Minutes reference
ARTS COUNCIL
Minutes of the National Council Meeting held
on 13 December starting at 9:00am at Arts
Council, 14 Great Peter Street, London
Members
Present:
Dame Liz Forgan
Janet Barnes
Caroline Collier
Jon Cook
Joe Docherty
Sheila Healy
Sir Nicholas Kenyon
François Matarasso
Peter Phillips
Alice Rawsthorn
Anil Ruia
Alistair Spalding
Rosemary Squire
Veronica Wadley
Chair of National Council
Yorkshire Regional Council Chair
South East Regional Council Chair
East Regional Council Chair
North East Regional Council Chair
South West Regional Council Chair
National Council Member
East Midlands Regional Council Chair
West Midlands Regional Council Chair
National Council Member
North West Regional Council Chair
National Council Member
National Council Member
London Regional Council Chair
Not Present:
Keith Khan
Sir Andrew Motion
Ekow Eshun
National Council Member
National Council Member (observer)
National Council Member
Also present:
Alan Davey
Althea Efunshile
Anupam Ganguli
Barbara Matthews
Laura Dyer
Moira Sinclair
Andrea Stark
Jim Tough
Paul Leather
Chief Executive
Chief Operating Officer
Executive Director, Resources
Executive Director, Arts (interim)
Area Executive Director, Midlands & S.West
Area Executive Director, London
Area Director of East Region
Area Executive Director, North
Executive Director Advocacy and
Communications (interim)
Director, Governance
Director, Museums and Renaissance (Item 11)
Director, Libraries (Item 11)
Director, Music (Item 12)
Ruth Alaile
Hedley Swain
Nicky Morgan
Susanna Eastburn
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Laura Gander-Howe
David Bryant
Stacey Bailey
Ken Elvy
Richard Russell
Francis Runacres
Director, Learning & Skills(Item 12)
Governance Officer (items 1- 13)
Governance Officer (items 13 -16)
Director, Organisational Development( Item 13)
Director, Strategic Partnerships (Item 14)
Director, Investment (Agenda Item 15)
1.
INTRODUCTION AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
1.1
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies for absence were
received from Ekow Eshun, Keith Khan and Sir Andrew Motion.
2.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
2.1
National Council members reviewed and updated their register of interests.
3.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING HELD ON 5 AND 6 JULY
3.1
The minutes of the meetings held on 5 and 6 July 2011 were approved as
accurate records of the meetings.
4.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5
AND 6 JULY
4.1
There were no matters arising.
5.
ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2010/ 2011
5.1
Anupam Ganguli updated the Council on the latest position on the 2010/2011
annual accounts. He reported that the Chair and other members of the
Performance and Audit Committee were due to meet with the Comptroller and
Auditor General to discuss the National Audit Office’s continuing concerns
about the de-commitment of around £9m of capital grant funding from the
lottery account and the payment of the grants from the grant-in-aid account.
5.2
It was noted that this delay in the sign-off of the accounts would mean that the
Arts Council was likely to miss the Charity Commission deadline for
submission of its accounts.
5.3
It was AGREED that the Chair of the Performance and Audit Committee, in
consultation with the Chair of National Council and the Chief Executive, should
produce an update report for National Council following the meeting with the
Comptroller and Auditor General, and that any necessary decisions in
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between council meetings would be made by using the electronic resolution
procedure.
6.
APPOINTMENTS TO REGIONAL COUNCILS AND OTHER COMMITTEES
6.1
The Council referred to the paper accompanying this agenda item which
proposed individuals to fill vacancies on regional councils following a local
government nomination or open recruitment process. It also asked the Council
to appoint two independent members to Performance and Audit Committee
and appoint two of its members to chair the Museums Accreditation
Committee and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Designation Panel.
6.2
Council was also asked to appoint an additional member of National Council to
the Renaissance Major Grants Committee to replace Janet Barnes who had
stood down from that Committee.
