summary of decisions
National Council
Date
Time
Location
Tuesday 31 March 2009
10.30pm-4.30pm
Council Room
Present
Liz Forgan (Chair), Diran Adebayo, Janet Barnes, Kentaké ChinyeluHope, Chris Clarke, Jon Cook, Keith Khan (morning session), François
Matarasso, Elsie Owusu, Alice Rawsthorn, Anil Ruia, Alistair Spalding,
Rosemary Squire, Tom Shakespeare, Dorothy Wilson, Sue WoodfordHollick.
Apologies
Guests
Alan Davey, Althea Efunshile, Anupam Ganguli, Andrew Nairne,
Andrew Whyte and Sarah Exeter
Ekow Eshun, Keith Khan (for afternoon session)
Matthew Bell and Michael Ridge from Frontier Economics (Item 2),
Paul Blaker(Items 2, 9, 10 and 11 plus for induction purposes), Anna
Jobson Tony Panayiotou, Phil Cave, Susanna Eastman (all for the
morning session), Frances Runacres (Items 2,9, 11 and 12), Liz
Bushell (Item 8)
1.
Welcome and apologies
1.1 Liz Forgan welcomed everyone to the meeting, her first as Chair. In particular
she extended welcome to Sir Chris Clarke the interim National Member for the
South West.
2. Spending Review 2009: Shaping the Narrative
2.1Frontier Economics presented the work they have been doing towards shaping
our narrative for the next spending review.
2.2 Council were pleased to receive the presentation, they discussed the need for
Arts Council to develop an economic case for funding the arts in preparation for the
next Government spending review, and in the context of a broader programme of
thinking about how Arts Council should respond to the economic downturn.
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3. Emerging National Arts Strategy
3.1 Andrew Nairne, Executive Director, Art Strategy introduced Executive Board’s
vision for a national art strategy which is that it should create an intellectual
framework for the next investment strategy and inform wider thinking about the Arts
Council’s future direction, including the next Arts Council Plan. Andrew said that the
national arts strategy will enrich the current Arts Council Plan 2008-11 - its mission
(Great art for everyone), its five outcomes (excellence, innovation, diversity,
engagement and reach) and its development priorities.
3.2 Council discussed what features of the environment within which the Arts
Council operates, or contexts, they expect the National Arts Strategy to address.
3.3 The role of art and artists in society, changing art practice, different perceptions
of the value of art and the contribution of the arts to social and economic value were
regarded as necessary contextual considerations. Council suggested that the
Strategy should consider the economic ‘accelerator’ (from amateur to funded to
commercial) and the role of public subsidy in this.
3.4 Council also regard that the Strategy should take account of anticipated change
– in terms of technology, demography, politics, economy, and the environment should be considered as well as local, national and global perspectives.
3.5 Council discussed that based on what they currently know about the sector's
aspirations for the future and the Arts Council’s role in this the National Arts Strategy
should cover some of the following narratives:
 Great art for everyone – Arts Council’s mission
 The success we have had in building a capital infrastructure, and further realising
the potential of that capital infrastructure
 Partnership
 supporting the development of excellence, nurturing artists and developing
talent, how to create the best conditions for creativity, Risk and innovation:
continuous improvement
 the changing relationship between audiences and artists
 The mandate Arts Council has in the Arts Debate: public approval for the funding
of the arts and the impact of public subsidy
 Technology and the access this will generate; the converse power of the live,
shared experience offered by the arts and the new value in this
 Articulation of the Arts Council’s leadership role versus its enabling role, and
revelation and celebration of Arts Council’s values, being clear as to how parts of
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
the sector relate to them
Must relate policy to financial strategy; how ideas are reflected in where the
money goes.
3.6 Council felt that we must be clear about why we are producing this strategy,
what it will achieve and how our ambitions will be realised.
3.7 In terms of consulting on the draft strategy, Council asked whether there would
be a digital component to this i.e. a series of wikis to genuinely debate the matter
using open source technology.
4. Declarations of Interest
3.1 There were no declarations of interest cited with items for discussion on the
agenda.
5. Minutes for confirmation
5.1 The minutes from the meeting of 27 January 2009 were confirmed.
6. Sharing of arts experiences
6.1 Council discussed some of the arts events and experiences they have seen and
done in the past few months.
7 Chief Executive’s report
7.1 The Chief Executive’s report was noted. Alan Davey discussed the publication
of the independent report by Graham Marchant on the proposal for a Royal Opera
House in Manchester. Alan Davey said that it was a good report which gives rise to
some interesting questions about how we approach opera and lyric theatre
generally, and in particular, in the North West. He said that there is more
consultation to do, and discussion to have on this matter.
