News – Tusa speaks to Tories

The Culture Department should be separated from the Sports Ministry; major national regularly funded organisations should be funded directly by Government; tax and Gift Aid rules should be simplified to increase private giving; and no further Arts and Heritage Lottery funds should be diverted to pay for the 2012 Olympics, according to a new report by Sir John Tusa.

A New Landscape for the Arts has been published as the output of a policy task force set up by David Cameron for the Conservative Party. Taking an arts-based standpoint, the politically independent group examined structures of government, funding and taxation policy, education and the arts, and technology. Other recommendations suggest an entitlement to culture for all young people, and that arts organisations use of the Internet should expand from being primarily a marketing tool to a universally accessible alternative venue. All the recommendations were based on the idea that the principle of excellence in the arts must be absolute. ACE Chair Sir Christopher Frayling, whilst opposing direct Government funding of the major arts organisations, welcomed the report, saying that many of its recommendations are of real value and we look forward to discussing them further. Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey told ArtsProfessional, its too soon to say what recommendations we will take up, but I hope people agree that it helps frame the debate about future arts policy.