Government to shut down regional cultural consortiums, announces Hodge

Published Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 16:05 by Alistair Smith

Culture minister Margaret Hodge has announced that the government is to faze out its regional cultural consortiums, in a move which is aimed to “streamline” arts policy and funding across the UK.

The plans, which will see all eight of the consortiums shut down over the next 12 months, will transfer responsibilities to existing bodies such as Arts Council England, Sport England, English Heritage and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

They will have a duty to work together to implement the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s agenda in the regions. The reshuffle is expected to create significant administrative savings, which the DCMS has vowed to invest back into culture and sport provision.

Hodge commented: “We have come a long way in strengthening the case for the role of culture and sport at the heart of a region, its economy and its aspirations. That is thanks in no small part to the work of our cultural consortia and their boards over the last nine years.

“But the regional landscape is shifting. With the new Local Area Agreements imminent and Integrated Regional Strategies on the horizon we need to put delivery at the heart of the debate at this critical time. We can only do that by coupling advocacy with action, speaking with a stronger, more unified voice across our sectors and giving a better service to local government and Regional Development Agency partners.”

The move has been welcomed by National Campaign for the Arts director Louise de Winter. She told The Stage: “It appears on first glance to be a sensible idea. Anything that seeks to reduce the levels of bureaucracy has to be a good thing. The challenge will be to make sure that the new system is effective.”