6.3
National Council AGREED to:
(a) appoint Martin Molloy to the East Midlands Regional Council for a three
year term starting 1 January 2012;
(b) appoint Tim Desmond to fill the next available vacancy on the East
Midlands Regional Council for a three year term;
(c) appoint James Conway and David Hall to the London Regional Council
for a three year term starting 1 January 2012;
(d) appoint Keith Merrin, Ross Smith, Councillor Neil Bradbury and
Councillor John Kelly to the North East Regional Council for a three
year term starting 1 January 2012;
(e) appoint Yinnon Erza, Jane Weeks and Councillor Therese Evans to the
South East Regional Council for a three year term starting 1 January
2012;
(f) appoint Jane Drabble, Jaswinder Singh, Julien Boast, Terence
O’Rourke and Councillor Andrew Morgan to the South West Regional
Council for a three year term starting 1 January 2012;
(g) appoint Nicholas Humby and Christopher Yates as independent
members of the Performance and Audit Committee from 1 January
2012 for a three year term;
(h) appoint Caroline Collier to Chair the Museums Accreditation
Committee until 31 December 2012;
(i) appoint Joe Docherty to Chair the Museums and Libraries and Archives
Designation Panel until 31 December 2012; and to the Renaissance
Major Grants Committee; and
(j) rescind its previous stipulation restricting the term of office of any local
authority nominees to regional arts councils to March 2012 only.
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7.
REVISED LEVELS OF FINANCIAL DELEGATED AUTHORITY
7.1
Anupam Ganguli presented this paper which proposed revisions to the Arts
Council’s overall scheme of financial delegation. The changes sought to clarify
levels of financial authority for the new strategic funding programmes and the
Arts Council’s new responsibilities for museums and libraries.
7.2
National Council APPROVED the revised scheme of delegation set out in
appendix 2 of the paper, subject to a reduction in the delegated authority level
of Management Committee and Area Executive Directors for Grants for the
Arts, the new lower threshold to be agreed with the Chair of National Council.
8.
UPDATES FROM COMMITTEES
8.1
The updates on the work of Arts Investment, Arts Policy, and Performance and
Audit Committees were noted. National Council also noted the list of decisions
agreed by electronic resolution since the date of its last meeting.
9.
CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
9.1
The Chair and Chief Executive’s update was noted.
10.
MEETING WITH JONATHAN STEPHENS, PERMANENT SECRETARY
Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
(Jonathan Stephens, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Culture,
Media and Sport (DCMS) joined the National Council Meeting along with his
colleagues Paul Kirkman, Sam Foley and Clare Pillman)
10.1
Jonathan Stephens thanked the Council for the way in which the Arts Council
had responded to the spending review and to ministerial priorities such as
philanthropy. He outlined the Department’s plans and priorities over the next
year. He also explained DCMS’s new approach to managing its relationship
with arms length bodies (ALBs) following an ALB sponsorship review.
10.2
National Council noted DCMS’s intention to adopt more of a risk-based
approach in its relationship with ALBs like the Arts Council going forward, as
well as its desire to maintain close contact with the boards of its ALBs.
10.3
National Council members stressed the importance of DCMS continuing to
work with other government departments to promote arts and culture and in
particular the role that those sectors play in promoting economic growth. They
sought clarity on how DCMS was working with the Department for Business
Innovation and Skills to promote the arts as an engine of growth and
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encourage a joined up approach to the arts in higher education. The impact of
the spending cuts on local authorities’ investment in the arts was also referred
to, and in this regard it was pointed out that DCMS’s relationship with the
Department for Communities and Local Government and its influence with
individual local authorities was also important.
10.4
There were some questions about the Department’s museums policy, and it
was noted that the transfer of responsibility for regional museums to the Arts
Council provided an opportunity for the Department to develop a more
consistent approach to cultural organisations.
10.5
Finally, with the retrenchment at both DCMS and Arts Council, the potential for
there to be less assurance around public money going into the arts was
raised. It was agreed that this was an issue that both organisations would
need to keep a close eye on.
(Jonathan Stephens, Paul Kirkman, Sam Foley and Clare Pillman left the meeting)
11.
MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES PAPER
(Hedley Swain and Nicky Morgan joined the meeting)
11.1 The Council referred to the paper accompanying this agenda item, which sought
to update National Council on the transfer of responsibilities for museums and
libraries into the Arts Council. It also reported on the ongoing discussions with
DCMS about the Arts Council [……………………………………………….
………………] and outlined proposals for a public debate on the purpose, value
and potential of public library services.
Please note that information has been withheld from the above paragraph on
the basis of section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – future
publication. Under section 22 of the Act we are entitled to withhold information
until the intended publication date as long as there is a clear intention to
publish the requested details in the future; and where it is reasonable in all the
circumstances to maintain the original timetable for publication.
11.2 National Council congratulated members of staff on the smooth transfer of
responsibilities from the Museums Libraries and Archives Council to the Arts
Council.
11.3 It was noted that the Arts Council has asked Deloitte, its internal auditors, to
undertake a due diligence study of the three museums and the implications of
any transfer. Members commented on the fact that the transfer would involve
the Arts Council taking on responsibility for a collection, a responsibility that the
Arts Council could not easily walk away from. It was pointed out that this could
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mark the beginning of a change in the way that the Arts Council operated, with it
establishing for the first time a permanent relationship with the three
organisations and/or the collections that they hold.
11.4 National Council welcomed the plans for the Arts Council to initiate a public
debate on the purpose and value of libraries. It emphasised the importance of
the debate being framed carefully so that: the role of the Arts Council was
clearly understood; it re-energised the debate about the future of libraries ,
aspects of which, e.g. books vs. digital, had become polarised; and ensured that
the full range of voices, including the young, are heard. On timing, it was
thought important that the Arts Council had a clear statement of its intent to
facilitate such a debate agreed by January/early February next year.
11.5 National Council AGREED to:
(a) note the progress on museums and libraries integration and the policy
issues that the Arts Council is now addressing;
(b) give in principle approval to the decision to conduct a libraries debate;
and
(c) note that the Arts Council has been asked by DCMS to be the funder of
the three non-national national museums and that a further report will
be submitted to National Council meeting in March on this issue.
(Hedley Swain and Nicky Morgan left the meeting)
12.
YOUTH MUSIC
(Susanna Eastburn and Laura Gander-Howe joined the meeting)
12.1
Susanna Eastburn and Laura Gander-Howe provided National Council with a
verbal update on music education hubs and presented a paper which
recommended an approach to funding Youth Music, an arts organisation, for
2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
12.2
The Council was informed that the application period for Music hubs closes on
17 February, with 28 applications having been received so far, and the new
services commencing in September. Members questioned whether the
timeline agreed provided enough space for the Arts Council to broker or solicit
applications where it is felt that the current services are unsatisfactory. To
address this, it was suggested that the Arts Council should consider making a
transition award in those instances to ensure that the children and young
people in those areas continued to have access to a music service.
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12.3
National Council was advised that the final decision on music hubs would be
made by Arts Investment Committee. It was suggested that officers might want
to consider establishing an external advisory group to advise on this. Although
it was also noted that Arts Council had a number of people with expertise in
music service and that it would be drawing on in the decision-making process.
12.4
National Council considered the outcome of the three stage review of Youth
Music. A review of (i) Youth Music’s plans for 2013-2015 looking at the
organisation and its ability to deliver the programme of work that it proposes
and the extent to which its plans will contribute to Arts Council goals and
priorities; (ii) Youth Music’s plans within the wider context of music and cultural
education in England, and the extent to which its plans contribute to wider
strategic aims set out in the National Plan for music education; and (iii) an
assessment to ensure that Youth Music meets the requirements of external
delegation of Lottery grant making functions.
12.5
National Council commented that it was essential that Youth Music operated
collaboratively in the context of a changing national and local landscape for
the delivery of music education; and that the focus on disadvantaged children
and young people did not minimise the importance of ensuring a high quality
music education offer.
