Mayor warns against sacrificing golden goose of London arts and culture

New report into arts spending fails to recognise that more than half the organisations regularly funded by Arts Council England in London spend 80 per cent of their time outside London.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has warned against implementing radical proposals that could see Arts Council England funding being switched from the capital to the regions. The idea is set out in the new report by the Commons Media, Culture and Sport Committee, which suggests a dramatic shift in funding as a way of ‘rebalancing’ the provision of arts and culture around the country.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘The report represents a lost opportunity, reigniting the overly simplistic ‘London vs the Regions’ debate around arts funding. This is based upon spurious calculations and a partial consideration of how the arts are funded. Arts Council England funding represents only one third of the public investment in the arts and more than half of the organisations it regularly funds spend 80 per cent of their time outside the capital.

‘London is one of the great world cities for culture, attracting visitors in the millions which helps generate billions the economy of the whole country. Sacrificing this particular golden goose for a bit of glib London bashing will do little to improve cultural provision in the regions and would be an act of sabotage for one of our country’s greatest assets.’

The Deputy Mayor of London for Culture Munira Mirza commented: ‘The CMS report fails to recognise that many Arts Council funded organisations in London spend most or all of their time touring outside the capital. This is funding that benefits the whole country. The report shows how easy it is to overlook the interdependence between London and the regions. Many London based organisations are involved in creative partnerships and co-commissions that often appear in the regions first and many culture vultures heading to London use it as a gateway to the rest of the country.

The Mayor’s Office made a formal submission to the Commons Media, Culture and Sport Committee, highlighting a range of facts that need to be considered when debating arts funding for the country. They include:

• Arts Council England (ACE) contributes on average only a third of the arts annual spend in England, with local authorities and DCMS contributing the rest.

• More than half the organisations regularly funded by Arts Council England in London spend 80 per cent of their time outside London. For example, since 2008 Artichoke have only produced work outside the capital and companies like Cheek by Jowl and the Actors Touring Company operate mainly in the regions.

• The Philharmonia Orchestra is resident at the Royal Festival Hall but performs twice as many concerts out of London.

• According to ACE, over the last three years more than 70 per cent of its lottery investment has funded projects outside of London, or projects that benefit the whole country. This is an upwards shift from the previous 60 per cent.

• When calculated per visit (and not per head) Arts Council investment in London is only £6.15, lower than any other English Region except the South West.

• National institution and arts organisations like the British Museum, the National Theatre, Royal Opera House and Tate benefit audiences across the country through touring, sharing of resources and expertise, education programmes and digital distribution.

• Cultural organisations in the regions deserve strong investment. This should not be at the expense of London, or vice versa. Six out of 10 of the most deprived boroughs in the country are in London, where a significant number of councils have dramatically cut their arts budgets.

• ACE funding has already been reduced for world-renowned institutions like Royal Opera House and English National Opera, which are competing with much better funded companies in the likes of Paris, Milan and Berlin.

To read the full press release click here.

Date: 5th November 2014