New ACE secretary-general Peter Hewitt has confirmed that the Council's membership will be reduced from 23 to ten in the near future, but has refused to be drawn on other planned changes. He has, however, said that the changes may take up to 12 months to carry out.
Allen no-confidence vote at ROH
BECTU members at the Royal Opera House have passed a vote of no confidence in chief executive Mary Allen over the announcement of redundancies in the box office and marketing department, which they claim were announced without consultation.
New Audiences scheme announced
Following the Budget, Culture Secretary Chris Smith has announced a New Audiences scheme for the arts, a package of measures aimed at cutting ticket prices and increasing touring and developing new audiences in the more deprived regions. The package will be backed by £5m made available by the strength of the pound's reducing the amount the DCMS has to commit to European regional development initiatives.
BAC saved from financial problems
A £30,000 grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts has enabled the Battersea Arts Centre to avoid major cash flow problems, by paying off some of its inherited deficit.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Theatre Royal, which has an estimated deficit in the current financial year of £700,000, is to have its trust re-established, with less input from the local authority and more from the local business community. This is as a result of a report from independent consultants McCann Matthews Millman. It is understood that the consultants do not favour the widely discussed idea of uniting the Royal and the New Tyne Theatre under one trust.
Glasgow's arts organisations, including 7:84, Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet, are to receive standstill grants from the City Council in the coming fanancial year.