Arts Council England: MPs to question senior leadership on response to Hodge review
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee will question the chair and chief executive of Arts Council England on how the organisation is responding to the findings of Baroness Hodge’s independent review.
Meeting details
The Committee previously took evidence from the peer on her recommendations, including those related to strengthening ACE’s independence from government and reducing administrative burdens for grant applicants.
The independent review, published in December, was commissioned by the Government to examine the role and effectiveness of ACE, which is responsible for distributing funds to arts, cultural organisations, museums and libraries across England.
ACE and the Government announced in March that it had formally accepted the review’s overall conclusions and direction of travel. The session will give the Committee the chance to explore what this means in practice and the longer-term consequences of the proposals from the review.
Sir Nicholas Serota and Darren Henley are likely to face questions on what is being done to strengthen the arm’s length principle and reduce bureaucracy. They could also be asked about ACE’s approach to supporting freelancers and individuals, concerns about allowing it to take on a more commercial role, proposals for a visitor levy and charge for international visitors to enter museums, and the organisation’s approach to ensuring diversity and inclusion and access to culture.