Arts Council England is focused on investment outside London | Arts funding

In response to recent letters (26 April) about the Arts Everywhere Fund, it is important to note that this programme was heavily oversubscribed, reflecting the acute need for capital investment across the cultural sector. We are pleased that there will be further rounds of the fund, with details to be published in the coming months.

While we are always mindful of the geographic spread of the investment we make, this fund had a clear purpose: to prioritise organisations facing critical capital need. On that basis, the north received more than £40m – approximately 31% of the £128m awarded in total – supporting 45 museums, libraries and cultural organisations, the highest number of awards made to any area.

Arts Council England recognises the historic imbalance in cultural funding and has been working to invest more outside London, increasing investment beyond the capital to approximately 70% of our total investment since 2022. Barrow‑in‑Furness, cited in recent correspondence, is one of our priority places, where we are investing in local cultural infrastructure, including through organisations such as Full of Noises, one of the recent recipients of Arts Everywhere funding.

We will continue to work to bring cultural excellence, opportunity and investment to more places and more people.
Nicholas Serota
Chair, Arts Council England

Christine Baranski’s critique of Liverpool as a victim of arts funding cuts feels a bit harsh (Letters, 26 April). The reason Tate Liverpool is closed is because of a costly redevelopment, and meanwhile it retains a gallery hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects nearby on Mann Island – a good example of a London-based organisation expanding its influence.

Preparations are well advanced for a bigger and better slavery museum, with National Museums Liverpool (NML) being directly grant-aided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport rather than having to fight for a share of regional funding. What Liverpool currently lacks is a vocal advocate after the style of Michael Heseltine, whose interventions in the early 1980s kickstarted the revival of the city region as a massive cultural asset. And to draw on local knowledge – having grown up in Silverdale, next door to Baranski’s village of Arnside – I would dispute the description of Kirkby Lonsdale as “once vibrant”. Indeed, it recently revived its annual book fair, asserting its status as a magnet for bookworms.
John Edmondson
Former employee of NML and exhibitor at Kirkby Lonsdale book fair, Holywell, Flintshire