Labour announces over £100m in new funding for arts, culture and heritage

The government has unveiled a £270m funding package for the arts, culture, libraries and heritage sector in England, including more than £100m of new funding and a 5% increase to the budgets for national museums and galleries.

New investment schemes in the announcement include an £85m Creative Foundations Fund designed to support venues in need of urgent capital works and a £20m Museum Renewal Fund for civic museums that aims to protect opening hours and jobs.

In addition, Labour will introduce a new £4.85m Heritage Revival Fund for neglected buildings that it says will “empower” local people to take control of their local heritage.

Further to a 5% increase in their annual grants, worth more than £15m, 17 organisations funded by the Department for Culture Media Sport will benefit from £120m to continue the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, which helps national cultural public institutions address essential works on their estates.

The package also includes further investment for other existing funding programmes, including £25m for the fifth round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund, which supports infrastructure projects and urgent maintenance, £5m for the fourth round of the Libraries Improvement Fund, and an additional £15m for Heritage at Risk to restore properties such as shops, pubs, parks and town halls.

In the next financial year, there will be £3.2m to continue funding four cultural education programmes: Museums and Schools, Heritage Schools, Art & Design National Saturday Club and the BFI Film Academy.

The package follows last week’s confirmation that Labour would commit £60m to cultural levelling-up projects from across the UK that were announced under the Conservatives.

‘A vital first step’

The capital investment in venues, which industry bodies Society of London Theatre (SOLT) & UK Theatre have been vocal in campaigning for, has been lauded by many sector leaders.

Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley praised the announcement, saying its impact would be felt “for years to come”, while Alex Beard, CEO of Royal Ballet and Opera, called the one-year programme “a vital first step”.

Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund said the financing was a “welcome response” to the severe financial pressures museums are facing, particularly those reliant on local authority funding.

“This investment is an important first step to ensuring financial resilience, economic growth and ensuring our public collections remain accessible for future generations,” said Waldman.

However, SOLT & UK Theatre co-CEO Hannah Essex said that while she welcomed the £85m fund for essential upgrades, theatres alone require at least £500m over the next four years to prevent closures.

“Without a long-term investment plan, many venues face an uncertain future,” said Essex, adding that the upcoming spring spending review “must outline sustained investment to unlock further support from philanthropy and sponsorship”.  

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who will give an inaugural lecture in Stratford-upon-Avon later today (20 February) to mark the 60th anniversary of the first ever arts White Paper from the then Arts Minister Jennie Lee, said that the arts and culture “make a huge contribution towards boosting growth” while “breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people”.

“The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions.”

Speaking at the RSC to formally unveil the ‘Arts Everywhere Fund’ package, Nandy will also confirm the advisory panel of experts who will be supporting Baroness Margaret Hodge with her independent review of Arts Council England, as well as the scope of the review within the newly agreed terms of reference.