Britain lags behind Europe in arts funding while arts education faces ‘structural funding crisis’

A major new report paints a bleak picture of arts funding across the UK, as well as ‘catastrophic declines’ in participation and enrolment in the arts in state schools.

Figures set out in The State of the Arts, researched by the Campaign for the Arts and The University of Warwick, reveal that the UK cut its culture budget by 6% between 2010 and 2022. Meanwhile, Germany increased its budget by 22%, France by 25% and Finland by 70%.

Researchers analysed official statistics available from the period 2010 to 2023 in order to provide a national snapshot of the ‘health’ of the arts, looking at funding, provision, engagement, education and employment. The results of the landmark survey will be announced in the House of Lords to arts leaders and politicians. ‘It serves as a stark warning and a call to action for policymakers, stakeholders and the public,’ say its authors, who include Jack Gamble, director of the Campaign for the Arts and Dr Heidi Ashton, lead researcher at The University of Warwick.

While the report looked at the cultural and arts sector as a whole, there are particular causes for concern for the music industry. The BBC, which is the single largest employer of musicians and the main commissioner of new music in the UK, as well as producer of the BBC Proms and several programmes supporting young musicians, has seen its total public and grant funding decrease by 23%.

Analysis of nearly a million listed events between 2018 and 2023 showed that there has been a 23% fall in the number of music, theatre, dance and comedy events being put on in the UK, with data suggesting that recovery from the impact of the pandemic is incomplete and slowing. However, in brighter news for the music sector, going to a live musical, ballet, opera, theatre or music event was a popular choice for those going to arts events in the last year, second only to a cinema trip.

One of the most worrying findings is what’s happened to music in schools. In English state schools, engagement with music has fallen by 26%. Entries for GCSE Music have declined by 41% from 2010 to 2023, while A-level entries are down 46%. The crisis also extends to higher education, which is grappling, among other factors, with the impact of arts subjects being segregated from other, ‘strategically important’ subjects and a 50% cut in ‘high cost subject’ funding. Meanwhile, earnings for those working in cultural education are below the poverty line.

‘This report underscores the need for better and more balanced support to ensure the vitality and accessibility of the arts for everyone, across all parts of the UK,’ write its authors. Speaking to The Observer, Ashton added: ‘The decade-long declines presented in the report represent a lack of support in all areas, from funding to education to employment, so what is required is a fundamental shift in our thinking about the role of the arts in society. This report has provided a benchmark and information to inform decisions for a more equitable future.’