July 2007
National Campaign for the Arts convenes meeting with Tessa Jowell to discuss arts funding and the Olympics
Extract from National Campaign for the Arts Friday Briefing 22 June and 29 June 2007.
On Tuesday 19 June, the NCA convened and chaired a meeting between the Secretary of State, Tessa Jowell, and arts organisations, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This was an opportunity for NCA member organisations to ask questions about the funding situation following the diversion of further Lottery funds to the Olympics and the effect on Arts Council England’s (ACE) Grants for the Arts scheme, and to raise concerns about the resources available for the Cultural Olympiad.
The Secretary of State and Peter Hewitt of ACE gave brief addresses before answering questions from the floor, with further contributions from Alan Davey of DCMS and Andrew Whyte of ACE. Discussion focussed on involving small organisations in the Cultural Olympiad, supporting emergent artists during the run up to the Olympics, encouraging philanthropy in the UK, and promoting participation in the arts.
The Secretary of State expressed sympathy for the sector’s concerns, although she felt that these had been amplified by the media. She said that between 2007 and 2012, the Lottery and the Exchequer would invest approximately £2 billion in the arts and added that the Lottery would have first call on the profits from the sale of Olympic land once the LDA had been repaid for its land acquisition. The level of reimbursement could not be guaranteed but it was expected that the Lottery would be repaid within five or ten years. She also reported that the Chancellor had made a commitment that no more Lottery funding would be diverted to the Olympics before 2012. The Secretary of State offered to attend further meetings if this were felt to be useful.
Peter Hewitt acknowledged discussions between the DCMS and Treasury about the use of Lottery money for the Olympics and recognised that the loss was a smaller sum than it might have been, for which he thanked the Secretary of State. He gave an assurance that ACE would do its best to protect the small scale, innovative and interdisciplinary arts. He stressed that the Games offered a huge opportunity for the arts and that ACE and artists would be at the heart of Olympic plans. He added that it was now vital to focus on representing the success of the arts sector to Government to encourage a strong settlement in the Comprehensive Spending Review this autumn.
The minutes of the meeting are available on the NCA website, along with updated information about the NCA’s CSR campaign at:
http://www.artscampaign.org.uk/campaigns/afs/CSR%2007%20-%20SoS%20mtg%2019%20June%2007.html
© NCA 2007
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