Non-London youth theatre high on Arts Council England funding agenda

Arts Council England has announced which organisations will join its national portfolio and receive a share of its £446 million funding. 

There has been a 20% increase in national portfolio organisations (NPO) that deliver creative activities to children when compared to the previous round of funding. 

276 of the 990 companies are receiving funding for the first time since before 2018 - an increase from 183 new companies in the last funding round.

A selection of youth theatre organisations across the UK have received an increase in funding, for example Burnley Youth Theatre which is now receiving £130,000 - an increase from £64,531 previously. 

A number of London-based organisations have received significant cuts, for example the National Theatre has received a 5% cut, meaning it is now down to £16.2 million. Notably, London-based theatre venue The Donmar, which previously received more than £500,000 a year, has been completely stripped of its funding. 

The funding for the Investment Principles Support Organisation (IPSO) programme has also been announced - a scheme that funds creative organisations as part of ACE’s ‘Let’s Create’ campaign to provide high-quality cultural experiences across the UK, including in education. 

Spreading funding across the country

141 organisations have been dropped out of the portfolio, as ACE shifts towards funding non-London based organisations. 39.5% of funding was given to organisations in London in the previous round, and that has now dropped to 33.3%. 

ACE is also encouraging organisations it funds to relocate away from London as part of its Transfer Programme. British Youth Music Theatre has been guaranteed two years of funding and is set to relocate by October 2024.

On the new funding announcement, the company tweeted: 'BYMT will continue to offer opportunities for development & progression to young people & professional artists; we look forward to partnering with companies, schools & venues across the UK to find & support new voices in musical theatre, thanks to ACE.’ 

Backlash

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has shunned the funding decisions from ACE saying: ‘Many of our world-leading cultural organisations will be left devastated by this announcement of over £50 million worth of government cuts to London’s arts funding. 

‘These cuts could not have come at a worse time as arts organisations already face a triple whammy of spiralling operating costs, soaring energy bills, and the impact of both the pandemic and the cost of living crisis on audience figures.’

Some members of the sector have reacted negatively to ACE’s announcement. The Musicians Union (MU) has heavily criticised the decision by Arts Council England to make major cuts in public funding to a selection of arts organisations. The English National Opera is one of the most high-profile cases - it has had its NPO funding cut and been offered £17 million to relocate to Manchester  . 

The MU’s general secretary, Naomi Pohl, says: ‘Arts organisations have been trying to deliver their best work despite diminishing funding over the past decade. This latest news about ENO is a sad indictment of the current government's apparent disinterest in supporting the UK's arts infrastructure as a whole.’ The MU has said it is going to undertake immediate discussions with the affected companies to work out the best plan moving forward. 

For further information visit the ACE website.