Government yet to decide on ACE Chair appointment

Ministers are to decide whether Sir Nicholas Serota will be replaced as Chair of Arts Council England in January next year or be asked to remain in post, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has said.

Having taken up the role on 1 February 2017, Serota is due to complete his second four-year term on 31 January 2025 – a little over five months from now.

However the search for a successor, usually launched with an advert on the government's public appointments website, has not officially begun.

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The appointment process for such a high-profile role usually takes many months. For example, the appointment of the current BBC Chair Samir Shah took six-and-a-half months from start to finish.

Typically, the launch of such a recruitment campaign is timed to allow for the appointment to be made well in advance of a term beginning.

Normally, there is a six-week window for applications to an advertised public position to be submitted.

According to the Commissioner for Public Appointments, once this stage is over, the aim should be to conclude the recruitment within three months, meaning that, even if the process were to launch immediately, any new ACE appointee would only have a limited time before taking up the role.

Asked whether there are any plans for Serota to stay on, or if a new Chair will be appointed, a DCMS spokesperson told Arts Professional that decisions in relation to the appointment of the Arts Council England Chair were paused due to the general election.

The spokesperson added that government ministers will make a decision on their preferred approach to the appointment in "due course".

'Exceptional cases'

The Governance Code on Public Appointments states that there is a "strong presumption" that no individual should serve more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than 10 years.

However, in "exceptional cases", ministers can decide an individual’s skills and expertise are needed and an extension or a further reappointment can be granted.

The end of Serota's second term coincides with a change of government, with ACE saying it intends to lobby the Treasury for additional support for struggling cultural organisations.

A planned review of ACE ordered by the former Conservative government was shelved due to the general election although new Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said Labour is committed to the exercise taking place.