The Government has begun a review of licensing laws that pertain to child performance.

The Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is conducting an inquiry into the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Online.

In late December, the Cabinet Office released a Green Paper for consultation as part of their initiative to encourage giving in the Big Society.

The NCA are hosting two events in the coming months which are of great interest to the sector. Places are popular so book now!

NCA Director, Louise de Winter, will be leaving the organisation in March after four years to take up a new challenge in the health sector.

The NCA are hosting two events in the coming months which are of great interest to the sector. Places are popular so book now!

In their new list of strategic priorities London Councils, an umbrella body for the Local Authorities in the council, have decided to axe the funding they provide for the arts in the capital.

The Scottish Government has earmarked £2.25 million to support cultural activities for young people as part of its CashBack for Communities programme.

The Minister for Finance and Personnel, Sammy Wilson, has visited a number of successful businesses that have received money from the Creative Industries Innovation Fund administered by Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

The Government has introduced its Localism Bill, which had its first reading in the House of Commons on 13 December.

Two reports have been published this week examining the role of the creative and cultural sectors in society.

The draft budget for Northern Ireland was announced on Wednesday 15 December and includes a 9.3 per cent cut to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) over four years.

A reminder that the deadline for applications for Arts Council England’s new national portfolio funding programme is 10.00am on 24 January 2011. Applications received after this time cannot be considered.

The BBC Trust published The BBC’s Strategy: Putting Quality First on Tuesday 14 December. The strategy is the final conclusions of the Trust’s review of BBC’s services that has been conducted since July 2009.

Plans for the Government’s philanthropy scheme were set out by the Secretary of State for Culture, Jeremy Hunt, in a speech at the European Association for Philanthropy and Giving (EAPG)’s annual conference on Wednesday 8 December.

It was confirmed Thursday 9 December that Arts Council England (ACE) are to take control of certain museum and library functions following the abolition of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

The first commissions have been announced for the London 2012 Festival; the 12 week festival that is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad.

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) have created the first ever map of the UK’s creative industries as part of the research for their report Creative Clusters and Innovation.

Applications are open to appear on the 2011-12 permit-free festivals list.

On Monday 29 November, the Minister for Culture and the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, announced plans to restructure the UK film industry.