Economy: Culture and the Arts

Lord Grade of Yarmouth Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grade of Yarmouth]

My Lords, first, I join in the congratulations to my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft on introducing this debate. I hope that the House will take my various interests across the film industry, museums and theatre and my previous interest in the National Lottery as read.

Some years ago during a previous recession—I forget which one it was, but you get to my age and they seem to come round so often—I was with a senior Treasury official. The papers were full of the cuts to the arts and I said to him, “When you look at this desperately bad publicity for the Government that you’re serving and the fact that such a small amount of money”—the money allocated to the arts—“can produce so huge an outcry, what’s the problem?”. He said, “You have to understand, Michael, that we love the outcry because it tells the markets that we’re serious about cuts. Of course the amount of money is pretty small but the markets take seriously that we’re serious about austerity”. Having said that, I look for reassurance from the Minister that that is no longer the case at HM Treasury.

I was very pleased to hear my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft use the word “celebration” in her introductory remarks. The arts in this country are in an extraordinarily healthy state. However, the situation is also somewhat topsy-turvy. The private and public sectors seem to have got confused in my mind. At the Grange, that crumbling ruin of a house in Hampshire, I saw a private sector production of Poulenc’s masterpiece of an opera, “The Carmelites”, which was a quite stunning performance. You would expect to see that in the subsided theatre. If you want the hottest tickets in London for the commercial theatre, you can see “One Man, Two Guvnors”, “War Horse” or “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, all of which emanated from the National Theatre. They are the three hottest, biggest money-making shows on the London West End stage. So there is cause for celebration.

The arts sector is a peculiar one, because it is where culture clashes, overlaps and competes with commerce, as well as embracing it. Defining that line is always terribly difficult. As always, it is about getting the balance right. It was a little bit depressing, I agree, to hear the Minister talk about value for money and the balance sheet of the arts. The arts are more important than that. Through public intervention in the arts we get greater risk taking. I do not think “War Horse” or “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” would ever have been produced in the commercial theatre. The gestation time was enormous, and the investment and the risk so great, although the reward was fantastic.

To my eternal shame and regret I sat on Alan Milburn’s social mobility committee for many months talking about what we could do to encourage social mobility without having understood or having the wit to push the arts. The arts is the one area where so many of the greatest stars—whether fine artists, conductors, performers, writers, directors, you name it—came from such humble origins and found a way to success through the arts, not necessarily through education. The arts have been proven to be a fantastic driver of social mobility.

Many studies have shown that the arts have a civilising effect. Young, troubled kids who get into music or somehow find a teacher who can show them that they have talent in the arts are able to express themselves and gain a feeling of self-respect and self-esteem through the arts. You cannot measure that on a balance sheet, but we know that it is part of what the arts deliver.

I do not believe that the arts can be immune from the economic downturn and the economic difficulties that we face. As we hear in this House pretty well every day, there are so many worthwhile competing claims on the limited amount of money available. I hope that this debate will serve to underline this for the Government, but all we can do is ensure that when things do get better the Government understand the priority and the benefits of the arts. These apply not only to the economy but also to what the arts say about this country. Obviously the economic contribution is terribly important.

The noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, who is also a friend, made two points which I take very seriously. First, I think it is time for a review of lottery distribution. We have not had one for some time, as it was interrupted by the Olympic contribution. The lottery is one of the great success stories of this country, but at all times we must ensure that if there is a review the lottery is not a substitution for government funding. That is the fundamental that John Major set out when he established the lottery. That could be very important.

Secondly, I agree with the noble Lord that we must pay attention to the looming skills shortage, particularly in the film business. The film business is so important: there are nearly 44,000 jobs in the British film sector at the moment. Those jobs will become fewer and fewer if we cannot replenish skills. There are great opportunities and more social mobility, because there are jobs at every level in the film industry. It is open to everybody, with great opportunities. We must emphasise skills and continue to worry about them.

Overall, I feel great about the arts. I think we are going through a temporary dip. Obviously, regarding funding, the arts always want more money and always should have more money, but there is not more money at the moment. I hope the Minister will reassure us that this Government understand the importance of the arts and the many contributions they make to this country, not only in fiscal terms.