Culture Secretary defends track record on regional culture

Culture Secretary Maria Miller has accused the former Labour administration of failing to address a regional funding imbalance and said the Government is “trying to make sure that our great national institutions do work regionally.” Referring to a recent exhibition put on in her Basingstoke constituency by the V&A, she said: “We should be applauding the work that our national institutions are doing in the regions.” But the new Shadow Minister for Culture and the Creative Industries, Helen Goodman, has issued a statement saying: “it is not enough for the national institutions to work in the regions.” Her comments come in response to the publication of the new report, ‘Rebalancing Our Cultural Capital’, which shows that London gets government funding for culture of £69 per head each year while the rest of the country gets £4.60 per head. Describing Labour as “committed to a vision of One Nation Britain and a One Nation arts policy”, she said: “The Government should take urgent action to rebalance the cultural economy.”