Future Arts Funding

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ring-fence funding for the arts and reverse the decision to siphon off funding from them to help pay for the olympics.

Submitted by Nick Reed – Deadline to sign up by: 06 June 2010 – Signatures: 1,673

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/artsVolympics/

Government response

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has been clear that putting the economy back on its feet and restoring the nation’s finances is this Government‘s top priority. Therefore all budgets, whether large or small, are going to have to be re-examined. The arts budget will not, therefore, be ring-fenced in the coming Spending Review.

The Olympic transfers began in February 2009 and run in 15 instalments until August 2012. The arts Lottery good cause is contributing a total of £161 million to this transfer.
It was always clear that money raised by the National Lottery would be a key part of the funding package for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and that some of any increase in cost would have to be met from the Lottery. However, even after the Olympic transfers, the arts good cause can still expect to receive, on current projections and at current shares, over £1 billion of new Lottery funding over the five year period of the Olympic transfers (2008/09 to 2012/13).

After 2012, all of the Lottery good causes income will revert to non-Olympic causes, including the arts. On current projections and at the current share of 16.66%, the arts can expect to receive an extra £46 million in 2013/14, compared with 2007/08. The Lottery good causes will also benefit from development value realised from the Olympic site after the Games.

The arts good cause has received over £3.5 billion of Lottery funding since the Lottery began in 1994 and the Government is committed to increasing this further by restoring the National Lottery to its original purpose. We have recently announced a consultation to change the National Lottery shares to 20% for each of the good causes of sport, heritage and the arts. Under these proposals the arts good cause can expect to receive £50 million a year extra in Lottery funding.