Lloyds Banking Group annual report also shows that the bank is pumping up to 75% of his £1.06m salary into António Horta-Osório’s pension each year Bailed out Lloyds Banking Group has handed its new chief executive António Horta-Osório shares currently worth £3.6m to buy him out of pay deals at his previous employer, Spanish bank Santander. The annual report from Lloyds published on Wednesday also shows that the bank is pumping up to 75% of his £1.06m salary into his pension each year. He will also be handed cash of £516,000 in three equal tranches between 2011 and 2013. The scale of rewards outside the boardroom of the bank, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, is also revealed under the Project Merlin agreement between the banks and the government. These show that five non-boardroom senior executives received between £4.8m and £1.4m. Their identities do not need to be published. Eric Daniels who was chief executive during this period, and who stepped down at the end of February to hand the helm to Horta-Osório, earned £2.5m in salary and bonuses for 2010. Chairman Sir Win Bischoff makes a “personal statement” in the annual report in which he outlines how he personally handed the approach to Horta-Osorio last year, after Daniels announced his retirement. The shares being handed to the former Santander banker do not pay out immediately and vest between now and 2013. His full pension entitlement will also be dependent on the share price performance of the bank in the coming five years. António Horta-Osório Executive pay and bonuses Banking Lloyds Banking Group Eric Daniels Project Merlin Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk
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• US and Britain may arm Libya rebels • Defiant Gaddafi denounces rebels as al-Qaida terrorists • Top US officials to brief Congress on Libya strategy • Assad to give first speech since protests began 12.43pm: Hague has finished speaking. He said a UK diplomat had met Libyan rebel leaders in Benghazi on Monday and Tuesday. A foreign office spokeswoman has confirmed the diplomat was Christopher Prentice, the British ambassador in Rome. 12.39pm: Coalition air craft attacked vessels preventing aid reaching Misrata yesterday. Four were sunk and another beached. The UK has also expelled5 Libyan diplomats from London. A British diplomatic mission visited Benghazi on Monday and Tuesday, Hague said. It was headed by Christopher Prentice, the British ambassador in Rome. They have now left Libya, but further representations will follow. 12.37pm: Hague says he received a letter from the local council in Misrata yesterday, thanking him for Britain’s role in air strikes in the city. He says the letter paid tribute to the accuracy of the strikes, and said not a single person had been killed in the attacks. 12.35pm: On Sunday Nato allies decided to take on full responsibility for the UN resolution, Hague says. The transition to full Nato command is now underway. He says there are currently 16 nations conrtibuting assets to the operation. The Nato secretary general has issued a request for further contributions and Hague hopes this will be answered. 12.33pm: William Hague is about to make a statement on yesterday’s conference. 12.16pm: William Hague was on Newsnight last night. Here’s what he told Jeremy Paxman about arming the rebels. It looks like the Foreign Office is very wary of crossing this particular Rubicon, the French probably less so. And there have been reports that Egypt has been sending arms supplies them. JP: So why don’t we arm them? WH: Well because that again is governed by the United Nations resolutions and our reading of those resolutions is that the arms’ embargo applies to the whole of Libya but it might allow equipment to be given to people purely to defend themselves in certain circumstances in a limited way . But we haven’t taken the decision to do that. The way we prefer to protect the civilian areas is to take out the, make the operations that we have done, the air strikes and the missile strikes, against forces threatening to attack those civilian areas. JP: What sort of weapon supplies would be legitimate then as you understand it? WH: Well only very limited ones. We have, and since we’re not proposing to do it … JP: Limited in calibre or limited in scale? WH: No, in calibre, but the, since we’re not proposing to do that we’re not getting in to the detail of that. Others may choose to do so, but we are not proposing to arm the rebels in any form . We’re not planning to do that at the moment and, and you can easily see that there are many, that raises many policy questions as well as legal questions. So our focus is on trying to protect those civilian areas with the measures that we’ve been carrying out the last ten days. 12.11pm: The Foreign Office has been going through UN resolution 1973 with a fine-tooth comb to see whether arming the rebels is permissible. Our colleague, Julian Borger, has emailed to say that Foreign Office diplomats are saying this morning that the key paragraph in UN resolution 1973 that allows the arming of the rebels in some circumstances is this one: “4. Authorises Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organisations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;” Julian continues: The critical word here is ‘notwithstanding’. The FO says that means it overrides resolution 1970 (which lays down the arms embargo). So if the only way to protect a civilian area was to arm the population of that area, then it would be legally permissible. We have seen how the principle of protecting civilians through air strikes has been stretched to targeting government forces wherever they can be found. If implemented, would the principle of arming civilians and their defenders prove equally flexible? Probably. 11.57am: William Hague is due to update MPs on the progress made at yesterday’s conference in a statement to parliament at 12.30pm. We will cover it live. It would be surprising if the question of arming the rebels did not come up. Russia has come out against such a move citing. