A future Tory government could merge English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund and demand cuts in the distribution costs of grant giving bodies like the Arts Council.
Speaking at a meeting to discuss the future of heritage, shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt promised that museums and art galleries currently classed as Non-Departmental Public Bodies will be reclassified so they have greater independence from government.
Accusing the Labour government of neglecting the heritage sector, Hunt said that, with 14 ministers responsible for heritage in 12 years, it had been “impossible to get any consistency in policy making”
He promised that under the Tories, major cultural institutions would be freed from Treasury rules. A new Conservative government would introduce a Museums and Heritage Bill to establish a new administrative status for non-departmental public bodies within the cultural and heritage sectors. The new status would allow them “to be truly effective and entrepreneurial fundraising bodies” able to raise money for capital projects and for endowments on the US model. A new administration would also explore long-term funding agreements, possibly stretching beyond 3 years, in return for a solid commitment to build up endowments and alternative income sources.
But the shadow culture secretary added that during tough economic times, “we need to ask whether English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund should exist as separate grant-giving entities. The arts and sports world manage with one, and by HLF’s own figures combining their functions with EH would save £7 million.”
Hunt also said that “administration costs of 9% at HLF and 8% at the Arts Council “are still too high”, adding “we believe that lottery distributors should have distribution costs no more than 5%.” This could generate an extra £30 to £40 million of lottery funds for the heritage sector from 2012 on.
He also repeated the Tory pledge to restore the Lottery to its original four good causes and to introduce tax changes to boost philanthropy.