The Arts Council of Great Britain was established in 1945 and has long been seen as the model for other European countries' approach to the arts. The Arts Council is directly funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (which used to be known as the Department of National Heritage). Now run through a system of quangos (quasi-autonomous-non-governmental organisations) the arts in Britain have been decentralised with the result that there is now an Arts Council of England, of Scotland, of Wales and of Northern Ireland - all of which enjoy considerable autonomy. There is also a series of self-managing Regional Arts Boards (RABs) across the country.
The various Arts Councils distribute public money from the government and the lottery to artists and arts organisations, both directly and through the 10 RABs. The Councils receive grant-in-aid from the Government to support and develop the arts, and this year the Arts Council of England (the central body) will receive £237 million sterling, rising to £252 next year. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which is presided over by Secretary of State Chris Smith, has considerably raised its profile since the days when it used to be known by the rather fusty title of the Department of National Heritage. Under the Conservative government there were regular and vociferous complaints from the arts community that the Tories were neglecting the arts, and particularly that they had an aversion to funding anything "contemporary" or "cutting edge". This changed with the election of the Labour government in 1997 and the appointment of Chris Smith who is in all but name the "Minister for Arts". He has attempted to modernise the department and its practices, although his appointment has not lead to any changes in the funding system.
Smith's first bold attempt to bring the department up to date was with the introduction of the "Cool Britannia" re-branding of British cultural life - which was symbolically marked by a reception at 10 Downing Street, where figures such as the rock group Oasis and the comedian Eddie Izzard were asked for their ideas on how best the department could stay abreast of the changing cultural climate. The approach back-fired when many of the artists present at the reception later withdrew their support for the government over its policies on education and welfare - which they felt were too right-wing.
The last few years have seen a major transfer of funding decisions from the Arts Councils to the regions. Funding for a number of arts organisations has been delegated to the relevant Regional Arts Boards (RABs), bringing these decisions closer to potential audiences.
The arts in Britain also receive money generated by the National Lottery (exact figures are not available), and the Arts Council is responsible for the distribution of this money. Recent changes in lottery legislation have led to a shift away from the bulk of lottery funds being allocated to capital projects and has enabled the development of new regional schemes by the RABs.
The Arts Council of England prides itself on its "arm's length" distance from the government. "We are charged by the government to supervise the arts," says a spokesperson for the Council. "Since we were first set up in 1945, we and the government of the day have always adhered to the arm's length principle of funding. We are a quango and as such independent of direct government influence. Our chairman, though, is approved by the government. "We see ourselves working with government to develop the arts, but there has never been any political interference in our work. We are quite satisfied that the present "arm's length" policy is the right way to approach the funding of the arts."
Not having seen a copy of Minister De Valera's Towards A New Framework For The Arts, the spokesperson was unwilling to comment on any of the issues raised by the document.
