The advantages to be gained from meaningful investment in the arts have been recognised by Northern Ireland’s main political parties, which gave their overwhelming support in October to a Private Members’ Motion, calling on the Executive ‘to raise the level of arts funding to at least the United Kingdom average within the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.’

Regrettably, cross party ministerial support for the motion is not reflected in a Draft Budget which, if realised, will have devastating consequences for the arts sector and a negative impact on the economy as a whole. Our artists and core organisations will face a bleak future, and pressing developmental work will not be undertaken.

Spending on the arts in Northern Ireland is channelled through the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). DCAL’s provisional budget planning figures indicate that the Arts Council – the lead funding and development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland - is likely to receive a nominal net increase of £4.25m, the equivalent of a per capita increase from £6.13 to £7.89, but only by year three. Moreover the figures are only guaranteed for year one with subsequent years two and three being only provisional: hence there is no guarantee that such an eventual modest uplift would in fact be forthcoming.

Current Arts Council assessment is that the arts in Northern Ireland require an additional £26m investment over the coming three-year spending period – the equivalent of £11.55 per capita.  This would be a modest increase in the context of the overall Northern Ireland budget - the Arts Council’s current budget is less than one third of one per cent of the existing health budget; or two thirds of one per cent of the education budget.

The Arts Council’s request per annum is approximately £9m.  With the prospect of an additional uplift of only £500k for next year, the sector faces immediate financial problems. This draft settlement falls far short of the Arts Council’s assessment of need. 

The increase of £4.25m makes some provision for the shortfall in National Lottery funding for the arts due to the redirection of funds by the Government to support the Olympic Games 2012.  However, the Arts Council stands to lose £4.5m as a result of the redirection.

The people of Northern Ireland should have the same cultural entitlement as their neighbours on these islands.  Yet the prospect of achieving broad parity the rest of the UK or the Republic of Ireland remains as distant as ever, and we remain consigned to the bottom of the UK and Ireland league table. 

The arts sector in Northern Ireland has endured standstill funding for the past three consecutive years – a cut in real terms - and continues to have the lowest baseline figure for public spending on the arts.  Public spending per capita on the arts in the year 2006-07 was: in the Republic of Ireland £12.61; in Scotland £11.93; in Wales £8.80; in England £8.39; in Northern Ireland £6.13 (£10.5m).  The 2008-2011 per capita figures for the rest of the UK and Ireland will be published on this website when the detail becomes available – regardless, Northern Ireland will still be at the bottom of the league table.

The last time the government departments and agencies went through this competitive budgeting process, a small number of departments managed to turn around their initial bleak budget and to achieve an increased settlement, as a direct result of lobbying pressure from the departments, their sectors and the public, during the consultation period. 

Please support the campaign for increased funding for the arts in Northern Ireland.  Your contribution is vital to keeping our arts alive.

Click on the links for detailed background information on:

• Allocation for the Arts through the Draft Budget 2008-2011
• What the Arts allocation really means
• Summary of the draft Programme for Government, draft Budget and draft Investment Strategy

Important consequences of no spending uplift and another year of standstill funding for the arts:

• Programmes will close, putting the future of dozens of organisations in jeopardy
• Many jobs right across our towns, cities and villages will be at risk
• The Arts Council has already had to close its Multi-Annual Programme, which supported 56 arts organizations, employing 200 people and providing 3,200 arts events; the future of these organisations is at best uncertain
• The Arts Council has informed local authorities that they have become a low funding priority, so that the Arts Council can safeguard the future of the independent arts sector
• Over 25,000 participants from across NI, including many young people, will be denied access to outreach activities and engagement in the arts.
• Projects in urban and rural communities will be cancelled
• Services to children and young people will be cut
• The benefits which we know the arts can bring to education and healthcare will diminish
• The crucial role which the arts plays as a feeder for the Creative Economy will be undermined
• The NI tourism product will be weakened through fewer events, productions and exhibitions
• The international image of Northern Ireland will suffer as local artists and arts organisations lack the resources to step onto the international stage
• There are a number of targets and actions contained within the PfG which the arts will contribute to, such as increasing attendances and levels of participation in the arts by 2% by 2011. How can these targets be met when the budget itself will cause a contraction in the arts sector?
• One of the priorities of the PfG is to grow the Creative Industries by up to 15%; as the arts provide the oxygen that fuels the Creative Industries, lack of investment in the arts will have a detrimental impact on the potential growth of that sector.
• We may not be able to continue to support several groundbreaking initiatives like Creative Youth Partnerships, which provides 300 arts projects, employment for 130 artists, and direct involvement in the arts for 13,000 young people; or Re-imaging Communities, which is helping communities overcome the negative impact of The Troubles and gain a sense of civic pride and empowerment.
• Developing the arts sector is a slow process, and short term savings will lead to long term loss. Where will the artists of the future come from?