7.2 National Council asked that the Equalities Action Plan be discussed at the next
Council meeting, saying that it is a key imperative for the Arts Council.
8 Organisation Review
8.1 Council noted the progress of consultation with staff on the Organisational
Review and themes emerging.
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8.2 Council Members commented that there is a need for honesty about the savings
target which requires tough decisions on what we do and don’t prioritise through the
Organisational Review. However there was some concern about whether stopping
in-house projects might stamp out some of the innovation in the Arts Council.
They noted that we need to clarify that the areas are to be our primary business
units, and not just an extra layer of hierarchy.
8.3 In terms of considering the culture change that is required, National Council said
that we need to avoid a culture that is too top down, we need to be a more listening,
open organisation. They also felt that there needs to be a conscious effort to
disseminate the values of the organisation, building more trust and getting people
working together more across the organisation.
8.4 There is a need to get IT infrastructure working well to enable staff to work more
effectively together using multimedia technology.
8.5 Council asked whether the minutes from the Regional Councils’ discussions on
the organisational review could be gathered and shared via email to see where the
overlaps were in their views.
RESOLVED:
8.6 Council agreed that provisional arrangements for the proposed recruitment of
Area Executive Directors could commence.
9.0 Regularly Funded Organisation Investment Process
9.1 Althea Efunshile introduced the paper saying that since the last spending review
settlement public finances have come under intense pressure from the effects of the
recession and we have been asked by the DCMS to model the effects of cuts in the
third year (2010/11). Announcements on this will be made on or after the Budget on
22 April 2009.
9.2 Council noted the uncertainty about when the next Government spending review
will be and the high level provisional timetable(s) and communications plan that
have been prepared based on potential scenarios.
9.3 Council said that we should maintain an open communications with RFOs about
the uncertainty that exists and advise them to plan based on various scenarios.
9.4 They noted that a further update report would be provided in July.
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9.5 Council agreed that Council should establish a Sub-Group to support this work.
10 Self assessment and peer review
10.1 Council noted the report and results of consultation. They support the
principles of Self Assessment and Peer Review and said that clarity of purpose for
both proposals were paramount. They noted the research and pilots that were
commencing in April and May and the intention to produce detailed proposals for
national implementation in the autumn.
11 New regularly funded organisation criteria
11.1 National Council welcomed and supported the process.
11.2 They noted that the criteria should also provide the high-level framework for
investment decisions on the existing portfolio, informed with priorities, content and
detail from the emerging National Arts Strategy
12 Sustain
12.1 Althea Efunshile introduced the item which informs Council of a proposal for a
wider response to the recession and seek approval to the setting up of a new lottery
funded programme – ‘Sustain.’
RESOLVED:
Council
12.2 approved in principle the lottery budgets as set out in Appendix B for 2009/10
to 2012/13, and therefore the overall approach of reducing our year end lottery bank
balance to invest in Sustain.
12.3 approved the establishment of Sustain as set out in this paper with a budget of
£40 million for 2009/10 and 2010/11;
12.4 approved an increase in the Grants for the arts budgets in 2009/10 of £2.0
million to £54 million and for 2010/11 of £4.0 million to £56 million;
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12.5 Council commented that Sustain must be about helping strong organisations
who are suffering directly as a result of the recession. There must be good evidence
that an organisation receiving these funds is impacted by the recession and not as a
result of poor programming decisions or financial management for example.
12.7 They noted that the Sustain budget will only go so far, and that there will be
some very difficult decisions to take at a difficult time. They discussed the need for
criteria to base funding decisions upon.
12.8 Council also noted and supported the work on town centres that is being
discussed
13.0 Radar
13.1 Council noted the report.
14.0 Executive Director Resources Report
14.1 Council noted the Use of the Seal report. They noted that the Use of the Seal
report would no longer go to Council, but decided that it should be reported to Audit
Committee instead.
14.2 Financial accounts would be a regular item on Council agendas in future.
15.0 Regional Council Appointments
15.1 All nominations were approved.
15.2 Council noted again that diversity on the Regional Councils is poor and action
needs to be taken to right this. It was agreed that this would be discussed at a future
meeting of Council.
16 National Council: Collective Self Appraisal
16.1 It was agreed that collective appraisal for National Council would be
established.
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The meeting concluded at 4.30pm.
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