ACE portfolio extension: NPOs wary of ‘standstill funding’

National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) have been reflecting on Arts Council England’s (ACE) announcement that it will extend its 2023-26 National Portfolio investment by an additional year in response to "external challenges" the sector is facing.

While the extension permits enough security for some organisations to begin looking ahead, many also expressed concern about an ongoing art funding "poly-crisis".

Earlier this month, New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich learned that it was one of seven arts and culture organisations, five of which are NPOs, that will have their local authority funding entirely cut under cost-cutting proposals put forward by Suffolk County Council.

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Douglas Rintoul, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the theatre, welcomed news of the extension while acknowledging it brought its own “challenges”.

“Amidst the current turbulent landscape of financial uncertainty, it provides us with the valuable opportunity to engage in long-term planning," he said.

“However, it is crucial to acknowledge the disappointment that may be felt by companies who had been preparing to apply to join the portfolio, as this extension introduces a delay in their plans.

“Additionally, the existing organisations within the portfolio now face the challenge of planning without the prospect of an investment increase.”

In November, Watershed Cinema was one of more than a dozen arts and culture organisations in Bristol that had its local authority funding cut by Bristol City Council.

Watershed CEO Clare Reddington said she was "grateful for the stability and capacity" afforded to the organisation by today's announcement from ACE, adding that she was "mindful that the poly-crisis will continue to challenge our mission and model as we seek to stabilise ourselves whilst continuing to centre our values.”

'Standstill funding'

Laura Canning, General Director of Opera North, also welcomed the extension, saying that it would allow the company to “plan ahead with increased confidence for the next three years” and “start the process for designing and building productions”.

She noted that “increased outlays in many areas, including running and heating buildings and increased production and materials costs…coupled with the effects of standstill funding for more than a decade and our commitment to maintaining the Real Living Wage” meant that “the money we have available for staging and touring productions is still decreasing.”

In a blog explaining the decision to extend existing investment, ACE Chief Executive Darren Henley said he hoped it would "provide some certainty in an uncertain world and allow organisations to plan, look at new business models and increase collaboration".

'Not enough money'

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Lissy Lovett, Executive Director of Mimbre Acrobats, said that although she agreed with much of Henley's blog ‘“new business models and increase[d] collaboration’ cannot make up for there not being enough money. I'm sick of pretending that they can.”

Dan Baker, Programme Manager at Exeter Northcott Theatre, also writing on X, said: “I'd imagine this extension is in part because it'll be an autumn general election – meaning there may not be clarity over the levels of funding by the next government when the applications would otherwise open,” wrote

“Hopefully, it would allow ACE to lobby for increased funding by 2027."

A Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: “We hope that ACE's decision will reassure NPOs and offer stability so they can continue to create excellent cultural experiences for the public."