Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced the government’s Budget for 2021, breaking down spending plans for the year ahead. The arts and culture industries have been heavily impacted as a result of the pandemic, with museums and theatres forced to remain close for most of the last year. However, as England begins its path out of a national lockdown and establishments begin to reopen, funding will be allocated to the creative and cultural industries to support them throughout 2021.
The government’s spending plans in 2021 for the creative and cultural industries can be found below.
£400 million will be allocated to help arts venues in England, including museums and galleries, reopen. The Culture Recovery Fund will be extended by an additional £300 million to provide ongoing support to key national and local cultural organisations in England.
In addition to this, £90 million will be allocated to the continued support of government-sponsored National Museums and cultural bodies. The £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme will also be extended by 6 months to the end of 2021 to continue supporting the UK screen production industry.
The government has also announced a £4.8 billion ‘Levelling Up Fund’ to support local areas in the UK and improve infrastructure. As part of this initiative, funds will be allocated to investing in culture and heritage, which will presumably include further funding for museums, galleries and theatres, as well as historical sites such as castles.
As well as the above measures, the government will introduce a £7 million fund from July 2021 to help employers in England set up and expand portable apprenticeships. This will help those who need to work across multiple projects with different employers to access the high-quality training provided by an apprenticeship. The Creative Industries Council will be asked to present proposals on how to spend the fund.
The 2021 Budget can be found in full here.
0 Comments