Arts: Regional Theatres

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, my noble friend brings up a valid point. I congratulate the Arts Council and the Salisbury Playhouse.

[Lord Stevenson of Balmacara]

Does the Minister agree that, with notable exceptions such as those in Chichester, Sheffield and Leicester, the combination of local authority cuts of up to 60 per cent and the declining income from audiences in areas of high unemployment is posing real threats to this sector? Is there nothing that the Government can do to assist the Arts Council, which has been forced to impose a 10.9 per cent cut in real terms on regional theatres in the period to 2015?

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, the Government have negotiated a substantial settlement for the arts in these times of economic constraint. We have limited the cut to the Arts Council’s overall budget, grant in aid and lottery, to just 11 per cent. While grant in aid—just one part of the Arts Council’s overall income—is being reduced, we are reforming the lottery so that more money will go to the arts. An additional £80 million will go into the arts from the National Lottery each year from 2013.