Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Wednesday, 22 June 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 28 June 2011. It was answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 June 2011 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Arts: Tourism

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will assess the effects of reductions in funding from his Department for touring arts organisations on the (a) viability of arts venues and (b) number of staff employed by venues; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Arts Council England (ACE) has addressed touring arts organisations as a priority in their 10-year framework ““Achieving great art for everyone”” and details of how this will be met shall be set out in the autumn.ACE will continue to fund a wide range of organisations that tour, and organisations which programme touring work in a variety of spaces, including funded and commercial arts venues, schools, village halls and outdoor spaces. Within ACE's National Portfolio, over 100 organisations identified touring as a core part of their work. An additional £18 million of lottery income a year will be invested through the National Portfolio budget to organisations for touring to engage broader audiences.ACE recognises challenges ahead for venues which rely on local authority funding and are subject to cuts which may impact on staff infrastructure. ACE staff in the regions are working closely with local authority partners to support the touring infrastructure.

Secondary information