ACE review to look at safeguarding funding decisions from political gain

An independent review of Arts Council England (ACE) will assess how decisions about arts and culture funding can be safeguarded against being used for short-term political expediency.

The review’s terms of reference, published today (20 February), lay out the scope of its investigation, including an exploration of the relationship between ACE and the government, how well the arm’s length principle is working, and how effective the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s oversight of the funding body is.

Led by Labour peer Baroness Hodge, who served as Minister for Culture under Gordon Brown, the ACE review is the first since 2017, following an aborted review announced in March 2024 under the previous Conservative government.

That review’s remit, with Tory peer Dame Mary Archer at the helm, sought to identify how ACE could implement 5% cost savings and whether the state should deliver its functions or alternative options, including abolition, privatisation or a merger. However, it was paused ahead of July’s general election before being “closed”.

The current Labour review will not examine whether or not ACE should exist. Instead, most of the terms of reference relate to its activity and decision-making, including how the funding body ensures its awards are “fair, well-evidenced and reflect the interests and needs of communities”.

Earlier this week, the funding body issued an apology after proposed but unpublished changes to two of its funding programmes, which it hoped would make applicants’ chances of success more “fair and reasonable”, sparked concern and criticism in the sector.

Assessing ACE’s grant-making and monitoring processes

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has previously said she hoped the review would avoid “the deadening debate between access and excellence”, saying: “It has to be both. [Archer’s] review was very much framed around those two competing poles.”

Hodge’s review will examine ACE’s approach to “the entire arts funding ecosystem” in England to facilitate “excellence, access and opportunity” and whether the principle of delivering “both excellence and access” is embedded in its work.

Regarding purpose and structure, the review panel will explore how effectively ACE’s teams and divisions operate, how effectively and efficiently the funding body is governed and how accountable it is for its actions.

Also in scope is the question of whether ACE’s grant-making and monitoring processes – such as its much-maligned platforms for funding, Grantium, and audience data reporting, Illuminate – are “easy, timely and proportionate” to navigate.

The length of funding cycles will also be scrutinised, as well as how organisations that have had their funding cut are supported.

The review will analyse ACE’s working relationships and partnerships with its stakeholders. It will look at its connections with local authorities and mayors, cultural and creative organisations it does not fund, and how far it cooperates and shares knowledge with the arts councils in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Call for evidence

As part of the review, the government has launched an open call for evidence from anyone who has an interest in or a view about ACE’s operation and what it delivers.

The 42-question survey is aimed at everyone from audiences and users of the artforms ACE funds to creative practitioners, freelancers and national, local or community-based organisations. The survey will close at midday on 24 April.

The government has said the review will be “transformative”, examining everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement to “shine a light on how we can break down barriers, amplify diverse voices and ensure that arts and culture are truly accessible to everyone, regardless of background or postcode”.

ACE chief executive, Darren Henley said: “Baroness Hodge’s review gives all of us at the Arts Council the chance to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to serve audiences right across England – and that we’re nurturing an environment where artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries can create their best work for those audiences.

“We’re looking forward to working with Baroness Hodge and her advisory panel to make sure that happens for everyone everywhere every day.”