The Arts Council has announced a rescue package but has suspended national lottery grants that would help jazz musicians and jazz promoters organise tours and plan ahead – to organise a tour or project you have to plan over a year ahead. The suspension of the national lottery grants will now add to the misery.
The Arts Council needs to reinstate national lottery grants immediately or they will make a bad situation even worse. Any help in this area to reinstate national lottery grants would be welcomed by jazz musicians and jazz promoters.
Briefing on the Arts Council’s rescue package.
The Guardian article:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/24/arts-council-england-promises-160m-to-buoy-public-during-lockdown
The Arts Council have offered a rescue package of £160 million paid for by emergency reserves and suspended national lottery grants by which they mean National Lottery Project Grants, The Arts Council budget for 2019/20 had National Portfolio Organisations receiving £409 million (£341 million grant in aid plus £68 million national lottery funding); £97.3 million in lottery funding and strategic funding of £72.2million. The Arts Councils rescue package is welcome but a little odd as £90 million for National Portfolio Organisations is already in the budget. The rescue package is therefore £70 million. Strangely enough the £70 million of strategic funding appears not to have been touched. A judicious use of the strategic funds and their emergency funds would have delivered the rescue package and negated the need to suspend national lottery grants.
The Arts Council has suspended the fund that would be of crucial help to jazz musicians and promoters.