12.6 National Council AGREED:
(a) that subject to the agreement of the Department for Education (cofunder), the national youth music organisations should be removed from
Youth Music’s funding portfolio and funded directly by the Arts Council
from April 2013;
(b) to provide Lottery funding from Arts Council resources to support the
National Youth Music Organisations at £512,500 (2013-14) and
£525,313 (2014-15); and
(c) to vary the current amount of delegated Lottery funding to provide
£9,737,500 (2013-14) and £9,974,687 (2014-15) for Youth Music from
April 2013-March 2015
(Susanna Eastburn and Laura Gander-Howe left the meeting).
(Nick Kenyon left the meeting)
13.
ORGANISATION REVIEW
(Ken Elvy joined the meeting)
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13.1
Alan Davey and Ken Elvy provided National Council with an update on the
Organisation Review. They outlined the approach, focus, and proposed
timeline for the review and asked National Council members for their views on
the approach, activities and high level questions.
13.2
During the lengthy session National Council endorsed the proposed approach.
The following comments were made and questions asked during the session:
 It is important that the Arts Council understands what the sector/public
most values from the Arts Council – grant making, development role
etc.
 Democracy and fairness are important as is the fact that we are
guardians of public funds.
 Is the 50% cut the only driver for change or is there also a need to
improve the way in which the Arts Council currently operates?
 The Arts Council would need to move towards a risk based approach,
but it is important to understand what that would mean in practice and
what would be lost, contact with NPOs for example and our reliance on
NPOs’ own performance data could be replaced by more standardised
data and information reporting requirements.
 How well does the head office/area/regional split work? A breakdown of
head office/ regional office functions and costs was requested.
 It is important to differentiate between regional councils and regional
offices. Regional councils have performed a valuable role, and an
important link to local authorities.
 Is there a need to simplify our funding processes?
 Some upfront or pump-priming investment may be required to realise
some potential for savings.
 Need to both promote resilience and maintain our focus on great art for
everyone. The two are not mutually exclusive.
 It would be important to consider the quantity and seniority that was
required to ensure appropriate art form intelligence, and also how better
alliances could be built with the sector to bring in expertise.
 Sharing of back office services and outsourcing of aspects of what we
do ought to be considered.
 The need to look at both staff and property costs, and IT as well;
[………………………………………………………….].
Information has been withheld from the above paragraph on the basis of
section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – prejudice to
commercial interests. This section allows us to withhold information where the
disclosure of such would prejudice the commercial interests of any party,
including the Arts Council itself.
(Ken Elvy left the meeting)
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14.
ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: CHANGE,
CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
(Richard Russell joined the meeting)
14.1
Andrea Stark and Richard Russell presented a paper which provided
members with an update on developments in local government and explored
possible challenges, and the opportunities to work with local government to
champion and invest in arts and culture.
14.2
Whilst the Arts Council’s wider remit provided an opportunity to have a broader
yet ‘single’ conversation with local authorities, it was noted that the economic
climate and the spending cuts that local government were required to make
could jeopardise the joint strategic approach to investment in the arts that the
Arts Council and Local Government have been working to develop.
14.3
The meeting also discussed the merits of placing local authorities under a
statutory duty to fund or provide arts and culture. The prevailing view at the
meeting appeared to be that persuading local authorities of the wider benefits
of investment in arts and culture, using facts, evidence and successful case
studies to make the case, was more likely to be successful in the current
economic climate. Andrea Stark and Richard Russell were asked to think
about how we could engage the local authority nominees on regional councils
in helping us to make the case.
14.4
It was reported that there was concern in some quarters that the Arts Council
was becoming too close to local authorities. While national council members
could understand the reasons for some of the concerns, they did not share
them. They felt that it was important that the Arts Council continued to work in
partnership with local government to pursue shared aims and objectives,
whilst also making it clear where the Arts Council disagrees with the approach
being taken by a local authority.
14.5
National Council noted the paper.
(Richard Russell left the meeting)
15.
