Organisations’ non-artistic operations are under pressure, says ACE

Cuts to arts and culture funding are straining organisations' non-artistic operations, according to Arts Council England.

Recently-released minutes from a September meeting say real-terms reductions over the past decade are "having an impact in areas like site maintenance, investment in future technologies, staff training and staff recruitment", particularly in specialist areas like finance, catering and IT.

This was despite optimism about "improved forecasts" for arts funding, which manifested last month as a 1.84% increase to National Portfolio Organisations' funding for 2020.

Council members "felt it was important that Arts Council England continued to make a strong case for arts and culture in the run up to the 2020 Spending Review", the minutes note. A date for the government's multi-year review is yet to be announced.