Government announces how funds from £1.57bn arts rescue package will be distributed

The government has announced how the £1.57bn arts rescue package will be used to support arts organisations.

Theatres, comedy and music venues and museums will be eligible for a portion of a £500 million fund, overseen by Arts Council England.

It is part of the first round of support, in which £622 million will be distributed – the remainder of this will go to the British Film Institute, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England. A further £258 million will be reserved for distribution later in the financial year.

The government said that in order for applicants to be successful, they need to come up with an “innovative plan for how they will operate and be sustainable for the remainder of this financial year”, while also being able “to demonstrate their international, national or local significance”.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden called on organisations to be “creative in diversifying their income streams” and asked the public to “continue supporting the places they love so this funding can be spread as far and wide as possible".

Arts Council England published a breakdown of how organisations would be able to apply for funding, which includes grants between £50,000 and £3 million and long-term loans of over £3 million.

Arts Council England's Nicholas Serota said: "Arts and cultural organisations are an integral part of public life in villages, towns and cities across the country. We warmly welcome and are pleased to be administering this vital investment from Government, which will help ensure as many organisations as possible survive the existential challenge posed by Covid-19 so they can continue to serve their communities safely in the future."

Jon Morgan, director of the Theatres Trust, the national public body representing the country’s theatres, said: “We particularly welcome the reference to smaller organisations and local significance in the DCMS announcement because small theatres outside our major city and town centres play a vital role in the ecology of the theatre sector, as places that nurture new talent and that serve their local communities.”

The £1.57 billion fund also includes a new £500 million scheme to kick-start film and television production, aimed at helping companies struggling to secure coronavirus-related insurance.