In March, The BBC Trust published a proposed strategy for the BBC, inviting views from the public and industry on the future direction for the corporation.

A reminder that if you work in drama and theatre and with children and young people, there are opportunities to get involved in the consultation sessions to develop a statement of common purpose that could unite the sector to advocate for its work at the highest level.

This week the deadline passed for nominations for candidates in the General Election and so too did the deadline for them to withdraw their candidature. The list of people standing for election is now fixed and the NCA took this opportunity to get in touch with all Parliamentary candidates asking them to pledge their support for the arts, the arts manifesto and, crucially for supporting funding for the arts at current levels.

In their paper ‘A Private Sector Policy for the Arts’ Arts & Business (A&B) outlines recommendations on how to best adapt the mixed economy funding model for the arts to the current situation. 

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) held a seminar for arts groups on lobbying in the wonderful surroundings of the newly refurbished Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast on 21 April. 

A reminder that if you work in drama and theatre and with children and young people, there are opportunities to get involved in the consultation sessions to develop a statement of common purpose that could unite the sector to advocate for its work at the highest level.

The UK has a thriving, world-class cultural sector which is nurtured and supported by its human capital, the cultural workforce. Without this workforce, the sector would not be where it is today.

As promised, we have been working hard making useful additions to our Vote Arts 2010 webpage to help you with all the advocacy and campaigning efforts during these final weeks of the General Election.

In March, The BBC Trust published a proposed strategy for the BBC, inviting views from the public and industry on the future direction for the corporation.

In 2008 the National Campaign for the Arts brought together practitioners from across drama, theatre and learning to explore ways of working together in order to raise the profile of their work. There was general consensus in support of a statement of common purpose that could unite the sector to advocate for its work at the highest level.

We would like to bring your attention to Vote Arts 2010, the NCA’s online home for arts advocacy and campaigning. With Polling Day only weeks away on 6 May, we have compiled some vital resources to help you raise the profile of the arts and culture during the election campaign.

This week the political parties published the manifestos which they hope will convince the electorate of their suitability to run the country and form the next government.

On 9 March, the NCA held an Arts Hustings at Tate Britain during which arts and culture portfolio holders Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Ed Vaizey MP, and Don Foster MP were grilled by members of the sector on their parties’ arts policies. Chaired by Joan Bakewell, the event was both informative and entertaining, shedding light on numerous issues that the sector faces.

In early March, the NCA wrote to MPs urging them to support the Live Music Bill and find time to allow its full passage before the General Election.

The NCA has submitted its response to Arts Council England’s Achieving great art for everyone consultation, ACE’s ten-year strategy which aims to place the arts at the centre of national life and ensure their continued growth throughout the next decade.

Slid in under the wire late last Thursday, just before the Easter break, the departments for Culture, Media and Sport and Children, Schools and Families published “A place for Culture: Developing a local culture offer for all children and young people.”

The Digital Economy Bill has now passed through the House of Commons at super broadband speed as part of the ‘wash up’ process of Bills being passed before Parliament is dissolved. The debates at the Bill’s Second Reading in the Commons on Tuesday, 6 April and in Committee Stage on Wednesday, 7 April, indicated that although the Bill received cross party support for its principles, there was still much to object to in the detail.

The most hotly debated clauses were those that outlined the powers to take action on unlawful downloading of content and file sharing and the powers reserved to the Secretary of State to invoke sanctions when infringements took place.

Don’t miss this last chance to feed into the NCA’s response to Arts Council England’s (ACE) Achieving great art for everyone consultation. ACE’s ten-year strategic framework is a watershed document that has implications for future investment decisions and it is vital that members take the opportunity comment on its proposed strategy going forward.

Now that the election campaign has begun in earnest, it is time to remind ourselves of some of the arguments for and against arts funding via the public purse. A full transcript of the NCA debate that took place at Kings Place on 1 March is now available for all those who were unable to attend or who would like to be able to flick through what was said rather than listen to the recordings.

This is your opportunity to make your concerns and issues heard by Prospective Parliamentary Candidates. The NCA toolkit provides some useful information on how to contact your PPCs and outlines some key messages about the arts.