Arts Council England announces cuts of 6.9% in 2011-12
29 October 2010, London, UK
Arts Council England (ACE) has announced cuts of 6.9% to all 850 Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) in 2011-12.
This follows the Government’s decision to reduce ACE’s budget by 29.6% (£459 million) over four years.
Ministers are insisting that the necessary savings should be made by slashing ACE’s own costs by 50% whilst passing on cuts of no more than 15% to RFOs.
The biggest casualties will therefore be non-frontline organisations such as Arts & Business (A&B) and Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), whose funding will halve. ACE’s fund for other artistic work – including cross border touring – is also expected to fall by 64% next year.
Although this may be relatively good news for RFO’s in the short term, deeper cuts will follow in 2012, with all organisations expected to reapply for funding under a new ACE framework being launched next week.
At least 100 RFOs could lose their funding completely according to ACE chief executive, Alan Davey.
In the meantime, two leading opera companies have already highlighted some outcomes of the first round of cuts on opera provision across the UK:
The Royal Opera House has shelved its proposed £100 million satellite company in Manchester – ROHM.
Scottish Opera fears that the success of its national touring programme may be hampered by cuts to the Cross Border Touring Fund, which supported a very successful Scottish Opera residency in Belfast last year.
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