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is quoted as saying: “Not long ago the French foreign minister announced that France is ready to discuss weapons supplies to the Libyan opposition with its coalition partners. Right away, Nato secretary-general (Anders) Fogh Rasmussen said the Libyan operation is being conducted to protect the population, not to arm it. We fully agree with the Nato secretary-general on this,” Lavrov said. Our colleague Robert Booth has written a piece quoting international law experts as saying that arming the opposition would breach UN security council resolution 1973 . “The embargo appears to cover everybody in the conflict which means you can’t supply arms to rebels,” said Philippe Sands QC, professor of international law at University College London. His view was backed by other experts in international law who said they could not see how the US could legally justify sending arms into Libya under the current resolutions. 11.55am: Both AP and Reuters are reporting on the rebel retreat from Ras Lanuf, 230 miles east of Tripoli. Nato planes flew over the zone where the heaviest fighting was under way and an AP reporter at the scene heard explosions, indicating a new wave of air strikes against Gaddafi’s forces. A rebel near the frontlines told AP that the opposition fighters withdrew from Ras Lanuf rather than fighting the regime forces who were closing in on them. Reuters contrasts the level of discipline between Gaddafi’s troops and the rebels. Gaddafi’s army first ambushed the insurgent pick-up convoy outside the “brother leader’s” home town of Sirte, then outflanked them through the desert, a manoeuvre requiring the sort of discipline entirely lacking in a rag-tag rebel force. On the offensive, government tanks and artillery have unleashed a fierce bombardment on towns and cities which has usually forced rebels to swiftly flee. That tactic appears to have worked once again in Ras Lanuf. “Gaddafi hit us with huge rockets. He has entered Ras Lanuf,” rebel fighter Faraj Muftah told Reuters after pulling out of Ras Lanuf. “We were at the western gate in Ras Lanuf and we were bombarded,” said a second fighter, Hisham. Scores of rebel 4×4 pick-ups raced east, away from Ras Lanuf, a Reuters journalist saw. 11.41am: A fair bit has been written about the tribal element in the Libyan conflict, with some pointing to Gaddafi’s support among some powerful tribes to explain his survival. Alaa al-Ameri – a British-Libyan economist writing for Comment is Free under a pen-name – writes, however, that portraying Libya as ‘tribal’ is wrong, and damaging to the rebel cause . Ameri says it is Gaddafi’s regime that introduced the use of the term “tribalism”, and did so to “crush the confidence of those in their own [western Libya] cities” as well as to “confuse outsiders into believing that the Gaddafi regime is all that’s holding together a fractured and disunited people”. What is the reality and importance of tribes in modern Libya? For much of Libyan history, tribal groupings were indeed a prevalent social phenomenon. However, when we refer to tribes in today’s Libya we are simply talking about a historical structuring of regional communities in a massive country. These are not the same as distinct sub-national groupings that supersede people’s national identity as Libyans – an identity defended at great cost against fascist Italy and postwar attempts by the British to divide the country… If tribalism were at the heart of this effort, why risk it all to liberate towns in the west? Why have towns such as Misrata, Zawiya and Zintan, all a short drive from Tripoli, chosen to join the National Transitional Council – a fledgling government on the other side of the country that has so far been powerless to support them or come to their aid? 11.30am: Ian Black, who is Tripoli, says that even if the rebels were to be armed by coalition forces, “it would be a very long haul to lick them into shape – this disorganised and rather chaotic group of people into a fighting force and a coherent movement strong enough to overthrow the regime”. I don’t see any sudden, dramatic end to this story. I think it’s far more likely to become a stalemate between the east and the west, as the international community continues, I have to say, to dither in a pretty incoherent way about what it wants to achieve. People talk about wanting Gaddafi to go, but so far they haven’t provided anything like the means that will be required to let that happen. 11.26am: There’s a couple of interesting articles on this “flicker” of al-Qaida that Chris McGreal began to address until he was cut off. This piece in the Washington Post says US officials are not unduly concerned . US officials played down their concern about al-Qaeda’s presence, saying that its numbers appear negligible and that the terrorist network has had no discernible influence on the groups seeking to oust Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Kim Sengupta in the Independent says the protest movement is a complex and composite body, with the intelligentsia in Benghazi talking passionately about the craving for democracy, civil rights and pluralism, while there has been a visible increase in the number of those espousing fundamentalist doctrine. Here’s what Sengupta has to say about one of the rebel leaders . Abdul Hakim al-Hasidi, who took over as “chief of security” at Darnah at the start of the uprising on 17 February, spent five years in Afghanistan where he supposedly met Bin Laden and frequented, according to US intelligence briefings at the time, a training camp used by both the Taliban and al-Qaida. Hasidi claims he has 1,200 fighters, which would make his group one of the largest contingents among the revolutionaries, known as the Shabaab. He has personally led units into battles in Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf where the action has been fierce. It is, however, not easy to ascertain details of Hasidi’s links with Islamic militancy. During a recent meeting in Darnah, he was reticent to talk about his Afghan