§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the savings made following the restructuring of regional arts councils in May 2001. [115307]
§ Dr. HowellsOn 1 April 2002, the Arts Council and the Regional Arts Boards merged to form a single organisation to support the arts in England. A key outcome of this merger will be a reduction in administration costs and these savings will be made available to the arts. Arts Council England has announced that they will save nearly £20 million over the next three years. The forecast timing of these savings is: 2003–04 £4.1 million, 2004–05 £7.4 million and 2005–06 £8.1million.