News focusManifesto promises to rejuvenate by removal of red tape
The Conservatives have set out what they believe is a set of policy proposal to rejuvenate the arts if they win the general election, providing “coherent and sustained support”.
Their manifesto, The Future of the Arts with a Conservative Government, was launched last week by Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, and Ed Vaizey, shadow arts minister.
Hunt said the Tory approach was to:
Secure long term funding for the arts based on the mixed economy and the arm’s length principle, which ensures they have he resources to carry them through the good time and the bad;
The promotion of excellence in the arts through greater trust and independence or our arts organizations;
Use technology and a more coherent approach to arts funding in schools to enable access – we believe as many people as possible should enjoy the arts in all their varied forms in this country.
“Under Labour the arts have not been given the priority they deserve” Vaizey said. “The arts need coherent and sustained support in order to consolidate and build on their achievements”.
Mixed economy
A Conservative government will restore the National Lottery four good causes – arts, heritage, sport and charities, the manifesto says. “The lottery will be independent of politicians, and we will increase the share of lottery funding received by the arts”. It will encourage venues and museums and build endowment funds, “the next big frontier for arts organisations to cross”, which they may encourage with matching funding from the Arts Council.
The Conservatives would use matching ACE grants to encourage philanthropy and private investment in the arts, and will change the rules to make it possible for donors to give under the acceptance-in-lieu scheme while they are still alive; there will also be changes to Gift Aid and to the guidelines surrounding arts organisations’ relationship with donors. The effect of the changes, the manifesto says, will be “fiscally neutral”.
Administration costs of subsidised funding organisations would be cut from 11% by the seven main distributors in 2009 to 5%.
