In time for yesterday’s submission deadline, the NCA sent its evidence to the CMS Select Committee’s Inquiry into the Funding of Arts and Heritage.  We would like to once again thank all members for thoughts and comments shared as we compiled our response to this crucial investigation for the sector.

Minutes from the second Arts & Business and NCA Culture Forum meeting are now available online.  The second forum meeting took place on Tuesday 24 August, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and focused on issues around Earned Income, including the ability to exploit assets, new ways of working and intellectual property issues.

As we reported earlier in the year Arts Council England are recruiting individuals with demonstrable knowledge and understanding of particular art forms, to assess ACE regularly funded organisations.  This week ACE have invited applications to fill a further 50 positions which will commence in January next year.

The NCA would like to remind members of the approaching submission deadline for evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into funding of Arts and Heritage. 

In 2009 Arts Council England (ACE) launched a programme of research to examine current attitudes towards it, with the aim of understanding ACE’s areas of strength and areas that needed improvement. 

To allow for the summer holidays, Northern Ireland’s Culture Minister Nelson McCausland has extended the draft Museums Policy consultation deadline for a further five weeks to 30 September 2010.

Public advocacy meeting; Audiences UK; Arts, Heritage and Culture Forum Meeting; Nick Starr of the National Theatre.

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.

Funding was secured from Arts Council England to commission a study into the feasibility of a drama and theatre manifesto for children and young people. See the report here.

Last month the NCA reported Culture Minister Ed Vaizey’s proposals to launch a programme which would see public libraries at the heart of the ‘Big Society’.  Led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the Local Government Association Group, the programme will examine how to ‘radically rethink’ the public library service, with options including shared services, merging functions, staffing across authorities, support from volunteers or the use of other community buildings.

The NCA would like to remind members of the approaching submission deadline for evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into funding of Arts and Heritage.  Last month’s announcements from the DCMS to scrap, merge or streamline arts and culture quangos and the expected spending cuts led the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to launch an inquiry into the funding of Arts and Heritage.  

The consultation deadline is today, and the NCA has submitted its response. In brief, the NCA welcomes and supports the redistribution of the lottery shares which will benefit the arts and go a little way towards redressing the loss of income when funds were diverted to the Olympics. We have made a strong point about lottery funding not to be seen as a substitute for Government funding but, given the expected severity of funding cuts, have indicated that an immediate increase to 20%, rather than a stepped increase, would be preferred.

See the NCA’s response here.

Last month, the NCA informed members of Northern Ireland’s Culture Minister, Nelson McCausland’s, plans to hold a consultation on a museums policy for Northern Ireland. 

In the light of impending cuts to public spending across the UK, it is essential that artists and organisations maximise their fundraising potential by knowing what funding is available, from where and, crucially, when the delaines for applications are.

The NCA launched its cultural workforce survey in April in order to gather data from everyone who works in the cultural sector, including CEOs, Chairs, Board Members/Trustees, Employers, Employees, Freelancers, Interns and Volunteers.  We would like to remind members that the closing deadline is fast approaching.

The autumn edition of nca news will be published in April. This edition will focus on cultural workforce: in these financially testing times, the challenge to the sector to maintain its status as a world leader is ever more pertinent.  

Arts Council England last week published findings from its consultation ‘Achieving great art for everyone’.  The consultation process, which began in January and ended in April 2010, and for which the NCA compiled a response, was developed to better plan for organisational reform.  There was an overall feeling among respondents that ACE’s vision lacked precision and further clarity from the Council is required around what its vision excludes.

The NCA has compiled a draft response to the current inquiry, led by the DCMS, into the distribution of National Lottery shares, which would directly benefit the sector with an increased share of 4 percent by 2012.  The proposed changes would see an increase in the apportionment of shares for arts, heritage and sport to 18 percent on 1 April 2011, with a further increase to 20 percent on 1 April 2012.

Last week, John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage wrote to the Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, Clive Booth, to put forward his proposals for changing the policy direction of the Big Lottery Fund.  In his letter, the Minister argued for the need to focus funding on projects that benefit people and local communities in the voluntary and community sector.

Last week Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, trialled a new ‘express ministerial surgery’.

The coalition government announced earlier this week that it would abolish the UK Film Council in a bid to increase transparency, accountability and efficiency.  The Labour-conceived quango, which is the primary source of funding for British films, is among another 55 arts and culture quangos that are to be scrapped, merged or streamlined in a cost-cutting drive.