New figures show that funding for cultural services in some London boroughs has fallen by more than half since 2010. The borough that saw the biggest drop in arts and culture funding was Barking and Dagenham, followed by Lambeth, Enfield and Havering.
It comes as the County Council Network said councils across the country have struggled to balance funding towards arts and culture while demanding peaks for social care and children’s services. Figures from the Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities show Barking and Dagenham Council budgeted £4.2m for cultural services for 2024-25 – a 69 per cent drop from £13.4m in 2010-11, around the start of the austerity.
The municipalities’ financing of cultural services covers areas such as libraries, open spaces, tourism, museums and recreation and sports. Across England, this budgeted expenditure fell by 25 per cent, from £3.4bn in 2010-11 to £2.5bn this year.
Sam Corcoran, vice chairman of the County Councils Network, said: “Councils are the biggest funders of arts and culture in England, and county councils recognize the value of investing in libraries, arts and heritage for both our communities and our economies.”
He continued: “However, with reductions in government funding over the past 14 years, councils have found it increasingly difficult to balance spending on cultural services with spending on adult social care, children’s services and special educational needs provision.” Mr Corcoran said “lean resources” have consequently been earmarked for services which have seen a significant increase in demand and cost.
He added: “We understand public finances are tight, but the case for an increase in funding for councils is clear. Extra resource will mean less money would need to be re-prioritised from cultural services to care services, meaning local authorities can better protect libraries , museums and cultural heritage – and free up investment in them.”
Nationally, the biggest drop was in budgeted spending on recreation and sport, falling by 50 per cent from £862m in 2010-11 to £434m this year. In Barking and Dagenham, spending on library services fell particularly sharply – down 78 per cent.
London Council arts and culture budgets since 2010
- Barking and Dagenham – come by 69 percent
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Lambeth – come by 65 percent
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Enfield – come by 57 percent
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Ealing – come by 55 percent
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Havering – come by 53 percent
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Croydon – come by 51 percent
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Sutton – come by 51 percent
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The child – come by 51 percent
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Hammersmith & Fulham – come by 50 percent
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Bexley – come by 43 percent
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Haringey – come by 41 percent
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Lewisham – come by 40 percent
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Harrow – come by 34 percent
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Hounslow – come by 31 percent
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Wandsworth – come by 31 percent
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Greenwich – come by 31 percent
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Newham – come by 23 percent
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Redbridge – come by 21 percent
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Brent – come by 17 percent
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Merton – come by 13 percent
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Kingston upon Thames – come by 11 percent
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Hillingdon – come by 8 percent
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Hackney – come by 7 percent
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Tower Hamlets – come by 6 percent
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Kensington and Chelsea – come by 5 percent
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Westminster – come by 5 percent
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City of London – financing stable, fell by only 3 percent
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Bromley – financing stable, fell by only 2 percent
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Waltham Forest – financing stable, fell by only 1 percent
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Southwark – the grants increased by 57 percent
