Sir Nicholas Serota at the Cultural Governance Alliance annual conference in Birmingham

Sir Nicholas Serota spoke at the Cultural Governance Alliance annual conference in Birmingham

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ACE Chair concedes funding decisions ‘not perfect’

In the wake of significant backlash over some of Arts Council England's funding decisions for its next National Portfolio, the organisation's Chair concedes that they 'didn't get everything right'.

Ruth Hogarth
3 min read

Chair of Arts Council England Sir Nicholas Serota has conceded that decisions taken by the organisation for its 2023-26 National Portfolio were "not perfect" and that with the benefit of hindsight he would "probably" have done things differently.

Addressing a gathering of trustees at the Cultural Governance Alliance annual conference in Birmingham, Sir Nicholas Serota told delegates that the instruction from government to move £24m funding away from the capital in pursuit of levelling up had had enormous consequences. 

Speaking at the Midlands Arts Centre, Sir Nicholas said the council had wrestled with the issues and forewarned ministers of the consequences of their instruction.

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However, he added that while the timing and scale of the instruction was novel, it did not alter the precedent that it was Arts Council England that made the final decisions, not government. 

As part of the National Portfolio for 2023-26, announced in November, there was increased funding outside London and higher investment in Black, Asian and Ethnically diverse-led organisations.

But many organisations saw their funding reduced or cut entirely, including the English National Opera, which had previously received £12.6m a year as an NPO, and Oldham Coliseum, which announced last week that it is cancelling all its forthcoming events from the end of next month due to the implications of the loss of income.

Questioned by Hilary Carty, Executive Director of Clore Leadership, about ACE’s investment decisions, Serota explained that there were two parts to the assessment of the hugely oversubscribed funding round. 

The first was based on the application itself, the second on geography and the imperative to level up. He said it was not possible to fund all organisations that passed the first assessment.

Serota went on to say: “Did we get everything right? No. Would I do things differently? Probably. Nothing is perfect”.

But his message to delegates at Governance Now: Championing Communities conference was clear: after very tough times during Covid, arts organisations needed certainty about their future funding and ACE had a responsibility to give them that.

He added that while the decisions have caused the pain of loss for some organisations, he is confident the benefits of ACE’s ambition set out its Let’s Create strategy – namely a better balance of funding across the country so that everyone can experience the benefits of culture – will be seen soon.