Arts Council England (ACE) has announced a reduction in staff of 21%, from 559.5 full time posts to 442, as part of its restructuring plan.
The changes, which will come into operation on 1 July 2013, are a result of the Government’s requirement – made as part of Arts Council England’s settlement for 2011-15 – that it reduces its administrative costs.
ACE will also be reducing the number and size of offices in order to reduce property costs by 50%. Major offices will be located in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, plus there will be some smaller local offices, including Nottingham. Five areas covering London, the South East, the South West, the Midlands and the North will replace the current regions and areas.
The number of Executive Directors in the organisation will reduce from eight to four. They will work with the Chief Executive to deliver ACE’s overall strategy. Art form and cultural policy expertise will be distributed geographically across the organisation.
Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: “These savings have been challenging to achieve, given our already pared down structure.
“There is an absolute need for the Arts Council to remain an intelligent investor, leading growth and ambition in an arts and cultural sector which contributes so much to the wealth, quality of life and reputation of our nation.
“We are protecting the relationship management and the artistic and cultural expertise we know our colleagues in the sector value but we must be pragmatic. We’ll do less and we’ll do it differently – but we’ll do it well.”
The changes will begin to be implemented from 5 November.
Full details of the new structure can be found on the Arts Council England website here.
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