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Liz Anderson

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Arts Council outrage

Monday, 17th December 2007

The Guardian today reports an outrageous decision by the Arts Council:

Nearly 200 arts organisations in England have been told that their funding will end from next April in the biggest and most bloody cull since the Arts Council was set up more than 50 years ago.

Pre-Christmas letters from Arts Council England have been dropping on the mats of groups across the arts, telling them they cannot expect to continue receiving public money.

This is wrong. Very wrong. As the report continues:
Many organisations will, however, have had good news. Of the 990 bodies which get funding, three-quarters have been told to expect inflation or above rises.
What kind of decision is that? Why are they only cutting the grant to 200 bodies, when the taxpayer is still being made to fund almost 700 more?

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Max Kaye

December 17th, 2007 8:22pm

Putting aside the cost of the grants it disburses, how much does the upkeep of this inflated body cost the taxpayer?

Barry Waddilove

December 17th, 2007 9:31pm

The following 25 government bodies purport to help creative industries either directly or indirectly. Some are linked to others, but many cannot justify their existence:

Arts Council
Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Business Link now Northwest Business Link
Chartered Society of Designers
Creative & Cultural Skills
Creative Industries Higher and Further Education Forum
Creative Lancashire
Culture North West
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Design Business Association (dba)
Design Council*
Design Initiative
Design-Nation
Fresh Creative
GroupHub (funding received through Creative Lancashire)
Headspace
InfoLab 21
Lancashire Digital Development Agency (LDDA) Due to have gone in April 2007
Lancashire Economic Partnership (LEP) used to be East Lancs Partnership (ELP)
Northwest Development Agency (NWDA)
Small Business Service (an agency of the DTI)
Small Business Council
Small Business Investment Taskforce
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)

1. Which body, if any, best serves our industry and why?
2. Do we need them all and are too many singing the same tune?
3. How do we define or identify exactly what they are doing? (Not website waffle – government propaganda).
4. How do we measure if we get value for money from any of them?
5. How do they justify their existence?
6. If they are a complete waste of public money, who is responsible for getting rid of them and when?

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