Press release - 15 March 2001

NCA welcomes moves to streamline arts funding in England

The National Campaign for the Arts welcomes the announcement today by the Arts Council of England of a review of arts funding arrangements for England.

The NCA and its members have long campaigned for a reduction in bureaucracy relating to funding applications and evaluation, and support the actions of the ACE in is plans to reduce bureaucracy. Victoria Todd, Director of the NCA, said: "News of this move to improve the efficiency of arts funding in this country is extremely welcome. Arts organisations have long been demanding action in this area, which will enable them to dedicate more of their time and resources to their chief aim: producing art.

"The announcement signals that the NCA's continued lobbying for a unified and strategic approach to the allocation of funds to the arts community has been taken on board by the ACE and RABs. By uniting the evaluation of applications under one company, the restructuring addresses our criticism of current inconsistencies in evaluation criteria and the high administrative costs of the funding system." Strengthening the quality of art-form leadership, with national standards applied equally across all areas of the country, should ensure a level playing field for arts organisations and practitioners in all regions.

Stewart Steven, Chairman of the NCA said "It would appear that this restructuring process will enable the arts funding bodies to reduce the amount of administrative costs, making more money available to arts practitioners. This has got to be a good thing for all those concerned with investment in the arts."

The ACE briefing goes a long way to allay fears that restructuring will lead to increased centralisation of power, particularly in its stated commitment to further decentralisation along with greater access to funds for the regions. The safeguarding of regional powers is particularly pertinent in the area of education, in which forthcoming projects such as the Creative Partnerships pilot will depend, to a large extent, for their success on the brokering role currently undertaken by the RABs. These bodies have already put in a great deal of legwork to get the projects off the ground, and will be crucial partners in the realisation and implementation of the project.

The changes to regional area remits to coincide with RDA boundaries represents a positive change towards a more joined-up approach to cultural provision. This will facilitate greater access to other funding sources. In conjunction with the simplification of arts funding mechanisms, freed from the current system of 'schemes' and regional inequities, the move offers greater ease of access to an increased sum of funding.

TMA President Barbara Matthews said, "We welcome the reduction in bureaucracy, trailed by Culture Secretary Chris Smith at the recent Theatre 2001 conference, which we believe this proposal will bring. I feel sure the changes will be welcomed by our members and we all look forward to working within the new funding system."

SOLT President Martin McCallum said, "This now provides a real opportunity for a long-overdue strategic national approach and there will be more chance of money going where it is needed. I know this will be welcomed by all who work in the arts. It must be good news for the whole industry."

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