UK Chancellor announces additional £30m for covid-hit arts sector

The UK government will boost the Culture Recovery Fund, administered by Arts Council England, by £30m between January-March 2022 as part of a £1bn business support scheme announced by Rishi Sunak on 21 December.

According to the Gov.uk website, the additional money will support ‘organisations in England such as theatres, orchestras and museums through the winter. This builds on nearly £240 million allocated to cultural organisations so far this year or currently available for applications online.

‘The further funding made available through the Culture Recovery Fund will support the sector until March 2022.
Further details on how organisations can access funding will be set out in due course.’

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement, the Musicians’ Union (MU) is calling on the Government to account for the urgent needs of its members due to the impact of the Omicron variant and the subsequent rise in COVID-19 cases, saying that the lack of provision for freelance workers leaves the majority of MU members uncertain about their future.

Horace Trubridge, MU General Secretary, said: ‘This is a particularly busy time for our members and many musicians will have been relying on the festive period and the new year to provide much-needed funds following the devastating effects of lockdown and the well-publicised difficulties.

‘It is absolutely crucial to their survival that the Government recognises the economic abyss that our world-class players, performers, writers and teachers are facing. They need support and they need it now.’