The Minister for Digital and Culture (Matt Hancock)
I am today publishing the report of the tailored review of Arts Council England. The review was first announced in the culture White Paper in March 2016, and was officially launched on 9 August 2016.
The review’s purpose was to challenge and seek assurance of the continuing need, efficiency and good governance of Arts Council England. The review concluded that the functions of Arts Council England are necessary and should continue to be delivered by Arts Council England in its current form as a non-departmental public body.
The review found Arts Council England to be an efficient and well governed organisation that was highly regarded across the arts and culture sectors. The review made a number of recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of Arts Council England, for example through further integrating museums and libraries; further supporting skills capability and financial resilience; developing more local partnerships and strengthening the use of cultural investment as regeneration capital; strengthening the assessment of the impact of its funding; and ensuring that its funding is fully accessible in order to benefit everyone and not just the privileged few. There are recommendations too for DCMS, on providing stronger assurance that the Arts Council is investing public money effectively, and reviewing the cultural property and export licence functions.
The review was carried out by DCMS, and an independent challenge panel was appointed to assure its robustness and impartiality. The review was carried out with the full participation of Arts Council England, and gathered evidence from a range of stakeholders from across Government and the arts and culture sectors and through a public consultation. I would like to thank all those who contributed to the review.
The report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tailored-review-of-arts-council-england
[HCWS611]