The Stage

Unions lobby for sustained theatre funding as spending review looms

Published Tuesday 22 June 2004 at 13:50 by Ruth Gillespie

Entertainment unions have lobbied MPs at Westminster in a final bid to convince the government not to compromise funding for theatre, just weeks before an announcement is expected in the annual spending review.

Equity, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and the Musicians’ Union - operating collectively as the Performers’ Alliance - held a reception at the House of Commons to discuss the need for sustained investment over 2006/07.

Arts Council England launched its bid for government funding in May with the publication of a survey which found that British theatre contributes more than £2.6 billion a year to the general economy.

With an announcement expected in the first week of July, union members, including Ian McKellen and Sam West, stressed that without continuing national and local government financial support, the industry could no longer play such an active role in education, health, economic growth, tourism and creative partnerships.

Kelly Wiffen, Equity’s research and parliamentary officer, said: “ACE has been lobbying hard on behalf of theatre but it is going to be a tight year whatever happens. There have been rumours about the amount of money we can expect but we have to ignore that and keep working as hard as possible to make sure theatre gets its share of the pot.”

Other key areas for discussion included low salary levels for UK orchestral musicians, issues affecting stage hypnotists who fail to secure public liability insurance and are therefore prevented from working and the ongoing campaign to retain the BBC licence fee as part of the 2006 Royal Charter.

Added Wiffen: “It is all too easy for other voices to be heard before ours on debates like the BBC Charter Review. Performers are an integral part of what the BBC does and we want to make sure our concerns are factored into the government’s thinking on this issue. Lobbying as part of a group gives us the opportunity to maintain our presence within the minds of MPs and the chance to really achieve change for our members.”