Culture Recovery Fund saved hundreds of organisations

The Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF) stopped hundreds of culture organisations from going under and supported almost 220,000 sector jobs, according to an independent evaluation into the scheme.

The £1.57 billion package – delivered across three rounds to cultural and heritage organisations at risk of insolvency due to the adverse effects of the pandemic – was shared between 4,473 cultural sector organisations.

Research consultancy Ecorys’ full report states organisations in receipt of CRF supported over 110,000 full-time jobs during 2020, alongside almost 108,000 contractors and freelancers.

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“The benefits from the number of organisations it likely prevented from failing (620 to 830) and the number of jobs it safeguarded (up to 20,500), outweigh the costs of implementing the programme (with every £1 spent leading to between £1.98 and £3.66 in benefits),” the report’s conclusion reads.

The spending of supported organisations was 37% higher than it would have been without the programme, which the report estimates is equivalent to an increase in spending between £219,000 and £300,000 for the average organisation.

“At the overall level, CRF increased expenditure amongst supported organisations to an additional £612m.”

The report says this allowed funded organisations to bring in new audiences when closures and social distancing measures were enforced and allowed them to introduce new and improved offerings when they reopened.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the report “reaffirms the Culture Recovery Fund was money well spent”.

“As a direct result of this support, many organisations are now attracting new audiences with an improved offering, and their strengthened financial position means they are better placed to meet the challenges of tomorrow,” he added.

The CRF delivered a package of funding measures including emergency funding, recovery grants, loan schemes, capital grants and a Cultural Assets Fund. Excluding capital applicants, Ecorys’ report says 7,185 unique organisations applied for funding across then channels, with a success rate of 62.3%.

Newly released data shows heritage organisations receiving the most funding of all art forms (£296m), followed by theatre (£288m) and music organisations (£249m).

Higher shares in deprived areas

While early rounds of the Levelling Up Fund were critiqued for offering disproportionate funding to more advantaged areas, Ecorys’ report says across all three rounds “the most deprived areas received a greater than average proportion of funding”.

The most deprived areas, assessed by the English Indices of Deprivation survey, received 32.2% of funding, compared with 21.6% of total funding for areas of high deprivation and 24.4% for areas of medium levels of deprivation received 24.4%.

The most deprived areas were also awarded a greater level of funding per capita in contrast to those with low levels of deprivation, the report adds, although areas of medium levels of deprivation received the greatest level, at £31.69 per capita.

Meanwhile, analysis of funding by region found more than a third (34.6%) of funding went to London, more than three times as much as the South West, North West and South East, which were the next three most funded regions.

London also received the most funding per capita, totalling £58.81. Organisations in the East of England received the least, at £12.98 per capita.

Outside the capital, the report says per capita figures showed a “more even distribution”.

Support for freelancers

Ecorys’ evaluation report says the CRF funded organisations supported more than 100,000 contractors or freelancers in 2020.

Despite not being set up to support freelancers directly, the report found the employment of contractors was 41% higher among organisations awarded grants by September 2021 than those who hadn't received funding. It also calculated the scheme helped to save 3,700 contractor jobs.

But it adds that while it sustained opportunities for freelancers, it was not done “at a scale sufficient to offset the damage caused by the pandemic”.

“The organisations and stakeholders we interviewed were largely of the opinion that freelancers and contractors across the sector continued to face enduring challenges,” the report said.