NATIONAL PORTFOLIO UPDATE AND RESILIENCE
(Francis Runacres joined the meeting)
15.1
Francis Runacres provided National Council with an update on the
implementation of the National Portfolio. He reported that all funding
agreements are expected to be completed by the end of March. As part of the
process to finalise funding agreements, the Arts Council continues to require
NPOs to adopt leadership responsibilities appropriate to their circumstances.
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A more flexible risk-based approach to monitoring was being developed under
which formal annual reviews will only be conducted where necessary. The
Arts Council’s relationship with NPOs would instead be underpinned by
ongoing dialogue and monitoring, with a commitment to quarterly contact with
every organisation.
15.2
He also explained that work to establish the financial health of all
organisations in the portfolio was underway. The programme of work includes
a telephone survey of NPOs which would be completed after Christmas. It was
noted that the intelligence gathered so far suggested that there is anxiety
about volatile ticket income as consumers were purchasing late and looking
for discounts. Organisations were acting as expected - trying to keep costs
down. They were also aware of the further challenges on the horizon.
National Council noted the early emerging conclusion which was that while
solvency does not appear to be an issue at the moment, the ability of NPOs to
deliver in line with funding agreements and/or take risks might be impaired by
the harsh economic climate.
15.3
It was also reported Lottery income had exceeded forecasts and members of
National Council were asked for their views on whether a targeted
reserves/risk capital building investment programme similar to ‘Sustain’ to
support innovation should be developed using the additional lottery income. It
was made clear that the intention was not to create a bail out or rescue
package, and National Council suggested that this would need to be clearly
communicated. With this proviso, National Council gave in principle agreement
to the development of a new funding programme, similar to Sustain using
Lottery resources, being scoped with officers reporting back on this at the next
National Council meeting in March.
15.4 It also noted the work underway to:
(a)
(b)
complete negotiations on funding agreements, as set out in section 5.1
of the report, and the new funding relationship with National Portfolio
Organisations (NPOs) that is being introduced, as set out section 5.2 of
the report; and
assess the financial resilience of the NPOs and the emerging
indications that short to medium term financial confidence is falling.
(Francis Runacres left the meeting)
16.
GOVERNANCE REVIEW PAPER AND AMENDMENTS TO GOVERNANCE
HANDBOOK
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16.1
Ruth Alaile presented this item which outlined the findings from the recent
internal review of governance and recommended amendments to the
governance handbook to address issues that were raised in the review.
16.2
She explained that three- quarters of national council members present and
voting were required to approve the proposed amendments to Council
regulations.
16.3
National Council noted the need to strengthen arrangements for monitoring
the possibility of trustees receiving indirect benefits from the Arts Council’s
work whilst acknowledging the difficulties in keeping track of this given the
remote or incidental nature of some of the benefits and the circumstances in
which the Arts Council works with rolling programmes of investment etc. It was
agreed that National Council members should continue to inform the
Governance team of changes to their register of interests as soon as they
arise, and the governance team would record these updates on the Arts
Council’s business system – Arena.
16.4
National Council AGREED to:
17.
(a)
note the headline report of the internal review of governance, as
outlined in appendix 2 to the report;
(b)
approve the amendments to the terms of reference of National Council
and its Committees to incorporate new responsibilities for museums and
libraries and the amendments to Council Regulations and other
changes as set out in paragraph 5.5 and appendix 3 of the report;
(c)
note the proposals to amend the national and regional council member
expenses policies set out in appendix 4 to the report; and
(d)
approve the revised regional council appointments policy as set out in
appendix 5 to the report.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Jim Tough
17.1
Members were informed that this was the last National Council meeting that
Jim Tough would be attending as Area Executive Director (North). The Chair
and members of National Council congratulated him on his new role as
Executive Director of the Saltire Society. They wished him every success for
the future. They also placed on record their thanks and appreciation for his
work in leading the North area through the NPO process and the invaluable
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role that he has played in shaping Arts Council thinking on equality and
widening access to the arts in particular, during his time here.
The meeting closed at 4:15pm
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