sojourn and his alleged meetings with Bin Laden. He was not a member of al-Qa’ida, he stated, and did not follow its ethos. Hasidi refused to elaborate on a previous observation that Bin Laden “had his good points” and described claims of his links with the head of al-Qaida as “just tales”. The counter-extremism thinktank last week addressed this issue, and its director of research, James Brandon, made this sensible point : Although Gaddafi’s claims that the opposition is an al-Qaida front are utter nonsense, it is clear that the fighting in Libya has created a vacuum in which extreme groups – including al-Qaida – may be able to operate. There are signs that al-Qaida leadership, both in Pakistan and in North Africa, believe that events in Libya could be a chance for them to create a second Iraq. The international community needs to work with the opposition leadership in Libya in order to shut out these extremists before they can hijack Libya’s popular uprising for their own ends. 11.11am – Syria: Assad’s speech keeps slipping, now apparently 1.30 UK time. Presumably he’s working out how much ground to cede to keep the protesters happy, without alienating his security people. The man is on a tightrope. 11.04am: Hillary Clinton yesterday said she believed arming Libyan rebels would be OK under UN security council resolution 1973. William Hague, the British foreign secretary, agreed that the resolution made it legal “to give people aid in order to defend themselves in particular circumstances.” However, in an exchange in the Commons on Libya on 18 March , David Cameron gave a very different answer to Bob Stewart, a Tory MP, who served in Bosnia. Here’s the exchange. Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con): Speaking as someone who has watched well-armed Bosnian Serb units smash through civilian populations, may I ask my right hon friend the prime minister whether security council resolution 1973 allows us, under its provision on “all necessary measures”, to avoid the arms embargo and directly arm the people who are fighting against Gaddafi in Benghazi and elsewhere? The prime minister: The first point I would make to my hon friend is how welcome it was that Bosnia was sitting on the security council and able to vote in favour of this resolution-for good historical reasons. The resolution helps to enforce the arms embargo, and our legal understanding is that that arms embargo applies to the whole of Libya . Paragraph 4 authorises member states “to take all necessary measures…to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack” in Libya, including Benghazi. That is very strong language, which allows states to take a number of military steps to protect people and harm those who are intending to damage civilians. It could not be clearer, and the legal advice is clear. It will be interesting to see how the US and Britain finesse this issue legally. Some argue that a new UN resolution is needed if the west wants to arm the rebels. That, however, is likely to be blocked by Russia and China, already unhappy with western air support for the rebels. 10.46am – Syria: The delay in Assad’s speech has prompted some sarcastic tweets, such as this one . Of course lots of political speeches are delayed, just ask anybody who has ever covered a US presidential campaign. 10.41am – Syria: President Assad of Syria was supposed to be speaking about now, a contact in Damascus tells us, but his speech has been delayed until midday UK time . 9.34am – Syria: A lot of attention will be on Syria today where President Bashar al-Assad is due to give his first public speech since the outbreak over a week ago of pro-democracy protests that have killed more than 60 people. Martin Chulov in today’s Guardian says Assad is likely to lift emergency laws, which outlaw public gatherings, and introduce a corruption crackdown. The state news agency said Assad, who succeeded his father 11 years ago, would address “the internal issues and the latest occurrences”, Reuters reports. Assad yesterday sacked the government in a largely cosmetic measure as real power lies with him, his family and the security apparatus. “Assad is being subjected to internal and external pressures. He has prepared a plan to give the impression to public opinion that he has begun reforms,” Maamoun al-Homsi, who was jailed for five years for demanding broader political freedoms, told Reuters from exile in Canada. In a sign of jumpiness, the Syrian government has expelled three Reuters journalists in recent days – its senior foreign correspondent in Damascus and a two-man television crew who were detained for two days before being deported. In an analysis piece, the Guardian’s foreign affairs expert, Simon Tisdall, writes that Assad’s failure to bring about change was ultimately his own , raising doubts about his political courage and judgment. 9.15am: In this audio, Chris McGreal reporting from Ajdabiya, reports on the sense of anger and betrayal among the rebels after they were driven back by Gaddafi’s troops. Just a few days ago the rebels were announcing they were marching to Tripoli and they’d be there by the end of the week. Yesterday as they were retreating they were angrily demanding to know where Sarkozy was …they feel betrayed when the air strikes are not there to protect them. Chris also detects a sense of weariness among the rebels of having to go up and down the same hundred miles of road as they had hoped to capture Sirte, Gaddafi’s home town which would have been a huge psychological blow to the regime. He also pours cold water on the notion that al-Qaida has any sort of traction within the movement before he is cut off. 8.20am: A senior Obama administration official said the US would soon send an envoy to Libya to meet rebel leaders. The US will want to have a clearer idea exactly who the rebels are before going down the path of arming them, especially as Nato’s top commander, US Navy admiral James Stavridis, said officials had seen “flickers” of possible al-Qaida and Hezbollah involvement with the rebel forces. The US will not want a repeat of the “blowback” experience of Afghanistan, when some of the Mujahideen it backed against the Soviets turned virulently anti-western. 