt merely anecdotal and of no real significance, but music/arts provision in my home town of Cardiff has improved beyond recognition since the the late 70’s. St.David’s Hall 1982, Millennium Centre 2004, Hoddinott Hall 2009, Dora Stoutzker 2011. Additionally, as far as I can remember, none of the preexisting venues have closed but rather have been extensively modernized - Sherman Theatre, Chapter Arts Centre etc.

I can report a similar impression. Back in the 70s summer music festivals were unknown hereabouts; now there's at least 5. The local university has a firmly established winter/spring concert series (string quartet tonight), there's a new concert hall being built, and in the last ten years we had another new venue just ten miles away. We're awash with opportunities for live music - brilliant. Lohengrin at the Millennium Centre in the offing . . .

[french frank]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-22179019

Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton, went into administration in Feb, due to cuts in funding:

"Arts Council England withdrew regular funding to the Brewhouse in 2005 and Somerset County Council cut its arts funding in 2010."

Still, one example proves nothing ...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The Arts Council is now responsible for distributing what were government grants for LEA music services/hubs. The Arts Council is no more than a puppet in that the government makes massive educational cuts and A.C.E. takes the blame.

[Richard Barrett]

The Arts Council is now responsible for distributing what were government grants for LEA music services/hubs. The Arts Council is no more than a puppet in that the government makes massive educational cuts and A.C.E. takes the blame.

Right. What hasn't been emphasised yet is that ACE (and ACGB before it) now has a massively expanded remit compared to former times, also taking over the arts funding roles of the GLC and other metropolitan councils scrapped in the Thatcher years with few or no additional resources.