13 June 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reverse the political impetus towards reducing funding of the arts and to establish a broad community of artists as decision makers at Arts Council England and the DCMS."
Details of Petition:
"Public subsidy of the arts accounts for a minute proportion of national public expenditure. Cutting the arts budget is of little benefit to the exchequer, yet even modest withdrawal of funding has disastrous effects on the breadth of artistic activity available to the public. The recent 35% cut in ‘Grants for the Arts’ has been preceded by years of standstill funding for many organisations across all disciplines. Further far more damaging cuts are predicted. At the same time levels of bureaucratic meddling and obfuscation have never been higher. It is time to stop cutting arts spending, withdraw much of the disabling target-led assessment by which artists are being judged and reinstate artists as a crucial presence in the activities of the Arts Council and the DCMS."
Read the Government’s response
The Government has a proud record of support for the arts. Since 1997, it has increased funding to the arts by 73% in real terms. In October 2007, it announced that grant-in-aid funding for Arts Council England would continue to rise above inflation to £467 million by 2010/11 - an increase of 3.3% above inflation over three years. This funding increase means an extra £12 million for the arts in 2008-09, £26.5 million in 2009-10, and £50 million in 2010-11.
In July 2007, the Secretary of State for Culture, asked Sir Brian McMaster, former Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, to undertake a review to report on how the system of public sector support for the arts can encourage excellence, risk-taking and innovation; how artistic excellence can encourage wider and deeper engagement with the arts by audiences; and how to establish a light touch and non-bureaucratic method to judge the quality of the arts in the future. Sir Brian’s report, Supporting Excellence in the Arts - From Measurement to Judgment, sets out new ways to recognize and reward high-quality work in the arts and in museums and galleries, and place risk-taking and innovation at the centre of the funding framework for every cultural organization, large and small. The Government has welcomed the report and is working with key organizations such as Arts Council England to implement recommendations including a new judgement-based system of assessment encompassing peer review and self-assessment.