In the fallout from the comprehensive spending review, there have been some suggestions that Arts Council England (ACE) should be abolished.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Front Row, the cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht called for the abolition of ACE, arguing that much of its work is duplicated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
He suggested that direct government funding for museums and galleries, with the remaining funds ringfenced and passed to local authorities, would help save between £5-10m a year on arts administration – "and a lot of waffle”.
Earlier this year, David Lister, the arts editor of the Independent, made a similar proposal suggesting the “unelected quango” was undemocratic. And in 2010, a report from the Adam Smith Institute proposed replacing ACE with a voucher system that would enable consumers to decide which venues received funding.
Speaking on Radio 4's A Point of View, Tom Shakespeare, a research fellow at Newcastle University, said ACE was a "British success story" and a "beacon of excellence".
In the context of public funding cuts and calls for efficiency savings, should ACE be abolished? Vote in the Museums Journal poll and have your say:
Speaking on Radio 4’s Front Row, the cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht called for the abolition of ACE, arguing that much of its work is duplicated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
He suggested that direct government funding for museums and galleries, with the remaining funds ringfenced and passed to local authorities, would help save between £5-10m a year on arts administration – "and a lot of waffle”.
Earlier this year, David Lister, the arts editor of the Independent, made a similar proposal suggesting the “unelected quango” was undemocratic. And in 2010, a report from the Adam Smith Institute proposed replacing ACE with a voucher system that would enable consumers to decide which venues received funding.
Speaking on Radio 4's A Point of View, Tom Shakespeare, a research fellow at Newcastle University, said ACE was a "British success story" and a "beacon of excellence".
In the context of public funding cuts and calls for efficiency savings, should ACE be abolished? Vote in the Museums Journal poll and have your say:
