The Stage

DCMS examines ACE’s use of the arm’s-length principle

Published Tuesday 5 July 2005 at 14:35 by Nuala Calvi

The arms-length relationship between Arts Council England and the government is being re-examined as part of a review of the funding body by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Around 300 leading figures in the arts and connected areas have been approached for their views on the organisation’s performance and how well its relationship with the DCMS is working.

An ACE spokesman said he hoped the peer review, being carried out jointly with the government, would establish what the “normal length of the arm” should be in future to avoid conflict.

“Sometimes the length of the arm can be very long, and at other times shorter,” he said. “There’s a fine balance to be found between being fully accountable but also being free to make decisions which are not linked to short-term political thinking. I hope the review will help to clarify things.”

A review panel headed by former executive director of the National Theatre and Royal Opera House chief executive Genista McIntosh will also ask respondents how good ACE is at influencing government policy, how well it responds to the needs of its clients, and whether its new merged structure is working.

Joan Bakewell, chair of the National Campaign for the Arts, one of the organisations asked to make a submission, said: “I think this comes at an interesting time - after two terms of government, the DCMS is perhaps examining its relationships with all its client bodies, and there is always a curious tension between the DCMS and the arts council. This is more than routine - it is a ‘stand back and assess’.”

A DCMS spokeswoman said the review was part of a plan to review all its agencies, which started with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council last year, and was not an inspection. The panel will start collating feedback in July and is expected to publish recommendations in August.