26 November 2015
MEDIA STATEMENT
National Campaign for the Arts Chair Samuel West’s response to the Spending Review
and Autumn Statement
The National Campaign for the arts congratulates the Chancellor, George Osborne, for
recognising the case for arts investment that the DCMS, the Arts Council, artists and
audiences made to him.
As we had expected, arts organisations in England have approached the last five years of
unprecedented cuts to public funding with a creative, ‘can-do’ attitude. Our sector, already
the most lean, efficient and entrepreneurial in Europe, has done everything it can to
safeguard the volume and quality of the work it produces. The annual NCA Arts Index has
shown how many arts organisations have increased earned income in order to offset cuts to
local and national government funding and how the increasing use of ‘additional’ funding
from the National Lottery has become essential to support the core arts infrastructure. But
that process could not continue forever. At a point where real and lasting damage seemed
inevitable, the NCA is delighted to see a DCMS settlement that reflects the Chancellor’s view
that “deep cuts in the small budget of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport are a false
economy.” We thank the Chancellor for listening, and for understanding.
The NCA believes arts funding is an investment that delivers massive cultural, social,
economic and educational returns for our communities and for the nation. The arts account
for a tiny part of Government spending but a large part of what makes us celebrate together
as a country. They provide a safe space to ask difficult questions for society in complicated
times. They are a huge driver of our tourist industry. We should be proud of them, and of our
support for them.
Although we are relieved to see that an increase in Arts Council funding of £10m per annum
to 2019/20 only equals a 5% reduction in real terms, that small cut will almost certainly be
compounded by further cuts from increasingly hard-pressed local authorities. The
battleground now shifts. We must continue to shout loud for local authority investment in arts
and culture, particularly outside London. We look to the Chancellor to build on the good
investment decision he made yesterday by protecting local government grants that allow
affordable and widespread access to culture. We must do everything we can to make sure
that restricted funds for our sector don’t mean restricted access for our audiences, and that
the arts continue to bring the nation together for generations to come.
We congratulate the sector for making such a clear and consistent case for investment in the
arts.
Samuel West
Chair, National Campaign for the Arts
For interviews and further comment from the NCA please contact Gemma Nelson:
gemma@bonculture.co.uk / 020 7438 2040.