ACE chief executive Alan Davey
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ACE faces 'extremely challenging' situation after latest cuts

Arts Council England (ACE) has said it faces an "extremely challenging" situation in the wake of additional funding cuts that were announced in the Chancellor's recent autumn statement.

ACE chief executive Alan Davey has revealed that the government's cuts to deparmental administration budgets will be passed on by the Department of Culure, Media and Sport (DCMS) directly to funding bodies including the Arts Council.

Davey said today: "We have been informed that the reduction to DCMS budgets announced in the autumn statement will be passed on to the Arts Council as a cut to our Grant in aid of £3.9 million (1 per cent) in 2013/14 and £7.7 million (2 per cent) in 2014/15.

"The government’s intention seems to have been that Whitehall departments absorb any cuts themselves from efficiencies but since the DCMS has already given itself a 50 per cent administration cut – which was also applied to the Arts Council and other NDPBs – the Department’s latest cuts have been passed straight on to the bodies it funds.

"What is clear is that our Grant in aid budgets for National Portfolio Organisations and Museum activity will reduce by 1 per cent and 2 per cent. We must now look closely at the figures and decide how we will pass these cuts on."

The news comes as a further blow to subsidised arts organisations that are also facing cuts from local authorities. As recently reported, Newcastle City Council is set to axe arts funding by 100%.

"Some organisations are also having to deal with local authority cuts and so the situation is extremely challenging," Davey acknowledged.

- by Theo Bosanquet

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