UK orchestras are given a delay of execution
NewsWe were expecting a bloodbath tomorrow when Arts Council England was due to announce allocations for the next three years.
Two London orchestras were thought to be at risk, together with English National Opera and some smaller orgs.
However, due to the change of prime minister, the announcement has been delayed until a new Culture Seretary is in post to approve it (so much for the arms-length relationship between ACE and Government.
The ACE says: ‘We thank everyone for their patience. We are working with DCMS to reschedule this announcement as soon as possible.’
What funding? The country, apparently, is on its knees with difficult decisions to make…. Unless anyone can find £2.50 down the back of the Govt sofa in DCMS, it’s private donations from here on it. You want culture, then fund it yourself.
I understand your sentiment, but where do you stop? Maybe the Tate should be self-funded by people who enjoy visual arts. Perhaps the science nerds should be the supporters of the Museum of Natural History and Science Museum and not the taxpayers? Let’s really raise the price of Oyster cards; after all, why should people who never use the tube subsidize them? To some people classical music, opera, ballet and other higher art forms may seem an inexcusable waste of tax money, but please consider that the people who enjoy those things are also tax payers and they, too, need to feel they are getting something worthwhile out the money the tax man taketh away. Perhaps London has too many professional orchestras and there are going to be very difficult financial choices to be made not only in Great Britain but throughout the world very soon. It’s not going to be pretty.
Exactly. Then there are the Olympics of course. If ever a series of events should be capable of self financing by virtue of economies of scale, that is it.
And to keep government spending in perspective, £37 billion was allocated to NHS Test and Trace which, like so many government IT schemes, turned out to be next to useless. £37 bilion!
At least in part because Boris gifted the top job to the useless Dido Harding. Yet another example of the rampant corruption that pervades UK public life.
That would fund all UK Orchestras for decades!
Perhaps also the cost of policing football outside the grounds should be met by the clubs.
In 2017-18, the 20 Premier League clubs alone had combined revenues of over £4.8 billion. Mark Roberts, the football policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, put the cost of policing professional football matches in England and Wales at over £48 million a year, of which police are able to claim back only around £5.5 million from clubs.
Why should I pay for this? And how much does it cost to police the Proms?
Why is it always classical music vs. football?
Football, surrogate for Sport in general. Dept. Culture Media and Sport – the promises made regards arts funding to fund the London Olympics …. etc.
It isn’t – classical is compared with many activities, but football fans often ask why the arts are subsidised when their sport isn’t – totally ignoring the economies of scale in a stadium accommodating tens of thousands.
And if football fans were better behaved, the cost would be lower.
As a member of the classical music profession but also a huge football fan I should point out that – outside of London – the PL clubs contribute around 77% of policing costs. Sadly the Met is much more expensive and so the London clubs are not paying as much. Do bear in mind, however, that professional football contributes over £3bn a year to the Exchequer!
So dumb! ‘culture’ has been proved over & over again to provide huge mental health benefits, self esteem, discipline & harmony to society as well as contributing billions to GDP.
Andrew, the entire Arts Council England grant-in-aid this year is below £350 million, or barely more than £6 per capita. If you think it’s worth saving all or even some of that money, for all the difference it would make to government spending in other areas or to reducing national debt, versus the harm it would do to culture in England, then I question whether you care about orchestras at all.
I welcome the debate about public funding. I think the case is stronger than ever, when it represents such a tiny proportion of government spending.
It is a human right in this country for the greater good, not an optional extra in life!
Surely the ENO’s main problem is a millstone in the form of the Coliseum freehold? Wouldn’t it be more constructive for ACE to address this?
I also seem to remember reading here or elsewhere (some time ago, admittedly) that ENO is not allowed to tour as a condition of ACE funding.
Seems to me that ENO has been between a rock and hard place for years.
ENO haa not toured since it set up ENON, thanks to Lord Harewood’s ibspiration and jis ilk, in 1978 to then become award wining Opera North who do tour. No need for ENO to tour and an unnecessary expense and probably run on a great loss.
“No need for ENO to tour and an unnecessary expense and probably run on a great loss.”
Well, in a sense, all opera runs at a loss, it depends on what ACE wants to achieve. The fact remains, ENO has been criticised on many occasions for having the title “English”, but not serving England.
If ACE is serious about levelling up, surely we need more touring companies, not fewer. Opera North can’t serve the whole country outside Leeds.
I’m afraid that the delay was unavoidable after we were told by DCMS to plan for a 20%+ cut to the grant in aid budget.
I can’t say too much at this stage, but Arts Council leadership is now having to scope the possibility of major classical music organisations leaving the portfolio in Manchester and Cardiff, as well as London, owing to overlaps in those cities with BBC provision.
So BBC musicians, who I believe are salaried and presumably have reasonable pensions, will be protected at the expense of freelancers?
Funding and opportunity is very different for the BBC musicians.
and isn’t that the truth!