8.00am: Reports overnight indicated that the rebels were in flight from coastal cities of Brega and Ras Lanouf, which they had regained just days before. The opposition were in full retreat after being hammered by tanks and rockets. Only a day earlier, they where roaring westward in hopes of taking Sirte, Gaddafi’s home town. They reached within 60 miles of the city before being repulsed. Muammar Gaddafi, meanwhile, shows no sign of buckling. As foreign ministers met in London yesterday to discuss the future of Libya, Gaddafi said that there was no room for compromise with the Benghazi-based rebels, who he again described as al-Qaida terrorists. He warned that the UN-imposed no-fly zone would turn north Africa into a “second Afghanistan”. US policy is expected to come under close scrutiny later today when US defence secretary Robert Gates – a reluctant warrior – and the more gung-ho US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, brief members of the House and Senate in closed-door, back-to-back sessions. Their Capitol Hill appearance comes as a new Associated Press-GfK poll found the country split on US involvement in military actions in Libya, with 48% approving and 50% disapproving. One of the questions Clinton is likely to face is whether the coalition should arm the rebels. In London, Clinton said for the first time that she believed arming rebel groups was legal under UN security council resolution 1973. Libya Middle East Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Mark Tran Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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National team plays out 0-0 draw with Argentina at rebuilt, state-of-the-art Estadio Nacional stadium Thousands of Costan Rican fans turned out for the reopening of a state-of-the-art football stadium donated by the Chinese government. Around the Estadio Nacional stadium’s perimeter, laser beams lit up the night sky, acrobats hurled themselves through the air and PAs blared dance music to create a carnival atmosphere in the Sabana neighbourhood of the capital, San José. Inside the national team played out a goalless draw with Argentina, for whom Lionel Messi was a late withdrawal through injury. Yenia, a 27-year-old psychology student, said: “I’m delighted with what they’ve built. It’s so important for our country’s infrastructure and for Costa Rican sport.” She had no qualms about paying the $100 ticket price, despite predicting a 3-1 defeat for her team. A tout offering tickets for 150,000 colones (roughly £190) apiece said he had sold several, testament to the excitement surrounding the match.The project was funded and built by China as thanks for Costa Rica’s former president, Óscar Arias, formally establishing ties between the two countries. Not everyone was convinced by the gift. Jason, a 31-year-old laboratory technician, said he was “very proud of the stadium, which we could never build ourselves”, but had reservations about his government’s association with China. “I don’t like the fact that we have relations with a Communist country. Though clearly there are many financial incentives China can offer that [others] can’t.” Axel, 47, a San José-based writer, said: “If the Chinese give, they expect something in return. We are close to agreeing a free trade deal with China, and this is nothing but a sweetener. Also, China violates human rights, whilst we defend human rights, so it is very important to China’s image to show they have a country like us on their side.” The project has brought instant returns to the local area, with property prices rising tenfold since construction plans were announced. High-rise blocks of flats dwarf the stadium, allowing wealthy residents a view of the pitch and athletics track within. Policemen milled about as the well-behaved crowds streamed towards the turnstiles. “We don’t expect violence, only petty theft”, said one officer, noting the contrast with the rioting that has plagued domestic football in Costa Rica in recent years. No such rivalries abound tonight, with scores of Costa Rican fans sporting Argentina shirts. Although the match failed to live up to the hype, there are high hopes for the home team’s prospects. “We’re just going to get better and better”, declared eight-year-old Ruben. Costa Rica Costa Rica Argentina China Seth Freedman guardian.co.uk
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Film focusing on 1960s model’s affair with photographer David Bailey joins arts documentaries in BBC4 spring/summer lineup Doctor Who star Karen Gillan is to play 1960s model Jean Shrimpton in a BBC4 drama about her love affair with photographer David Bailey. The project, with a working title We’ll Take Manhattan, will be Gillan’s first major drama role since she was cast as the Doctor’s companion Amy Pond in 2009 . Bailey is still to be cast and production has yet to begin. The drama will focus on a 1962 Vogue photo shoot in New York. “We’ll Take Manhattan reveals how a young, visionary photographer refused to conform and insisted on using the unconventional model Jean Shrimpton on an important photo shoot for British Vogue, inadvertently defining the style of the 1960s along the way,” the BBC said. Kudos, the independent producer of Spooks and Life on Mars, is making the drama. John McKay is writing and directing, with Rebecca Hodgson producing. Executive producers are McKay, Claire Parker and Ruth Kenley-Letts for Kudos and Lucy Richer for the BBC. The project is being co-financed by US cable arts channel Ovation. The Shrimpton/Bailey drama follows in a long line of BBC4 biopics on subjects including Hattie Jacques, Enid Blyton, Gracie Fields, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams and Tony Hancock. Plans for We’ll Take Manhattan were announced by the BBC4 controller, Richard Klein, as he unveiled the digital network’s spring/summer 2011 programming lineup. The Prince of Wales will present The Prince and the Composer, a BBC4 