Lisa Nandy unveils ‘transformative’ £270m boost for culture sector

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Culture secretary Lisa Nandy. Photo: Shutterstock

Lisa Nandy has announced a "transformative" injection of more than £270 million into the culture sector, including £85 million for urgent capital works to keep venues running.

Theatre figures including playwright James Graham, director Kwame Kwei-Armah and Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley have hailed the "much-needed" boost, with National Theatre co-chief executive Kate Varah claiming it demonstrated that the Labour government "keenly understands the arts".

However Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have cautioned that theatres alone required at least £500 million over the next four years to prevent closures, following their warning last year that without such investment nearly 40% of venues were at risk of closure, and 40% would be too unsafe to use.

Hundreds of arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings are set to receive a share of the fund, entitled Arts Everywhere, with those in most urgent need promised targeted funds to carry out vital infrastructure work and improve long-term resilience.

The intervention marks the next step in Labour’s Plan for Change, a blueprint for increased economic stability laid out by Keir Starmer last December, as well as a fulfilment of the government’s commitment to investing in the arts as one of its key "growth-driving" sectors in its industrial strategy.
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It comes less than a week after a separate £67 million was granted to 10 cultural projects, including Worcester’s Scala and Venue Cymru, who were previously promised "levelling-up" funding by the previous Conservative government.

Announcing the cash boost to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the first arts white paper by former minister Jennie Lee, Nandy said the Labour government was on arts organisations’ side and vowed that the funding would help ensure culture is "for everyone, everywhere".

"[Arts and culture] are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people to learn the creative skills they need to succeed," she said.

"The funding we are announcing today will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions."

Henley added: "Today’s a good news day for arts organisations. For years to come, this new investment will help more people in more places to flourish by finding joy and connection with high-quality culture close to home."

Meanwhile, Varah said: "The support announced today shows that, like the visionary Jennie Lee, this government keenly understands the arts ecosystem and its leading role in boosting the economy, enriching local communities and enhancing soft power.

"Much-needed capital investment will begin the task of enabling arts venues in towns and cities across our country to upgrade their facilities, providing more jobs and training, improving their financial and environmental sustainability, and offering more opportunities for young people and communities.

"Today’s announcement is further proof that the government sees the benefit of working long term, in deep partnership with our sector, to break down barriers to growth and opportunity. Capital isn’t about bricks and mortar, it’s about making space for creativity to flourish."

Former Young Vic artistic director Kwei-Armah said the announcement could not have come sooner or "at a better time", and signalled that the government had "seen the cultural sector – who we are and what we contribute to Britain and beyond".

Royal Shakespeare Company bosses Daniel Evans, Tamara Harvey and Andrew Leveson also welcomed the funding, declaring: "Ageing capital infrastructure remains a tremendous drag on the sector’s ability to create the work for which it is globally celebrated and to maximise its economic and social contributions."

Royal Ballet and Opera chief executive Alex Beard said he was "delighted" by the boost, with English National Opera and London Coliseum boss Jenny Mollica labelling the support "critical and transformative" and designer Es Devlin heralding it as "urgent and most welcome".

Chair of Norwich Theatre Tom Sleigh added that the funding would be particularly vital for regional theatres, who were in vital need of support for repairs to their infrastructures.

Graham said: “The sector has been just-about-surviving for too long and such injections mean much-loved local venues can begin planning for the future."

Actors including Meera Syal, Adjoa Andoh and Tracy-Ann Oberman were also among those to welcome Nandy’s move, with Oberman congratulating Nandy on her "huge commitment to the arts".

However SOLT and UK Theatre co-chief executive Hannah Essex, despite calling the funding an "essential upgrade", suggested it might not be enough to alleviate theatres’ plight.

"The upcoming Spending Review must outline sustained investment to unlock further support from philanthropy and sponsorship," she said.

"As Jennie Lee stated in A Policy for the Arts: ‘There is no short-term solution for what by its very nature is a long-term problem.’"

Alongside the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund for urgent capital works, the £270 million injection includes £15 million towards repairs for at-risk heritage buildings and a confirmation of £3.2 million towards four cultural education programmes including the British Film Institute Film Academy.