Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether funding from the Arts Council which is allocated to unwanted community projects is in breach of the Arts Council Management Agreement 2016-20.

DCMS has a Management Agreement with Arts Council, England (ACE) which sets out the priorities ACE must work towards and the metrics which will be used to monitor their performance. These Management Agreements exist between DCMS and all its Arms Length Bodies.

ACE makes decisions about which organisations and projects to fund through their core funding settlement independently of government and Ministers, which means there is no question of political involvement in cultural funding decisions.

ACE assesses grant applications against a range of criteria including quality, public engagement, finance and management, activity types, disciplines, applicants and geographical areas. ACE has a strong track record of delivering funding to the arts and culture sector, and decisions are informed by local knowledge and expertise.

If you are concerned about a particular funding decision you can find advice on making a complaint or raising concerns about an organisation that has received funding from ACE at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/advice-and-guidance-library/making-complaint