Whitehall sources indicated that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) would receive an 8% cut to its budget, while Arts Council England’s (ACE) funding was likely to fall by 5% when the government announced its spending review as Museums Journal went to press.
Peter Bazalgette, ACE’s chairman, said it was a good result. “It is hugely encouraging that the chancellor and the Treasury have listened to the argument that the arts and culture make such a valuable contribution to our quality of life and the economy,” he said.
“Maria Miller and the DCMS have done an effective job in making the case for the value of public funding, backed with powerful arguments from the culture sector, who every day demonstrate their worth through the brilliant work they do.”
He added that ACE would have to consider its next steps carefully.
The arts council was asked to model cuts of 5%, 10% and 15%. An ACE spokeswoman said that model was “very crude and not definite” but a 5% cut might reduce the number of organisations in receipt of grant-in-aid from more than 700 to between 400 and 450.
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said the cut to the department for culture could have a big impact on national museums.
“This cut, on top of the previous ones, pushes some national museums in England close to the tipping point where large areas of their work will have to be abandoned and facilities closed down,” he said.
Taylor added that the cut would have an impact on Renaissance funding and might lead to a reduction in the number of major partner museums. He said that many of them were already under pressure because of local government cuts.
The announcement follows cuts to the DCMS’s core budget from £1.4bn to £1.1bn in 2010, as well as a 50% reduction to its administration. It suffered an additional £34m in cuts to its core budget last December.
www.museumsassociation.org/csr
Peter Bazalgette, ACE’s chairman, said it was a good result. “It is hugely encouraging that the chancellor and the Treasury have listened to the argument that the arts and culture make such a valuable contribution to our quality of life and the economy,” he said.
“Maria Miller and the DCMS have done an effective job in making the case for the value of public funding, backed with powerful arguments from the culture sector, who every day demonstrate their worth through the brilliant work they do.”
He added that ACE would have to consider its next steps carefully.
The arts council was asked to model cuts of 5%, 10% and 15%. An ACE spokeswoman said that model was “very crude and not definite” but a 5% cut might reduce the number of organisations in receipt of grant-in-aid from more than 700 to between 400 and 450.
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said the cut to the department for culture could have a big impact on national museums.
“This cut, on top of the previous ones, pushes some national museums in England close to the tipping point where large areas of their work will have to be abandoned and facilities closed down,” he said.
Taylor added that the cut would have an impact on Renaissance funding and might lead to a reduction in the number of major partner museums. He said that many of them were already under pressure because of local government cuts.
The announcement follows cuts to the DCMS’s core budget from £1.4bn to £1.1bn in 2010, as well as a 50% reduction to its administration. It suffered an additional £34m in cuts to its core budget last December.
www.museumsassociation.org/csr
