Arts council confirms new date for NPO announcement

A new date has been set for the announcement of Arts Council England’s 2023-26 investment programme.

The next round of National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) will now be unveiled at a digital press conference on Friday 4 November.

In a statement, ACE said: “In agreement with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, we are pleased to confirm that all our 2023-26 Investment Programme applicants will receive decisions from us on Friday 4 November 2022.

“We apologise for the uncertainty this delay has caused and thank applicants for their patience. We have contacted all applicants to let them know of the new announcement date.”

The announcement had been due to take place on 26 October but is said to have been delayed by changes in government following the appointment of new prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Sunak re-appointed Michelle Donelan as culture secretary this week in a cabinet reshuffle following Liz Truss's short-lived term as prime minister.

The cancellation of the original announcement meant an anxious wait for many museums across England.

The investment round is ACE’s most over-subscribed to date. It received a total of 1,663 applications for NPO funding and a further 67 for Investment Principle Support Organisations (IPSO).

The annual budget available for NPOs alone is £428m but applications exceeded £655m. For IPSOs, the annual budget available is £8.2m but applications exceeded £17.5m.