Arms Length Funding
John Tusa’s Arts Taskforce has recommended that Arts Council England’s major Regularly Funded Organisations (ROFs), such as the RSC, the National and the Royal Opera House, should be funded directly by the DCMS, following the lead given by the Scottish Parliament.
That’s the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and now the Tories in Westminster who want to extend their power over yet another aspect of national life.
Since Jenny Lee set up the Arts Council of Great Britain in the late forties, the arms length funding principle has been central and it must remain so. For the government to fund directly is a very dangerous road to go along. We may feel that (should they get into power) David Cameron and the 2007 Conservative Party would not abuse their position by putting political pressure on these organisations, but who can speak for future governments of whatever stamp?
Nick Hytner puts it very well in a statment to The Stage: “I have worked for continental opera companies whose funding comes direct from government. Bluntly, it comes with far more political interference and baggage than ours does. The arts council adds value to the national companies. There’s a productive two-way dialogue between us. Splitting us off would cause more bureaucracy and would waste time.”
The Conservatives have not said that they will accept the report’s recommendations (although the only thing they have definitely said they will not accept is taking sport out of the DCMS) but this is the first time that a major political party has mooted the abandonment of the arms length principle in England and it is a dangerous sign. Already ACE is subject to government pressure to write its (the government’s) priorities into its funding decisions: once can imagine how much pressure will be put on the national ROFs if they come under direct government control.
This is very worrying.