Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, has condemned the ‘shocking inequality’ in arts funding for his constituency.
In 2012/13, South Staffordshire received just £10,000 in total grants from the Arts Council, compared to the £533,354 received by Dudley South, the £892,308 received by Walsall South, the £1.3 million received by Wolverhampton North East and the £8.5 million received by Birmingham, Ladywood.
The average spend per capita in South Staffordshire over the period was just 11p, a marked contrast to the £14.85 per capita in Wolverhampton North East and the £64.90 per capita in Birmingham, Ladywood.
Gavin said: “These figures reveal a shocking inequality in funding. There appears to be no accountability for the manner in which the Arts Council chooses to distribute taxpayers’ money. I think it is appalling that residents in South Staffordshire, who receive just 11p per capita, are effectively funding millions in arts grants for urban areas like London and Birmingham.”
Gavin obtained the statistics from an FOI request that he submitted this month to the Arts Council.
In its response, the Arts Council stated that over the past three years more than 70 percent of its lottery investment had funded projects outside London or been awarded to projects that benefited the whole country.
In a letter to Gavin, an Arts Council representative stated: “The breakdown of figures that you have been given should not be take in isolation of their context. The arts sector in this country has evolved over time. Where organisations and artists are based is the result of personal preference, history, and the initiative and ambition of local partners.”
South Staffordshire is home to a series of well respected arts events. These include the Codsall Community Arts Festival, starting next month, and the annual Wombourne Music Festival. Neither event receives any funding from the Arts Council.
Gavin added: “Instead of spending its millions on white elephants, the Arts Council should be spending on organisations and arts events that actually reach out into the community.”
*The Birmingham Landywood figure was obtained by subtracting the amount spent on the 21 National Portfolio Organisations and 1 Major Partner Museum (£15.6m) from the total grant awarded for the area(£24.1m) in 2012/13.