Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 April 2026
Letter from Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, Co-Chief Executives, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, regarding the Review of Arts Council England, 13 April 2026
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: Review of Arts Council England
Summary
SOLT and UK Theatre co-CEOs write to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee setting out member feedback on the Arts Council England Review. Members welcome recognition of arts' economic value but stress three principles: the sector is chronically underfunded and reform must not entrench decline; the Arm's Length Principle must be strengthened, not diluted; and structural reform must reduce complexity, not add bureaucracy. They oppose devolution of ACE funding to regional boards, reject a proposed royalty on commercial successes, and call for sustained public investment alongside governance clarity.
Key findings
- Members strongly oppose devolution of Arts Council England budgets to regional or local boards, arguing it risks fragmenting national strategy, creating postcode variability, and exposing decisions to local political pressure; national oversight must be retained.
- Real-terms cuts to ACE funding over 15 years have significantly weakened the sector; members reject the assumption that long-term decline should be accepted and welcome proposals linking funding to outcomes and growth, but warn any endowment must be genuinely additional, not replace core Grant in Aid.
- The proposed royalty or profit-share mechanism for Arts Council England to receive returns from commercially successful productions is 'widely regarded as unworkable'—members argue ACE's contribution is indirect and difficult to attribute, such models double-count public value, fiscal benefits would be negligible, and retrospective extraction undermines risk-taking.
- Members welcome Theatre Tax Relief amendments to recognise touring costs and faster payment, but are 'alarmed' by recent HMRC engagement suggesting emerging interpretations diverge from original policy intent, requiring DCMS and Treasury intervention.
- Members support strengthening ACE's role as a development agency, including advocacy, convening, and practical sector support (such as clash diary coordination), but stress reforms must be co-designed with the sector and properly resourced; they reject proposals to create new centrally managed individual artist or community worker programmes funded from existing budgets.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Claire Walker, Hannah Essex, Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre, Arts Council England, Dame Caroline Dinenage, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, Department for Education
Notable line
“… reform alone cannot compensate for sustained underinvestment, and that without new public funding, structural change risks managing decline rather than enabling recovery and growth.”
Key Quotes
“… the arts and culture sector is chronically underfunded, and reform must not normalise or entrench long- term decline in public investment.”
“… culture. They do not support the devolution of ACE budgets or funding decisions to regional or local boards. Such an approach risks fragmenting national strategy, creating postcode variability, and exposing funding decisions to local political influence.”
“Members across differing viewpoints agree that the proposal is rooted in historic economic assumptions that do not reflect the realities of contemporary theatre 32 Rose Street London WC2E 9ET 020 7557 6700 enquiries@soltukt.co.uk Page 7 of 13 production.”
“… members are alarmed by recent engagement with HMRC that suggests emerging interpretation and practice by officials are diverging from the original policy intent of Theatre Tax Relief, with the potential to significantly restrict eligible expenditure.”
“Framing talent development as an additional expectation on NPOs, without accompanying resource, risks placing further strain on organisations already operating under severe financial pressure.”
“Members reject retrospective royalty or profit-share models as impractical and counterproductive. They strongly encourage Government and Arts Council England to pursue investment-led …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