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ACE's Proposals: Conclusions and CommentThe main part of the document ends with the following words: The proposals which the Arts Council brings forward in this document will not (and indeed could not) entirely satisfy those who are opposed in principle to the creation of a new single organisation for the arts in England. However, the Council is convinced that they provide a solid basis for change which draws appropriately on the strengths of the eleven current organisations while eliminating the structural and operational weaknesses of the present system. Links You can download the full document here. Also available for download is the document which analyses the responses to ACE's original proposals. Both of these are Portable Document Format(.pdf) files for which you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader. You can obtain the latest version here. Comment In his introductory letter, ACE chairman Gerry Robinson writes, "The Arts Council’s Prospectus for Change was issued in March. Since then, we have been doing two things. Listening. And building our proposals." And it has to be admitted that the new document does attempt to address many of the concerns expressed, both directly to ACE and in private, by many interested parties. And so it should, for, as the analysis of responses reveals, "73% of respondents exhibited a negative reaction to the Prospectus for Change, 9% were neutral, and 18% of respondents reacted positively." Southern Arts' very existence was threatened by the original proposals - and it has to be said that the new document does not make clear just what its position will be - so responses from that area did affect the overall totals to some extent, but, even after excluding the SA responses, negativity was still the order of the day - 64% exhibited negative feelings about the Prospectus, 10% were neutral, and 26% were positive. More detailed analysis is instructive: Respondents in the area covered by Southern Arts had the most negative response of all. Respondents in the Southern Arts (84% completely or mostly negative), Yorkshire Arts (80% completely or mostly negative) and Northern Arts regions (79% completely or mostly negative) reacted in a negative way to the proposals. Many other regions, however, were more positive. In responses received from the Eastern Arts region, 50% of respondents were positive towards the proposals contained therein. 38% of respondents from the area covered by South Eastern Arts were positive, while these figures are 38% for respondents from East Midlands and 36% from North Western Arts regions. Hardly a ringing endorsement when the best (by 12%) that can be managed is 50% positive or fairly positive! Does the new document go any way towards addressing this obvious concern on the part of the arts world? It does try to alleviate fears about the new organisation being too London-centric and about the involvement of the local authorities, but continues to press for the proposed redrawing of the regional boundaries so that they are coterminous with governmental boundaries. This worries organisations and individuals in certain specific locations. Cumbria, for instance, currently part of Northern Arts, would be handed over to North West Arts (or their replacements: I will continue to use the present titles, faut de mieux). Cumbrians feel that the peculiar problems of a very rural and, in places, very remote area, would not be viewed with either sufficient sympathy or understanding by an organisation more used to dealing with large conurbations, such as Merseyside, whereas Northern Arts, predominantly rural apart from Tyne and Wear and Teesside, has, they feel a better "feel" for their area. There is much talk of cutting bureaucracy, but a majority of respondents - and a large number of people generally who have had dealings with both ACE and RABs - feel that the excessive red tape is of ACE's making, rather than the fault of the RABs, who are, it is generally thought, easier to deal with. There is also a great deal made of the extra £8 to £10 million which will go to the arts through savings (2003-2004 onwards), but, although the costs of the change-over are mentioned, there is no estimate as to what these costs will be. And it is proposed that these extra monies be applied to cultural diversity (a current buzz-word) for the first three years they are available. The changes will go ahead: of that there is no doubt. The last hope of the opponents of change, that the government will intervene on the grounds that it flies in the face of its decentralisation policy, has been dashed by the support given by both the Culture Secretary and the Arts Minister. As to whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell. Outline Articles Indices: |
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