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31 Oct 2012

Arts Council England reveals details of restructure

Arts Council England (ACE) has revealed detailed plans for a restructure, forced upon it as it looks to deal with the government's budget cuts.

The changes are set to take place on 1 July 2013 and come as a result of the Government's requirement - made as part of Arts Council England's settlement for 2011-15 - that the organisation reduces its administrative costs, as applied to its grant in aid for the arts by the end of March 2015.

In a statement ACE said: "Making savings on this scale has required a major restructure and a substantial reduction in staff numbers, and will call for new ways of working.

"In shaping its new structure the Arts Council has been guided by the principle of remaining one national organisation with local presence, able to continue to deliver its 10 year strategy 'Achieving great art for everyone' and 'Culture, knowledge and understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone'."

Among the announced changes are a 21 per cent decrease in staff numbers - leading to 117 jobs being cut - and a 50 per cent reduction in property costs due to downsizing of office space.

To assist with the measures and to streamline operations, five areas covering London, the south east, the south west, the Midlands and the north will replace the Arts Council's current regions and areas.

Alan Davey, chief executive of ACE, said: "These savings have been challenging to achieve, given our already pared down structure.

"There is an absolute need for us to remain an intelligent investor, leading growth and ambition in an arts and cultural sector which contributes so much to the wealth, quality of life and reputation of our nation.

"We are protecting the relationship management and the artistic and cultural expertise we know our colleagues in the sector value but we must be pragmatic. We'll do less and we'll do it differently - but we'll do it well."

Transition to the new structure will begin on 5 November, The Arts Council will complete the new area boundary changes and have the new organisation in place by 1 July 2013, although there may be changes to office arrangements and locations for some months after this date.

Full details of the new structure can be found on the Arts Council England website here.