Arts' Lottery Funding in Jeopardy

The arts could lose all of its national lottery funding by the end of 2001, according to a report in today's Independent newspaper. This could spell a crisis in the arts in the new millennium. In 1997, approximately £247m of Arts Council funding across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland came from the lottery, compared to £228m from combined government grants.

Despite increasingly public expressions of concern from the likes of Sir Peter Hall and Michael Bogdanov, the Government has refused to promise that lottery funding for the arts will continue beyond the beginning of 2002 when the licence of lottery operator Camelot expires.

Three film production studios have been exempted from the uncertainty. Last May, they were awarded £92.3m over a six-year period from lottery cash. The Government has confirmed that these contracts will be honoured.

The newspaper cites one senior arts administrator who claims that the Government is considering channeling all lottery arts cash into health and education causes from 2002.

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