norman lebrecht
December 16, 2025
First responses from a reeling ACE to the devastating Hodge report:
… we have heard clearly that we have been too “prescriptive” in how we implement Let’s Create. We recognise that we must give our artists and organisations more space to articulate their ambition, and that we need to reduce the administrative burden we have placed on them. We have already begun to simplify our application and monitoring processes, but we know that we must do more, more quickly, to ensure that all our processes are smoother, faster, and easier to use.
We are committed to using the Review’s findings to improve, so that we can better meet the needs of the people we serve. In the coming weeks, we will work with colleagues at DCMS to respond to it in full.
Arts Council England Chair Sir Nicholas Serota said: ”We are proud to invest public funds in artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries whose creativity enriches communities across the country. I welcome the report and thank Baroness Hodge for a Review which offers us an opportunity to listen, learn, and improve – so that we can continue to nurture ambition, excellence, and access to excellence in the artists and organisations that we support”.
Arts Council England Chief Executive Darren Henley said: ”Today is a big day for artists and for cultural organisations. Baroness Hodge’s Review is crystal clear: both on the tremendous value that creative professionals, arts organisations, museums and libraries bring to our country, and on the changes that Arts Council England needs to make to serve them better. We want people to spend less time on our paperwork and more time on their creative work. Our mission over the months to come is to roll up our sleeves and make that happen.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says she’ll deliver a full response after Christmas. Heads need to roll. This has been a lost decade for arts provision in England.