Following the Henley Review into Music Education, Darren Henley has been asked by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to conduct a second review, this time into the provision of cultural education for 5-19 year olds.

Recent evidence submitted by CLG to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee lays out plans for a new regeneration toolkit aimed at supporting local and national growth.

On Wednesday, Mayor of London Boris Johnson attended Access All Areas, a seminar on how young people can get into music.

Following the Henley Review into Music Education, Darren Henley has been asked by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to conduct a second review, this time into the provision of cultural education for 5-19 year olds.

Last Friday, Ed Vaizey announced the launch of a review of cultural education to be led by Darren Henley of Classic FM. 

On Wednesday the Art Fund announced an increase of its funding, for museums and galleries to buy and show art, by over 50% by 2014.

In an effort to support the voluntary sector, Local Government and Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, announced a new ‘fair deal’ for voluntary and community groups. 

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has officially released the results of its online survey on the culture sector and the Points Based Visa System (PBS). 

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced a review of statutory duties that central government currently places on local authorities. 

On Wednesday 30thMarch Arts Council England released their new national portfolio. ACE received applications from 1,333 organisations, submitting bids totalling £1.4bn. The National Portfolio includes 695 organisations, replacing the previous RFO (Regionally Funded Organisations) portfolio of 849 arts organisations. 791 of the Regularly Funded Organisations (RFO’s) applied for the National Portfolio, with 585 organisations with successful bids.

The new portfolio also includes 110 new organisations and complete cuts to 206 existing Regularly Funded Organisations (RFO’s). Commenting on the release, Arts Council England (ACE) said that their decisions were “strategically” (taken) and were shaped by the 10-year strategic vision for the arts sector Achieving Great Art for Everyone you can read more here

The announcement also includes £18 million of Lottery funding a year earmarked for touring and £10.5 million of Lottery funding a year targeted at work involving children and young people. The announcement also included 14 new Bridge organisations, providing direct connections between the work by arts organisations and schools and communities, filling the gap left by the Creative Partnership scheme.

View all of the organisations in the National Portfolio here.

Access more detailed information on funding by region and art form here.

This week the Culture, Media and Sport select committee released its report on funding of the arts and heritage which both supported and was highly critical of Arts Council England (ACE). Generally, the committee welcomed the new National Portfolio application process which it hoped would create a more flexible and tailor made funding scheme. On the other hand, the committee was concerned with the speed at which the Arts Council was undertaking the massive portfolio’s decisions and warned that there would inevitably be complaints that the process was flawed and insufficiently rigorous.

Other criticisms were aimed at ACE’s unwillingness to explain mistakes surrounding The Public gallery in West Bromwich, which it deemed a gross waste of public money. The report also concluded that the fact that ACE was able to cut administration spending by 50% while still functioning well as an organisation showed that it was spending too much money on itself. It went on to state that the further administration savings of 50% would be difficult considering the previous cut along with the additional responsibilities ACE  would be taking on. A final interesting criticism was of ACE’s decision to withdraw funding from Arts and Business expressing concern that ACE lacked the experience and enthusiasm to successfully take over Arts & Business’s responsibilities.

Louise de Winter, former Director for The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) was called to give evidence last year to the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee inquiry. Speaking at the time, she warned against the possible regional disparities that the cuts to local authority budgets would likely produce; commenting on the potentially devastating impact that local cuts could make to whole arts sectors in some regions. Submitting evidence to the Committee she said,“the big fear is that the organisations at the local level that receive money from local authorities could potentially face up to 100% cuts, depending on how local authorities decide to use those budgets available to them. So what we fear is an even greater diminution of art generally”. The NCA is pleased that the Committee recognise the cumulative impact of the local authority cuts and of the forthcoming Arts Council England (ACE) funding portfolio and understand what this will mean for the arts sector.

The full report can be accessed here.

The NCA would like to remind members of the deadline for responses to the Department of Education’s Review of the National Curriculum.

National Campaign for the Arts

1 Kingly Street

LondonW1B 5PA

News release

Contact: Selina Mehra – 020 7287 3777

31st March 2011

CUTS TO ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND PORTFOLIO WEAKEN THE SECTOR AND GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITIES…….

Following on from today’s funding announcements by Arts Council England, the National Campaign for the Arts is concerned that the public now has even fewer opportunities across the country to enjoy and benefit from the arts.

Samuel West, NCA Board member, said: “We predicted that there would be blood on the carpet and there is. The Arts Council has had some very difficult decisions to make, and has been fair and open in impossible circumstances. But the government must understand the consequences of a 30% cut to the arts budget together with a 28% cut to local authority funding. The arts are being squeezed on all sides.

We're looking today at the results of a cut of £100m to Arts funding.  That's just 10% of the figure awarded in bonuses to RBS bankers this year.  Bonuses, not salaries.  To a company which this year made a £1.1bn loss, and is 84% owned by us.  

The creative industries are the second most profitable sector this country has. But for how much longer?  The impact of these cuts will be greatest on the smaller organisations, particularly in the regions and rural areas.  These are the organisations that help provide the lifeblood of our great national institutions. Cut support to those lower down the pyramid and eventually those at the top will starve.”

