Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 April 2026

Letter from Vicky Cheetham, Chief Executive, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Stephen Crocker, Chief Executive & Creative Director, Norwich Theatre, Jon Gilchrist, Artistic Director & Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome, Marianne Locatori, Chief Executive, Newcastle Theatre Royal, and Deborah Shaw, Chief Executive, Marlowe Theatre, regarding the Review of Arts Council England, 15 April 2026

From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Summary

Five leading independent regional theatre chiefs write to the Culture Committee chair expressing concern that the government's £127.8m cultural infrastructure fund (including £96m via Arts Council England) is not reaching independent theatres outside ACE's existing funding relationships. They note only 10% of awards went to non-ACE-funded organisations and urge the Committee to probe ACE's funding model during its upcoming evidence session.

Key findings

Only approximately 10% of Creative Foundations Fund awards went to organisations not currently regularly funded by Arts Council England (NPOs or IPSOs)
No non-ACE-funded organisations in the East of England, East Midlands, or West Midlands received grants in this round
The current ACE-administered funding delivery model may not reach the full breadth of England's cultural ecology, particularly independent and charitable regional organisations outside ACE's existing portfolio
Major independent regional theatres make critical contributions to sustaining regional and national cultural ecology but lack engagement with ACE on funding matters
Signatories seek Committee scrutiny of whether future funding schemes can better support the whole theatre ecology, including major regional independent theatres

Tone

Critical

Topics

arts-fundingregional-developmentcultural-infrastructuretheatrepublic-equity

Key actors

Vicky Cheetham, Stephen Crocker, Jon Gilchrist, Marianne Locatori, Deborah Shaw, Dame Caroline Dinenage, Sir Nicholas Serota, Darren Henley, Arts Council England

Notable line

“… only c.10% of funding in this round was awarded to organisations not currently regularly funded by ACE (ie NPOs or IPSOs) and not a single non-ACE funded organisation in the East of England, East Midlands or West Midlands received a grant.”

Key Quotes

“The Government's recognition that cultural infrastructure urgently needs investment is excellent news for the whole arts ecology.”
— Vicky Cheetham, Stephen Crocker, Jon Gilchrist, Marianne Locatori, and Deborah Shaw · welcoming government commitment to arts investment

“… only c.10% of funding in this round was awarded to organisations not currently regularly funded by ACE (ie NPOs or IPSOs) and not a single non-ACE funded organisation in the East of England, East Midlands or West Midlands received a grant.”
— Vicky Cheetham, Stephen Crocker, Jon Gilchrist, Marianne Locatori, and Deborah Shaw · identifying disparity in Creative Foundations Fund distribution

“… whether the current delivery model is best suited to reaching the full breadth of England's cultural ecology — particularly independent, charitable and non-national portfolio organisations beyond Arts Council England's existing funding relationships”
— Vicky Cheetham, Stephen Crocker, Jon Gilchrist, Marianne Locatori, and Deborah Shaw · questioning ACE's funding model effectiveness

“This highlights an important policy question relating to Arts Council England's engagement with major organisations that it does not fund, such as ours, but who make a critical contribution to sustaining the regional and national cultural ecology.”
— Vicky Cheetham, Stephen Crocker, Jon Gilchrist, Marianne Locatori, and Deborah Shaw · asserting importance of unfunded independent theatres

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