Arts Council England must change or face 'disaster', Margaret Hodge warns

Margaret Hodge told a Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee that Arts Council England requires a "radical" overhaul to respond to the challenges facing the culture sector. She warned it would be "a disaster" if ACE leaders did not heed her review's findings.

Her investigation found a loss of confidence in how ACE serves its communities, driven in part by the perception of political interference in decision-making. The decision to force the English National Opera to move from London to Manchester was a "raw experience" for some of the 700 people she spoke to.

Hodge said ACE is perceived as "incredibly bureaucratic", with processes that are "time consuming" and "stifle creativity", and she urged greater transparency between the secretary of state and ACE by making all letters public. She also proposed that publicly funded shows that achieve commercial success should return money to ACE, a change that would require altering the royal charter to allow a commercial arm.

England, London, Manchester

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