documentary about Jerusalem composer Hubert Parry. BBC4 is marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Terence Rattigan with a documentary about the playwright fronted by Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch; while Richard E Grant will present The Secrets of the Arabian Nights. Upcoming BBC4 shows include Scrapheap Orchestra, in which junk, broken furniture and the contents of roadside skips are turned into instruments to be played by the BBC Orchestra, led by conductor Charles Hazlewood. The orchestra will attempt to perform a medley of three classical pieces, including Tchaikovsky’s 181 Overture, in a programme aiming to show how instruments work and the science of music. Afterlife, another BBC4 science show, looks at decay and decomposition through an Edinburgh Zoo exhibition to be displayed during the city’s annual festival. The exhibition will feature a typical kitchen and garden in a purpose-built box and visitors to the event and online viewers will be able to witness the decay of everyday foods and substances over a two month period. The results will also feature in a BBC4 programme to be presented by Oxford University’s George McGavin. BBC4 programming seasons later this year will include Botany, tracing the history of plant science, including the three-part series Botany – A Blooming History; while Iceland explores Icelandic culture. “We’re curious about the world around us and will continue to take an in depth exploration of subjects that you rarely see on television, from botany to Icelandic culture, as well as dramatising moments that have changed the course of cultural life, for example when David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton created an image that redefined the 1960s,” said Klein. He added that BBC4 had had a good start to 2011, increasing its audience share from 1.1% in 2010 to 1.3% for the year to date, helped by the success of shows including Hattie and The Killing. •
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Taliban-supporting politician had just passed checkpoint when bomber struck, killing 13 people and wounding 12 others A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle has attacked a police checkpoint in north-western Pakistan, striking as a crowd gathered to greet a prominent hardline Islamist politician and killing 13 people, police said. It was unclear if the bomber specifically targeted the supporters of politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman or if they just happened to be there when he hit the checkpoint. Rehman has been an outspoken supporter of the Afghan Taliban, but some militants in Pakistan have shown a willingness to attack anyone connected to the government. The bomber detonated his explosives just outside the checkpoint when a policeman told him to halt, said Saeed Khan, a police official in Peshawar. The blast killed the policeman and 12 other civilians nearby, said Khan. Another 12 people were wounded. The attack occurred in Swabi town, located some 44 miles (70km) outside the capital Islamabad. Rehman, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, passed through the checkpoint only minutes before the bomber struck and was unharmed, said Khan. He had been travelling to the town of Charsadda to address a public gathering. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Pakistan Taliban Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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Day two of the inquest into the death of the newspaper seller after he was struck by police during the G20 protests in London in 2009 11.10am: We’re off. Day 2 of the Ian Tomlinson inquest is under way. We’re running a bit late this morning due to the legal argument, which I am not allowed to report. Here is a recap of what happened yesterday: • The inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson opened. Judge Peter Thornton QC has said that PC Simon Harwood, the officer who struck Tomlinson before he died is not on trial. But he said that the Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute him could be reviewed. • Thornton anticipated that the cause of Tomlinson’s death would be an issue of “controversy” during the next five to six weeks. Specifically, he referred to the divergent medical opinions provided by three pathologists – Dr Freddy Patel, who concluded he had died of coronary heart disease, and Dr Nat Cary and Dr Kenneth Shorrock, who said he died of internal bleeding. • Jurors were shown detailed footage of Tomlinson’s last moments alive. The key footage that was shown was the same video, shot by a New York investment fund manager, that was released by the Guardian six days after the death. You can watch the video here . • A compilation of video footage was also shown of PC Harwood’s movements. It revealed how he had a physical altercation with at least one protester in the minutes leading up to his encounter with Tomlinson. He was filmed attempting to arrest a protester and dragging him off into a crowd. • A number of witnesses have given evidence. They included Tomlinson’s widow, Julia, and stepson, Paul King, who described him as a loving father who struggled to overcome his problem with drink. Other witnesses included Barry Smith, who owned the Evening Standard newspaper stand where Tomlinson worked, and two police officers who encountered an “intoxicated” Tomlinson as he tried to get through cordons. Ian Tomlinson G20 Protest Police London guardian.co.uk