NCA’s membership reaches across the arts sector and the following organisations, representing members in music, dance, theatre and the visual arts have also commented:

Mark Pemberton of the Association of British Orchestras said: “Today’s announcement that all orchestras, ballet and opera companies who were previously supported by Arts Council England will have their funding renewed is a welcome show of confidence in the sector.  The Association of British Orchestras has consistently made the case for sustained public investment in orchestras, to allow them to innovate,and to be creative in attracting new audiences and new investment from other sources and today’s announcement shows that this has been understood.  Of course we recognise that the financial situation will remain extremely tough for many orchestras and other arts forms.  It will therefore be crucial that orchestras continue to build partnerships with other art forms and institutions. 

“At the same time, the ABO itself is disappointed that the reduction in resources available to Arts Council England along with the pressure to prioritise front line services has resulted in its own funding being cut and a significant reduction in the funding of Orchestras Live.  The role of a strong infrastructure to support the front line cannot be overestimated, and the ABO has long been the centre for shared learning, advocacy and advice for the UK’s professional orchestras.  This role will be even more vital as orchestras continue to seek alternative sources of income and forge new partnerships. We will be doing all we can to continue this work and will also be collaborating closely with the Musicians’ Union to help orchestras manage the transition.”

Caroline Miller of Dance UK said: “The Arts Council England cuts are one of a number of blows to the dance sector, along with cuts to higher and further education budgets, local authority arts funding, and reductions to the number of student and working visas for the most talented international dancers and students who want to come to the UK. All of these cuts taken together threaten the phenomenal success of dance in Britain.

“The April 2010 Arts Council England review of its Regularly Funded Organisations (RFO’s) showed that dance is the fastest growing art form with ACE’s dance portfolio increasing its attendances by 103% over 12 months. For any sector – be it business or arts – this would have been the moment to invest in dance to build on this success.”

We understand that Arts Council England is in a difficult position with 14.9% less grant in aid funds to distribute, but we urge them and the Government to increase funding again in the arts as soon as they can.”

Charlotte Jones of the Independent Theatre Council said: “We broadly applaud the priority given to frontline and creative work by Arts Council England and believe that the process itself was fairly done. We are however concerned about rural touring losing work in areas that are already under served. We would have liked to have seen more bravery from Arts Council England in terms of funding for the RSC and the larger opera houses, as we believe that they could have taken a bigger hit. This is particularly clear as we look at some of the smaller organisations who continue to remain resourceful in the face of significantly reduced funds in some cases.”

“We are also pleased and heartened by the excitement and enthusiasm coming from the 110 new additions to the portfolio. It would appear that following today’s announcement 25 of our ITC members originally on the portfolio have been unsuccessful in their applications. ITC have been in touch with these members to provide support. We will continue to support the Arts Council England strategy into the future.”

Hilary Gresty of the Visual Arts and Galleries Association (VAGA) said: “We are pleased to see uplifts to many galleries and visual arts organisations across the country particularly to those that have been hit by reductions in local funding; we are concerned about the number of smaller scale artist led experimental and new media organisations which have been cut. There are some odd decisions in rural areas and with regard to the all important networking and support bodies. We look forward to learning how the Arts Council will work with the arts community to fill the many gaps that have been left where people will have seriously fewer opportunities to experience the visual arts.”

David Brownlee of Audiences UK, commenting on the national policy decision to cease funding Audience Development Agencies as part of its core portfolio said this: “‘The rationale for this blanket decision is hard to understand given the priority given to increasing and broadening audiences in the Arts Council's strategy for the next ten years and the excellent assessments of the proposals submitted by many of the agencies. Arts organisations receive more funding from their audiences than any other source and we have seen audience numbers continue to grow in the last three years, despite the recession. We believe long-term investment in the audience development infrastructure has helped the sector to weather the financial storm so far.”

“It also seems strange at a time when Arts Council England is taking on a broader cultural remit to threaten the sustainability of an internationally renowned support structure that is already working effectively with museums and beginning to help tackle the major issues facing Library Services.

‘We are heartened to see a public commitment has been made to allocating strategic Lottery funds to support Audience Development, although we are not clear about the amount allocated and believe this area should be treated as a priority for core Treasury funding and not as an area of 'additionality' funded by Lottery ticket buyers. However we will do all we can to help Arts Council England ensure the needs of current and future audiences remain a priority and that the cultural sector has the skilled support that will help them understand and grow their audiences in these financially challenging times.”

We fully support the comments made by NCA members from across the arts sector and share their concerns about smaller organisations, touring and the local authority cuts. The NCA will continue to work with all those in the arts sector, including those who were unsuccessful in their applications, to continually support the provision of arts to the public.

