The Stage

Parliamentary inquiry into public support for theatre

Published Wednesday 5 January 2005 at 10:50 by Liz Thomas

Arts Council England and key theatre bodies across the UK will come under scrutiny as a Parliamentary committee launches a comprehensive inquiry, which could change the face of publicly subsidised theatre.

The investigation, which aims to look into the nature and adequacy of public support for theatre, has been ordered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee, which is formed of cross-party backbenchers who scrutinise the DCMS.

It has invited submissions from interested organisations and has identified pertinent issues to be considered, with heavy concentration on the nature, effectiveness and future of public subsidy for the theatre and its relationship with the commercial sector, particularly in London’s West End.

ACE’s performance, both in strategy development and disbursing funds, will also come under inspection. The committee aims to tackle issues such as the role of theatre in the UK economy as well as its cultural significance in the regions.

A spokesperson for ACE said: “Select committee inquiries are never a bad thing for the arts and this one is particularly welcome on the back of a poor funding settlement. It could well be positive to have issues the arts are facing now promoted and considered. This review is part of the parliamentary process and while we are expecting the committee to ask some difficult and probing questions, previous inquiries, such as the one into dance last year, have been very positive for the arts.”

He added that the nature of the process meant that both government and arts bodies would be held to account over any perceived shortcomings.

“Sometimes these inquiries result in very specific changes or simply raise general problems affecting the industry. In light of the funding issues and the concerns over future revenue streams for theatre, the latter is something we are hopeful for,” he said.

Last month the government caused dismay when it announced the council’s funding would be frozen at £412 million for the next three years, a cut of £30 million in real terms and taking into consideration the rate of inflation. The investigation comes as ACE chief executive Peter Hewitt begins his four-month fact-finding sabbatical in an attempt to secure long-term funding and devise a future strategy for the organisation. He will spend until April in talks with government officials and key figures in the arts community to discuss how the organisation will progress and cope with potential changes to the distribution of Lottery and government subsidy.

Richard Pulford, joint chief executive of the Theatrical Management Association and Society of London Theatre, said: “It is a very timely inquiry - in the context of the recent outcome of the spending review and the future requirements for developing the fabric of the West End. Both SOLT and TMA will be putting evidence to the committee.”

The move has also been welcomed by the National Campaign for the Arts. Its director Victoria Todd agreed the inquiry will be important in keeping the arts high on political agendas but that actual results were key.

She said: “It is very necessary to look at the provision for any major arts form but what we really need to consider is who is going to enforce any suggested changes. This investigation is a good opportunity for those involved in theatre to put forward ideas and concerns of the industry and to keep arts issues on the front burner.”