Dorries: abolition of ACE ‘not on government agenda’

There are no plans to get rid of Arts Council England as part of a review of public bodies, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has told MPs.

Appearing before the DCMS Select Committee today, Dorries said that while the system for distributing arts and culture funding around England – a function carried out by ACE – is "not perfect", there are no plans to axe the organisation.

Asked whether possible abolition of ACE was on her agenda, she replied: "Absolutely not."

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Under plans set out by Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Public Bodies Review Programme will require DCMS to review its public bodies.

It will need to assess whether their function should be delivered by the state, or whether an alternative, such as abolition, privatisation, or a merger is "more fitting".

More civil servants

Quizzed by committee member Kevin Brennan on the potential implications for ACE, Dorries said that getting rid of the body would result in a need for more civil servants at the department to carry out its functions – something government is keen to avoid.

"If there were a proposal to abolish the arm's-length body that distributes [arts] funding, what we would probably need is an increase in the number of civil servants to do that distribution," Dorries said. 

"So I think the argument that we need to reduce the number of civil servants and reduce the arm's length body kind of compete with each other.

"For me what's important is that the money goes out into the areas of the UK where it has never been spent before, outside of the South East and London.

"As Secretary of State of DCMS I would fight very strongly the corner for the distribution of arts funding and the maintaining of levels of arts funding across the UK."

Gaming the system

Committee chair Kevin Brennan also quizzed Dorries about ongoing efforts to redistribute arts funding outside of London, expressing concern that some organisations are attempting to "game the system" by registering at postal addresses in parts of the country where they have no roots.

Dorries said she is aware of a London-based organisation in receipt of ACE funding attempting such a thing. 

"I have actually spoken to a museum in the far North of England who have been written to by an NPO based in London asking them whether they could register their NPO at the museum's address."

"I am raising this issue at my next meeting with Arts Council England."

As part of a wide-ranging session, Dorries also outlined government progress in relation to efforts to achieve fair payment for songwriters and composers from music streaming, something the committee called for action on in a report published last July. 

"As a government we are right behind your recommendations," Dorries said. 

"We want to get to a place where we can see all of those unrecouped earnings paid and get to a place where those individual artists receive fair remuneration." 

Legislative change

Speaking in a debate in the House of Commons yesterday (18 May), DCMS Minister Julia Lopez, who has responsibility for creative industries, said government is progressing with efforts to address the situation and is considering potential changes to legislation.

Lopez said that the Intellectual Property Office is working alongside industry experts to develop solutions to issues around contract transparency and music metadata. 

"That will have an impact on the way in which songwriters and composers are remunerated for their work on streaming," she said. 

"We have also commissioned independent research on the impact of potential legislative interventions aimed at improving creator remuneration."