ENDS

©NCA 2011

Notes to editors:

1. For further information please contact the NCA, 1 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PA. Telephone: 020 7287 3777. Fax: 020 7287 4777. Email nca@artscampaign.org.uk. Website: www.artscampaign.org.uk

For further information from the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) or for further comment, please contact Melissa Milner: melissa@dhacommunications.co.uk 020 7793 4035 / 07976 636 228

For further information from Dance UK please contact info@danceuk.org or 020 7713 0730

For further information from the Independent Theatre Council please contact Charlotte Jones admin@itc-arts.org or on 020 7403 1727

For further information from the Visual Arts and Galleries Association please contact Hilary Gresty hilary@vaga.co.uk

For further information from Audiences UK or for further comment please contact Gerry Wall or David Brownlee at Audiences UK on 08456 809 246.

2.   The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) is the UK’s only independent lobbying organisation representing all the arts.  It provides a voice for the arts world in all its diversity.  It seeks to safeguard, promote and develop the arts and win public and political recognition for the importance of the arts as a key element in our national culture.

3. The NCA is also running the I Value the Arts campaign which has attracted support from across the sector including over 20,295 direct signups on the campaign’s website, over 6,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook and over 11,000 people supporting the campaign on Twitter via the use of a campaign Twibbon. For more information about I Value the Arts, visit: www.ivaluethearts.org.uk

NEWS RELEASE

Response to Release of Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee Report “Funding of the arts & heritage”

Tuesday 29th March 2011

NCA responds to Select Committee conclusion “arts in a cold climate”

The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) welcomes the Committee recommendations in the recently released Select Committee Report into “Funding of the arts and heritage”.

Louise de Winter, former Director for The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) was called to give evidence last year to the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee inquiry.

Speaking at the time, she warned against the possible regional disparities that cuts to local authority budgets would produce; commenting on the potentially devastating impact that local cuts could make to whole arts sectors in some regions. Submitting evidence to the Committee she said,“the big fear is that the organisations at the local level that receive money from local authorities could potentially face up to 100% cuts, depending on how local authorities decide to use those budgets available to them. So what we fear is an even greater diminution of art generally”.

Commenting on the impact of such regional variations during the committee inquiry, Louise also stressed the importance of the geographical reach of the arts and pointed to the possible impact on touring. Stressing the corollary effect on artists in the capital from the cuts made in the regions she said  “If, for example, theatres get cut outside of London, that means a big national ballet company that tours will find it harder to take its work to people outside of London; so what we end up with is a potential concentration of artistic activity in the capital and maybe one or two other metropolitan areas that are fortunate enough to sustain those systems but, for the large majority of the people, potentially their ability to consume and to see is much more constrained. So there is an impact on touring as well”.

The NCA welcomes the report and we are pleased that the Committee is aware of our concerns especially those voiced by our former Director during the inquiry. There is a real possibility that the impact of the cuts will fall hardest on smaller organisations and particularly those in regional and rural areas. We warmly welcome the Committee’s response to our fears; recommendation 16 states that “Outside London and the metropolitan areas, arts organisations find it a lot harder to make their own money. It is vital that, even in less densely populated parts of the country, people still have access to cultural activities. It is all the more important in this climate that the Arts Council take these factors into account when selecting its National Portfolio and we urge it to continue to do so in the future”

We are also pleased that the Committee recognise the cumulative impact of the local authority cuts and forthcoming Arts Council England (ACE) funding portfolio and understand what this will mean for the arts sector, describing it as “Arts in a cold climate” (Point 15 states) “It is inevitable that the combination of spending cuts from central and local government will have a major impact on the arts sector. The Arts Council is unable to fund the same number of projects as it has previously and this will no doubt result in the loss of some arts organisations, particularly if they have not made alternative funding arrangements.”

We will continue to work with the sector and beyond to fully support all opportunities for the public across the country to enjoy and benefit from the arts.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.    For further information please contact the NCA, 1 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PA. Telephone: 020 7287 3777. Fax: 020 7287 4777. Email nca@artscampaign.org.uk. Website: www.artscampaign.org.uk

2.   The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) is the UK’s only independent lobbying organisation representing all the arts.  It provides a voice for the arts world in all its diversity.  It seeks to safeguard, promote and develop the arts and win public and political recognition for the importance of the arts as a key element in our national culture.

3.          The NCA is also running the I Value the Arts campaign which has attracted support from across the sector. For more information about I Value the Arts, visit: www.ivaluethearts.org.uk

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has released the results of its online survey on the culture sector and the Points Based Visa System (PBS).

The Cultural Learning Alliance, of which the NCA is a member, has written to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, highlighting potential terms of reference for the follow up Henley Review into cultural education. 

While the arts sector awaits the announcement of Art Council England’s National portfolio, ACE has released their annual report on Regularly Funded Organisations.

As part of the Mayor of London’s ongoing music education strategy, an audit is being conducted on the scale, accessibility and quality of music education in the capital. 

In context of the proposed changes to the English education system, the Education Committee has issued a short inquiry and call for evidence into the new English Baccalaureate (E-Bac). 

The much anticipated Music Education in England Review by Darren Henley was released on 7 February. Overall, the report praised the role of music in education and contained a total of 36 recommendations to promote music education in England.