UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced a £1.5 billion arts funding package on Wednesday, urging London-based national institutions like the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery to extend their reach across the country. The package includes £600 million for national institutions, £425 million for a Creative Foundations Fund supporting capital projects at arts venues nationwide, £160 million for local and regional museums, £230 million for the heritage sector, £27.5 million for public libraries, and an additional £80 million for national portfolio organizations. Nandy praised the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outreach as a model and framed the investment as the largest reset in the arts for a generation, comparable to post-World War Two cultural rebuilding.
This funding matters because it aims to repair decades of constrained cultural budgets, including a 30 percent reduction in Arts Council England funding in 2010, and addresses the long-standing concentration of arts resources in London. The package seeks to democratize access to culture, but has drawn criticism from unions like Prospect, whose general secretary Mike Clancy argued it focuses too heavily on buildings rather than addressing pay and retention crises. Nandy also signaled support for recommendations from a review of Arts Council England by Margaret Hodge, which cited a “loss of respect and trust” due to perceived political interference, indicating a broader shake-up of the sector.