‘Stop-start’ funding inevitable unless DCMS cuts reversed, warns ACE By Jeremy Austin for The Stage
A return to ‘stop-start’ funding of cultural organisations is inevitable by the end of the decade if the government fails to listen to the arts community a second time, Arts Council England theatre director Nicola Thorold has warned.
Speaking following the announcement of ACE’s three-year spending plan - dubbed “hard choices in a tough climate” - Thorold said the funding body had tried as best it could not to pass on to its clients the £30 million real terms cut it received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in December.
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Chancellor delivers mixed fortunes for theatre By Robert Breckman for The Stage
The budget brought both good and bad news for the arts, with £12 million for leadership training but a freeze on most arts council funding. Robert Breckman outlines the winners and losers in last week’s economic shake-up.
I do not know what is the more exciting, the prospect of a general election or the budget. Indeed, it is difficult to differentiate between the two - the spin and hype vie with one another for the headlines, notwithstanding the latest buzzwords around the NHS, education, police, transport et al.
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Budget heralds black arts era From The Stage
The latest, Treasury-inspired, Arts Council England grants announcement gives a new twist to the old fashion cliche about Brown being the new black. For, rail as we might against the combined forces of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and ACE, it is the guiding hand of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and no other which has turned the clock back on arts funding.
Yes, the specifics of who should get and who should not are for the council to decide. Likewise, the expected furious response from clients left in the lurch will be for ACE’s staff to handle.
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