ACE asks government to extend National Portfolio to 2028

Arts Council England (ACE) has halted the launch of the application process for its next National Portfolio and will ask government to extend the current portfolio by a further year to 2028.

The public funder, which distributes £467m of core funding to cultural organisations each year, said its National Council took the decision on Wednesday (19 March) “in light of recent external developments”.

“Firstly, the scope of the government’s imminent Spending Review has become clearer,” a statement issued by ACE said.

“It will now be a zero-based review, meaning that every budget line across all departments will be reviewed from scratch, including the money the Arts Council receives.

“We recognise that government will therefore not be in a position to confirm Arts Council’s funding until after the Spending Review is concluded in June.

“Secondly, the government’s independent review of the Arts Council, led by Baroness Margaret Hodge is now underway, and is due to report to government in the autumn, with publication due in 2026.

“Thirdly, the government has published a white paper in which it outlines its proposed devolution framework. This is likely to have a significant impact on local government structures, and on how we work with them.”

ACE said the combination of these factors led it to decide not to proceed with the current timeline for the National Portfolio Investment Programme. Detailed applicant guidance had been due to be published next month with the window for applications scheduled to open on 2 June.

Discussions with government

Instead, ACE will recommend to government that the 2023-2027 National Portfolio is extended through to 31 March 2028.

“We are currently in discussions with the government, and will confirm once these are completed, which is likely to be after the Spending Review,” ACE said.

Should the government rubberstamp ACE’s request it would be the second time the 2023-26 portfolio has been extended.

In January 2024 ACE announced it was extending the portfolio by an additional year in response to “external challenges” the sector is facing.

ACE said its intention with that extension was to provide organisations with the stability to plan, look at new business models, and increase collaboration.

“By recommending an extension of the portfolio to March 2028, we will embed these benefits further, and as custodians of public money we will continue to ensure this investment is well managed, and continues to offer excellent value for the public, for the duration of the portfolio,” ACE said.  

“We will continue to make improvements to the experience of being in the portfolio and will be inviting National Portfolio Organisations to work with us on simplification to monitoring requirements.

“We’re committed to continually improving how we work, and to co-design better ways of supporting our portfolio, and we will use the additional time between now and the next National Portfolio Investment Process to further improve our own processes.”

‘Significant uncertainty’

ACE has acknowledged that the news “creates significant uncertainty” for cultural organisations – both those who are currently members of the National Portfolio, and those seeking to join in the future.

“We understand that National Council’s recommendation to extend the term of the current National Portfolio may be extremely disappointing for organisations who had been planning to apply,” ACE said.

“Waiting an additional year will not be what you were planning or expecting, but when we do launch our next funding round, we want to ensure we can do so with sufficient certainty.  

ACE said that over the coming weeks, its area teams will reflect on the local impact of the proposed changes and will be available to have local conversations about the implications.

“We recognise that you may have set aside time to develop an application, and this news will change your plans, and we apologise for that. We hope that this update gives you the clarity you need to make plans for the months ahead,” ACE said.