In the chancellor’s autumn statement, to no one’s great surprise, cuts were doled out across the board.
As a result, the department for culture will lose £12m in 2013-14 and £22m in 2014-15. It has made it clear that these cuts will be passed on to the organisations it funds, including national museums and Arts Council England.
This will mean that ACE will receive a £3.9m cut in 2013-14 and a £7.7m cut in 2014-15. It’s harsh for an organisation that has already had to make huge cuts.
In general, the financial gloom looks set to continue. And, of course, it will not be limited to England; Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish museums can also expect their share of the pain.
But it would be wrong to think the misery has been evenly spread. Many museums in the English regions, for example, have been hard hit by the double blow of local authority cuts and reductions in ACE funding.
It’s difficult to look at the scale of cuts in places such as Newcastle without wincing at their severity. After all, a 100% cut leaves little room for manoeuvre.
As a result of the cutbacks, there have been mutterings about the geographical inequity of cultural funding.
On the face of it, there does seem to be a relative largesse concentrated around London.
At the same time that the chancellor wielded his axe, the department for culture’s Taking Part survey was published. It shows that since 2005, the proportion of adults visiting museums and galleries has risen from 42% to 52%, a remarkable achievement.
But although all English regions have enjoyed increases, some have done better than others. London tops the scale for participation at 58%, with the West Midlands bringing up the rear at 49%. In order to redress the imbalance in funding and participation, perhaps it’s time to rethink distribution.
There are only so many ways to divide the pie, but as the lottery is the one organisation that seems to have more money than it knows what to do with at the moment, perhaps it should be thinking creatively about regional need?
Sharon Heal, editor, Museums Journal
sharon@museumsassociation.org
www.twitter.com/sharonheal
As a result, the department for culture will lose £12m in 2013-14 and £22m in 2014-15. It has made it clear that these cuts will be passed on to the organisations it funds, including national museums and Arts Council England.
This will mean that ACE will receive a £3.9m cut in 2013-14 and a £7.7m cut in 2014-15. It’s harsh for an organisation that has already had to make huge cuts.
In general, the financial gloom looks set to continue. And, of course, it will not be limited to England; Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish museums can also expect their share of the pain.
But it would be wrong to think the misery has been evenly spread. Many museums in the English regions, for example, have been hard hit by the double blow of local authority cuts and reductions in ACE funding.
It’s difficult to look at the scale of cuts in places such as Newcastle without wincing at their severity. After all, a 100% cut leaves little room for manoeuvre.
As a result of the cutbacks, there have been mutterings about the geographical inequity of cultural funding.
On the face of it, there does seem to be a relative largesse concentrated around London.
At the same time that the chancellor wielded his axe, the department for culture’s Taking Part survey was published. It shows that since 2005, the proportion of adults visiting museums and galleries has risen from 42% to 52%, a remarkable achievement.
But although all English regions have enjoyed increases, some have done better than others. London tops the scale for participation at 58%, with the West Midlands bringing up the rear at 49%. In order to redress the imbalance in funding and participation, perhaps it’s time to rethink distribution.
There are only so many ways to divide the pie, but as the lottery is the one organisation that seems to have more money than it knows what to do with at the moment, perhaps it should be thinking creatively about regional need?
Sharon Heal, editor, Museums Journal
sharon@museumsassociation.org
www.twitter.com/sharonheal