Arts: Funding

Baroness Rawlings Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, on securing this debate and on his informed and valuable introduction. As an artist in his own right, his contribution is all the more valuable to this discussion. I am grateful to him for his consistency in keeping the subject on the public agenda.

Your Lordships’ House counts among it several distinguished Peers who have highly responsible positions in the arts, including many artists, writers, composers and impresarios, as well as art lovers, many of whom have spoken in this remarkable debate today. It is indeed encouraging that we, as a nation, are so passionate about the arts and that their future is being discussed again today in this Chamber. I am so pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Evans, has answered this debate for the Opposition. He has spent much of his life involved in the arts and he understands how important they are. I shall write to him with details about Renaissance and the MLA, as there is not an enormous amount of time in which to respond to him now.

The arts are important for countless reasons, many of which have been highlighted by noble Lords this afternoon. They are important to our nation because they give a sense of who we are. Britain evokes thoughts of Shakespeare, Orwell, Turner, Elgar, the Beatles and many more. I agree with my noble friend Lady Bonham-Carter that the arts are important because they communicate the tremendous joy at being alive, and they can communicate, too, the sadness that one can experience. As Pablo Picasso said:

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”.

They are important because regular participation in the arts is proven to make us healthier and happier. The noble Lord, Lord Evans, is right: the arts also contribute to our country financially; we are a nation famous for our cultural exports.

I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Howarth, the noble Baroness, Lady Young, and my noble friend Lord Brooke that this Government do indeed value the arts in every sense. We recognise their vital role in British society. I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Scott, for stressing the value of the arts in heritage. They also play a vital role in the big society and we will continue to support them during our time in government.

Many noble Lords have shown concern about cuts, including the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, whose expertise in this area is well known. The Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey, recently told a Commons Select Committee that he would give a blank cheque to the arts sector if he could, as would we all. His and our hands are tied somewhat by our inheritance of the worst peacetime economic conditions in living memory. The coalition Government, however, have made a commitment to eliminate the structural deficit by 2014-15 and our challenge is to fulfil that without causing irreparable damage to British cultural life. The former is under way; the latter is still a challenge, especially for services such as schools, hospitals and our Armed Forces.

As a department, DCMS has had to contribute towards achieving that through the spending review. The arts budget is not immune and the Arts Council’s grant from DCMS has been cut by 29.6 per cent. Within that, the budget that immediately supports organisations that create or enable art will be cut by no more than 15 per cent over the next four years. The Arts Council will announce its funding portfolio for the next three years within two months of this discussion. Understandably, some organisations may see their funding reduced and some may see their public funding cut entirely, but the British system has always shown itself to be resilient in challenging times.

I add my congratulations at this point to my noble friend Lord Wasserman on his eloquent and witty maiden speech. He spoke so many words so dear to my heart and I agree with his pleas for active participation and for buying young artists’ work. Perhaps I should declare an interest in having owned a contemporary art gallery from 1969 to 1988. We need public support for the arts as well as state funding. This House and the Government will benefit from his knowledge, especially of philanthropy tax measures, which, as he knows, are a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

That leads me to philanthropy, which, in my view, should mean charitable giving without counting the cost. Much has been made of this Government’s plan to foster philanthropy, as many noble Lords have mentioned. Let me reassure the House that this is not a plan to replace government funding for the arts but a route to help arts bodies to diversify their income sources. Philanthropy and business support will continue to be key income streams for culture in the years ahead. It will not be easy. We know from many years of experience that relationships take time to be nurtured and we believe that there is still considerable scope for growth in private giving to culture. We are committed to supporting culture in fundraising activities. There is some concern that fundraising is more challenging in the regions outside London. I am sure that that is broadly right, but it is not impossible that many cultural bodies outside London are already securing significant investment from donors and corporate support. I appreciate the kind words from the noble Lord, Lord Myners, and support what he said regarding our outstanding museums and galleries. I will take away his important suggestions concerning “in lieu”.

Some concern was expressed by several noble Lords that cultural education programmes will be most badly hit by these cuts. I thank my noble friend Lady Benjamin for her passionate contribution. She continues to be a wonderful advocate for both the arts and young people and I shall write to her on her specific questions. I understand her concerns and those of many others. I believe that it was Sophocles who said:

“Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future”.

I agree with the request of the noble Lord, Lord Moser, for the Government to have a vision; the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, regarding the support for music; and the plea of my noble friend Lord Colwyn for more support for jazz. One of our priorities for arts and cultural education is to make certain that all children learn an instrument and learn to sing—which is, I dare say, music to the ears of the noble Lord, Lord Moser. It will, I hope, provide reassurance to say that children and young people are one of the Arts Council’s priorities for the next 10 years, as mentioned by my noble friend Lord Eccles. The Government will make certain that the young do not miss out on artistic involvement. I am sure that noble Lords will look forward to reading Darren Henley’s independent review of music education, which will be published imminently.

I shall say a few words on higher education and, specifically, the role of conservatoires, as raised in the eloquent speech made by my noble friend Lord Black. As he is aware, that is a decision for the Higher Education Funding Council for England, but I reassure him that the Government are well aware of his concerns. The noble Lord, Lord Bragg, mentioned education. He has great experience in that field. His programme on Aristotle tied into the debate concerning education. If I may add one of my favourite quotations, Aristotle said:

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”.

Several noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Shipley, raised the issue of local authorities that have had to cut their support to arts organisations and libraries. I spoke about libraries the other day. I understand the concern about that development. It is the Government’s belief, however, that decisions are best taken at local level. We believe that local government best knows the people and the communities that it serves. We may not always agree with the decisions being taken at local level, but we support each council’s right to make them.

I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. I cannot claim to compete with her on the crumpet stakes but, whatever her merits are in that field, they pale into insignificance alongside her knowledge, experience and lifetime contribution to the world of the arts. I reassure her that this Government believe in the arts reaching everyone.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Luce, for his work in the voluntary arts sector. We will continue to work with that sector to encourage participation.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, for his informative contribution on the arts in the criminal justice system. I thank him for his tireless work as president of the Arts Alliance and hope to reassure him when I say that DCMS officials will continue to work with Ministry of Justice colleagues in that area.

The Government are well aware that the next few years will be difficult for the artistic world. We are a nation of art lovers. People are encouraged to visit us to experience the quality of our culture. I am confident that, as long as artists continue to produce exciting, innovative and challenging work—work that the public want to experience—they will go from strength to strength under this Government. I am confident, too, that the financial support provided by this Government will continue to support a strong arts infrastructure. With the correct measures put in place, this Government will oversee a considerable increase in the amount of charitable giving to the arts.

Your Lordships’ House can boast the most distinguished and experienced group of people, unrivalled anywhere. We have had a most outstanding, constructive debate, from which I am sure that we have all learnt a great deal. This is the House of Lords at its best. I thank noble Lords for their knowledgeable and wise contributions to this debate, especially the two maiden speakers, the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, and my noble friend Lord Wasserman.

I apologise to those noble Lords who have contributed but to whose many points I have not been able to respond. Unfortunately, time is limited. I will of course write to my noble friend Lord Colwyn and to all noble Lords to whom I have not responded. I will look into their points and take them back to the department. Once again, I thank the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, for giving us this special opportunity. I look forward to future discussions on this issue.