Written question asked by John Barrett (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 3 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 November 2009. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Monday, 9 November 2009 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Arts: Finance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to maintain levels of funding for the arts during the recession.

Answer: Government continue to provide strong financial support to the arts throughout the recession. It is investing nearly £450 million in the arts this year through Arts Council England. This represents a real-terms increase of 83 per cent. since 1997. This will rise to £463 million in 2010-11.Arts Council England have made a swift and innovative response to the economic situation by introducing the sustain scheme. This is providing an additional £40 million to enable arts organisations to continue to provide high quality artistic programmes despite the current economic situation.

Secondary information