The Stage

Tories warned against DCMS abolition plans

Published Tuesday 17 August 2004 at 14:30 by Liz Thomas

Proposals by the Conservative Party to abolish two government departments if it returns to power, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport a likely target, have come under fire from the National Campaign for the Arts.

The cuts form part of the party’s Whitehall waste review, headed by renowned trouble-shooter David James - the man Labour turned to in order to salvage the Millennium Dome fiasco and head its decommissioning.

James has said his proposals would outstrip initial Tory plans to axe 100,000 jobs and could see the closure of two or three whole departments. While he refused to name possible candidates in the cost-cutting programme, the DCMS as one of the youngest and smallest departments is acknowledged to be a prime target. Other departments potentially earmarked for closure include the Cabinet Office and the new Department of Constitutional Affairs.

Victoria Todd, director of the NCA, said any move to disband the DCMS would be hugely unpopular within the industry. She said: “It is a preposterous idea, let’s not forget it was the Conservative Party that put in the DCMS themselves.”

John Major, the last Tory premier, was responsible for giving the arts its own department with Cabinet status. He abolished the old Office of Arts and Libraries, replacing it with the Department of National Heritage. The portfolio was retained by Labour, which later altered its name to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Any proposal to abolish the DCMS would still involve the retention of many staff however, who would have to be dispersed amongst other departments, warned Todd.

“The arts and sports need strong representation and it becomes terribly messy if you just stick them in with other departments - they know that,” she remarked

Todd predicted any move to axe the DCMS would cost votes, adding: “I think this is the effect of the silly season - it’s just small talk for the summer and if it’s not then we will fight them - it would be war.”