But ACE chair pulls up shadow chancellor on error
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has given the strongest indication yet of Conservative support for the arts if the party wins the general election next year.
“Right from the top our party, we are deeply committed to the British arts sector, and we want to see it flourish and thrive in the years ahead” he said at a conference at Tate Modern. “David Cameron is personally committed to the arts and culture”.
Beyond personal commitment he said there were deeper reasons for Tory commitment to the arts. “One of the core themes of the modern Conservative Party is social responsibility, and the belief that great things can happen when governments, charities, businesses and social enterprises work together” he said. “To me, the arts are a fantastic example of this.”
He said a Conservative government would end what he called “micromanagement” of the arts from Whitehall. “Instead of being defined as quangos, beholden to Treasury diktats, I want to see publicly owned arts bodies with the independence, confidence and incentives they need to focus on what they do best: being creative” he said.
However, as well as a commitment to continued government funding of the arts, the shadow chancellor delivered a warning that there would have to be restraint. A Tory government will insist on administrative cuts in subsidised arts organisations. The Arts Council spends 11% of its annual funding on administration, and the seven main funding distributors went £120m on admin. “This is completely unacceptable” Osborne said.
Nevertheless, he raised an eyebrow at the Arts Council by saying that “arts bodies are too often penalised by the Arts Council for attracting private sector sponsorship or philanthropy – we need to turn this situation on its head”.
Dame Liz Forgan, chairman of ACE, refuted the statement. “The opposite is actually true: we like private sector support, and Arts Council grants are often a lever to fundraising” she said. “I look forward to delivering the good news to the shadow chancellor.”