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Today is the day, finally, for the Arts Council England cuts and funding decisions. Follow it live and let us know how you’ve been affected 11.39am: A statement from The Cholmondeleys & The Featherstonehaughs which has been cut : “We are enormously saddened that the Arts Council did not approve their national portfolio application. It was an incredibly exciting artistic programme planned with strong partnerships and opportunities for participation and education based on, and grown from, the experience of 27 years of existence. We believe in the resilience of the sector and hope that there will still exist space for innovation in the face of these swingeing cuts. The Featherstonehaughs are touring this autumn and we are looking forward to presenting these amazing shows and performers in the UK.” 11.37am: This from Dorchester Festival which gets a 51% increase. Artistic director Sharon Hayden: “Hurray!!!” 11.36am: In Bristol there is standstill funding for the Arnolfini. Director Tom Trevor said: “We are very happy and relieved to hear that Arnolfini has been successful in its bid for National Portfolio funding, and the immediate future is secure. We have been awarded the same level of grant that we received as a Regularly Funded Organisation so, in the context of a cut to ACE of nearly 15%, this is a ringing endorsement of what we do. However I am very conscious that many other arts organisations will not have been successful in their applications, and this is a very difficult day for the arts as a whole.” “Over the past 15 years the arts have experienced a sustained period of growth. Part of this international success story has been the development of a diverse and vibrant ecology of artistic production at all levels, from individual practitioners through to small agencies, mid-scale galleries and up to large national institutions. The measures announced today represent a radical cutting back of this arts ecology, hacking into a rich and complex system which has grown up quite organically. Regardless of how individual organisations have fared, this process has been incredibly damaging, and as of today the cultural landscape has changed dramatically.” “We are also very concerned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s plan to further cut ACE’s administrative costs by 50%. ACE recently completed a major restructuring, which included significant cost savings, and is now implementing a considered national strategy for the future of the arts, which we fully endorse. Further cuts to ACE will undercut and compromise ACE’s capacity to implement and oversee this new strategy, and singularly fails to acknowledge its recent structural review. Beyond its function as a grant-distribution organisation, ACE should play a crucial role in encouraging a rich and diverse creative ecology in this country.” 11.34am: More good poetry news with the Poetry Society awarded £360,000 – a big increase (up from £261,664). 11.28am: Standstill funding for Circomedia in Bristol . Jan Winter Chief Executive Officer, said: “Circomedia has received standstill funding which in addition to the organisational development grant of £445,000 allows us to look forward with confidence. This weekend we will be celebrating 25 years of circus in Bristol with a programme of events, and will be hosting a national Open Space debate on circus in the UK. We are very happy that the circus sector has been recognised in the portfolio decisions, including Ockham’s Razor, Circomedia alumni, with a substantial uplift as well as some new players, and that together we can continue to develop this exciting, vibrant, and innovative art form.” 11.25am: Ledbury Poetry Festival have emailled to say it’s good news. Festival Manager Victoria Patch said: “We are delighted – it means we can continue our preparations for this year’s festival (1 – 10 July) with the confidence that our funding is in place for the next three years. Having a ‘backbone’ of Arts Council support also gives us leverage when applying to other smaller trusts and foundations that we depend on for our continual growth and development.” Since its creation in 1997, Ledbury has become the largest poetry festival in Britain running over a ten day period in July. Hull Truck Theatre has been given standstill funding . Chief Executive Andrew Smaje said: “The news that we have retained our funding is extremely positive – not just for Hull Truck Theatre and its employees, but for the city of Hull and the East Riding. The theatre plays a fundamental role not only in the cultural life of the area, but also in its economy. “Arts Council England’s report provides a ringing endorsement of the fresh artistic vision at Hull Truck, as well as the new business model, which is seeing a greater diversity of plays and artists working for and with the theatre. “A quick snapshot of what Hull Truck is doing today shows just how vibrant and important a creative company it is. In our rehearsal room, Sarah Esdaile is directing a brilliant cast, including Nichola McAuliffe, in the final week of rehearsals for The Lady in the Van, which embarks on a 10-week tour after opening in Hull next weekend. We have hundreds of school pupils in our studio taking part in an education project delivered in association with ONE HULL, a contemporary dance performance in the main theatre tonight, co-productions with Bolton Octagon and Headlong of Miller and Shakespeare playing in Bolton and Cambridge and two Hull Truck touring productions on the road in Derby and Manchester. Hull Truck engages with a huge range of organisations and people from all walks of life, not just here in Hull but across the country. In order to continue to deliver this level of work, it was vital that we retained our ACE funding. “While today’s announcement is positive for Hull Truck, other arts organisations in our region and around the country will be receiving less good news. We join their concern that these cuts will impact significantly on the nation’s creative life. “With Hull City Council cuts of £100,000 about to come into place from next month, we have a major task to build sustainable relationships with corporate funding partners over the next five years. We need this to grow audiences, nurture new talent and create inspirational performances which will cheer us all during difficult times.” 