Council spending on culture drops by 43% since 2010

Council spending on cultural services fell by 43% between 2010-11 and 2022-23 in real terms, according to analysis by The Guardian.

During that period, the figures show a decline in local authority investment in all areas except social care, with cuts of 40% for roads and transport, 35% for housing and 33% for planning and development.

The analysis follows an announcement from the government of a £600m support package for councils, which will see an additional £500m added to the Social Care Grant to help fund children's and adult social care.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told Arts Professional that protecting these services will "reduce pressure on council’s budgets, and allow local authorities to continue to support the cherished arts venues, libraries, youth services and leisure centres at the heart of our communities". 

Speaking to The Guardian, Shadow Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said libraries, sports centres and youth provision were “not a garnish” and rejected calls from some Conservatives to reduce the types of services that councils had to offer.

“What’s very clear to me is that we are going to inherit a very difficult situation because the Tories have brought [councils] to the brink, offering them a very small amount of money now which cynically to me is about them trying to just get them over the line for a general election,” she said.

“But it’s not going to do anything about the long-term problems that we would inherit and we’re under no illusions about the scale of those problems.”

Around 26 English councils have declared or are on the verge of bankruptcy, with dozens more dealing with high debt levels. Recently, several local authorities, including Bournemouth, Somerset, Hampshire, Suffolk, Coventry, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Leeds, have proposed cuts to their cultural services as they look to prioritise funds for social care.