Select Committee to look into arts funding
Patrick Steel, 09.08.2010
Inquiry to look into MLA abolition and future of funding
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is asking arts and heritage organisations to submit evidence on the impact that recent and future spending cuts from central and local government will have on arts and heritage at a national and local level.
But there is a relatively short amount of time before the deadline for submissions on 2 September, which has led to some consternation in the sector.
“It’s crazy that they want submissions so quickly and over the holiday period,” said Bill Ferris, chairman of the Association of Independent Museums. “We are crying out for a meaningful debate about what will happen beyond the cuts but the timescale just doesn’t allow for it.”
John Whittingdale, the chairman of the committee, said that in practice, the committee would not be able to take all the evidence until parliament returns in October, so there would be a chance to submit evidence beyond the deadline.
The select committee would not have any influence over funding levels, which are decided by Treasury, he said, but it would be looking at ways in which the department uses what money is available to make sure that it is used as effectively as possible. The inquiry would be critical where needed, he added, and would report by the end of the year, but after the spending review.
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said: “The timing is very tight, but the pace at which change is happening means we can’t afford to be leisurely.
“By September we should know more about where museums responsibilities lie and what the future shape of Renaissance might be.
“But we have to be sanguine about whether this inquiry will affect things. The scope of the inquiry is huge and there is a danger that by the time they have finished talking about it the new landscape will have been shaped.”
But there is a relatively short amount of time before the deadline for submissions on 2 September, which has led to some consternation in the sector.
“It’s crazy that they want submissions so quickly and over the holiday period,” said Bill Ferris, chairman of the Association of Independent Museums. “We are crying out for a meaningful debate about what will happen beyond the cuts but the timescale just doesn’t allow for it.”
John Whittingdale, the chairman of the committee, said that in practice, the committee would not be able to take all the evidence until parliament returns in October, so there would be a chance to submit evidence beyond the deadline.
The select committee would not have any influence over funding levels, which are decided by Treasury, he said, but it would be looking at ways in which the department uses what money is available to make sure that it is used as effectively as possible. The inquiry would be critical where needed, he added, and would report by the end of the year, but after the spending review.
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said: “The timing is very tight, but the pace at which change is happening means we can’t afford to be leisurely.
“By September we should know more about where museums responsibilities lie and what the future shape of Renaissance might be.
“But we have to be sanguine about whether this inquiry will affect things. The scope of the inquiry is huge and there is a danger that by the time they have finished talking about it the new landscape will have been shaped.”
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