11.19am: Britten Sinfonia has had a £100,000 rise to £416,649 for 2012/13. David Butcher, Britten Sinfonia Chief Executive, said: “We welcome Arts Council England’s positive investment in our work as one of Europe’s leading orchestras. This funding settlement will enable us to continue to develop pioneering artistic plans and to present outstanding concerts and learning projects in our resident cities in the East and South East of England from where we launch an increasingly busy national and international touring programme. “Our Arts Council grant currently makes up 28% of Britten Sinfonia’s funding mix. We have strong support from commercial sponsors and individual givers and are looking to build on these relationships and forge new partnerships in order to further sustain our work.” 11.17am: Shadow Culture Secretary Ivan Lewis has given his response. He said: “This is the day when the chilling impact of disproportionate cuts to the arts, imposed by this Conservative-led Government, becomes clear for all to see. Over 500 arts organisations will either lose their funding or suffer cuts. Some will go to the wall. Many will have to increase ticket prices, at a time when people’s incomes are being squeezed, and scale back their work with communities and young people traditionally denied access to cultural opportunities. I fear a return to the 80s and 90s when the arts were for the few, not the many. Jeremy Hunt’s claim to have protected frontline arts organisations has turned out to be all spin and no substance.” 11.15am: Talawa Theatre company gets a funding cut. Pat Cumper, Artistic Director said: “We’re busy putting plans in place to respond to the 22% cut. We live to fight another day!” 11.10am: Sue Jones of Whitstable Biennale sends me this important clarificatory email: “People seem to think that unsuccessful organisations have all lost their funding, tweets are flying…… Which isn’t the case for organisations who weren’t RFOs. We haven’t lost anything. Our status with ACE remains unchanged. The vast majority of organisations who were applying for the first time weren’t successful. But we’re all used to raising funding on a project-by-project basis.” 11.05am: Museums Sheffield has been turned down after applying for £68,000 for its programme of contemporary art. It is one of 206 existing RFO’s which will no longer receive annual ACE funding. Paul Billington, Director of Culture for Sheffield City Council (Museums Sheffield’s largest funder) said: “Sheffield City Council is disappointed to hear about the Arts Council’s decision on funding Museums Sheffield. Museums Sheffield plays an important role in the city’s cultural life and the City Council will continue to support and work with the organisation over the coming year” Nick Dodd, Chief Executive of Museums Sheffield, said: “This is very disappointing news. With Arts Council support Museums Sheffield has helped bring contemporary art to huge audiences over the past few years, including over a million visitors in the last year alone. We are pleased that some of our partners in the city, such as Sheffield Theatres, Site Gallery and Yorkshire Arts Space have been successful and we look forward to continuing to work with them. We’ll now be focussing our energy on seeking out alternative funding sources and opportunities in order to deliver as much as possible of our contemporary art programme in the next few years” 11.01am: Disappointment at Exeter Northcott Theatre – it is not included in the national portfolio programme. It has had a turbulent few years and went in to adminstration last year. The theatre’s statement reads: “The Exeter Northcott Theatre is loved by audiences and artists and is vital to the cultural life of Exeter and Devon. “Audience numbers over the last nine months have been testament to the high regard in which the theatre is held locally and regionally “We have worked hard to provide entertainment and inspiration to our ever increasing and diversifying audience and we know that the appetite for what we do won’t disappear with this news. Having faced adversity before, we believe we are in good shape to do so again but these are challenging times. “We will now take a period of time to reflect and plan for the future with our remaining stakeholders, the University of Exeter and Exeter city council; difficult decisions may need to be made and we are grateful for their continuing support. “We would like to remind the public that this cut does not take effect until April 2012; we are very much open for business and with an exciting summer season going on sale this Friday we hope that we will be welcoming you through our doors very soon.” 10.56am: Another new member of the club is Kendal Arts International (KAI) , which creates and directs the Lakes Alive outdoor events programme in Cumbria with Manchester International Arts. It will receive a grant of £890,000 over three years. Julie Tait, the director of Kendal Arts International, said: ” We are delighted to have been awarded national portfolio organisation status from 2012. It is acknowledgement of the quality and potential of our work and, in particular, of the significant impact the Lakes Alive programme has made in just 2 years. “This funding will enable us to start to plan now for the legacy of the programme and for new developments within Kendal Arts International’s work in the future. “It also sends an important signal that the outdoor arts have a vital role to play in this country in making great art accessible to everyone.” 10.50am: There’s been a big increase for Camden Arts Centre. Its director Jenni Lomax, said: “We’re thrilled to get a 30% uplift which represents an endorsement of our risk taking programme working with emerging and lesser know artists. And of course we’re excited about the possibilities this increased investment offers.” 10.41am: Been watching the brilliant behind-the-scenes documentaries about English National Ballet on BBC4? Well ENB are down about 15%. Craig Hassall said this: “The message from government is that the arts should anticipate reduced funding. Whilst this is a disappointment, it also reflects the reality of the current economy. The challenge for English National Ballet is to develop other opportunities for revenue, to extend and nurture partnerships and to re-examine all areas of expenditure.” 10.36am: Matt Peacock a trustee at Streetwise Opera, which is successful , sends this: “We received a settlement of around £100,000 per year for the next 3 years. This isn’t as much as we applied for but with over 1,100 orgs applying and less than 700 successful, hardly any new orgs made it into the core funding pot and many were cut. We’re having muted celebrations since we have a lot of friends in other arts orgs who haven’t been successful.” 10.34am: Surprising news? The Cholmondeleys & Featherstonehaughs dance companies – funding completely cut. 10.32am: Charlotte (Higgins that is) has just tweeted: vis arts in London: ICA down by 42%, but South London Gall up by 107%, Camden arts centre up by 15.6% 10.30am: And the first pronouncements from Dame Liz Forgan, chair, and Alan Davey, chief executive: Forgan said: This is about a resilient future for the arts in England. We have taken the brave path of strategic choices not salami slices which has meant some painful decisions, and it is with great regret that we have had to cease funding some good organisations. But we will still be supporting excellence, exceptional talent and successful risk-taking; helping organisations to get their great work out far and wide; backing strong leadership and cultural entrepreneurialism; supporting resilient organisations that can thrive as well as survive; and encouraging work that really enthuses children and young people – because that’s where it all begins. We have tried to go about this difficult process collaboratively, and with honesty and clarity of purpose. We have been helped enormously by having a 10-year shared vision for the arts, which has focused our minds. Davey, said: There have been some really hard choices as we had so many good applications – more than we were able to fund. In advance of the Spending Review, we said “cut us, don’t kill us”. Well, with the help of Lottery income, for which we are grateful, we’re alive and kicking. But we do regret that we have been unable to fund perfectly good organisations, and I know this will be taken hard by those affected. After a thorough process, we believe we have achieved a balance of continuity and change, and of local and national. And we’ve enabled artists and arts organisations to continue to create the great art from which so much springs. This is a collection of decisions that will mean the arts will not retreat from the important part they play in our national life. 10.24am: The Arts Council have released their first statement. Bullet points are: • Reduced grant in aid budget (down 14.9%) in context of wider public sector cuts • Arts Council cuts strategically – no ‘equal cuts for all’ • National portfolio of 695 organisations replaces previous RFO portfolio of 849 • 110 new organisations brought into the mix • Focus on excellent organisations and exceptional individual talent, with decisions shaped by a 10-year vision for the arts • Touring receives major support with £18 million Lottery a year earmarked for portfolio organisations • £10.5 million Lottery a year also targeted at work with children and young people, to ensure vital educational work continues • Extra £12 million Grants for the arts Lottery money freed up for small organisations • Regret as good applications turned down, including 206 existing regularly funded organisations 10.22am: The Photographer’s Gallery in London is getting an increase. They released this statement: “The Photographers’ Gallery is delighted with today’s announcement that Arts Council England will increase the Gallery’s funding for 2012 – 2015. We are grateful for this exceptional financial support in this challenging round of government funding for the Arts. This level of funding is especially important for us as this year represents an exciting new milestone in our 40 year history, as we will be reopening our transformed Gallery in Central London this Autumn with three dedicated galleries, a floor for educational learning and of course our beloved Bookshop, Print Sales and Café. “The continued support from Arts Council England allows us to deliver our vision through our world-class programme welcoming around 450,000+ visitors annually to see, hear, enjoy and think about photography – one of the most important and accessible visual mediums of our time. We look forward in continuing to work in partnership with Arts Council England, helping to deliver its 10-year vision of ‘Great Art for Everyone’.” 10.20am: And a yes for Spark children’s arts festival in Leicester. 10.19am: Another no, this from Megan Vaughan of Metro Boulot Dodo: We’re very disappointed with today’s decision. Metro Boulot Dodo were awarded regular funding in 2008 to support the innovative and inclusive work we’ve made for audiences since 1997, and it has enabled us to build strong relationships and collaborations with artists across the East Midlands, supporting a vibrant arts community from our hub in Leicester. It is a sad state of affairs when we are creating work in Singapore and Spain but do not receive support from our own Arts Council for all the projects we do in the UK. 10.16am: There are going to be a lot of no’s today. If you remember 1,333 groups applied and about 750 will be successful. Youth arts training company, Surrey based Peer Productions have been unsuccessful in their bid. Co-artistic director Nina Lemon tells me: “Whilst we are disappointed with the news, as an organisation who have never received core ACE funding, so we are no worse off than before we made the application. Particularly for smaller organisations, it is a difficult time to apply for long term funding. Many relationships with local authorities and other partners are in a state of flux as they too respond to national cuts and new initiatives. As a social enterprise we earn 60% of our income and we will be looking to other grant making bodies, trust and foundations as well as private philanthropists and businesses to ensure that we can continue to deliver our high quality arts educational projects.” 10.14am: A big increase for the Maltings Theatre, Berwick going up from £42,144 to £175,200 in 2012-13, £179,405 in 2013 – 14 and £184,069 in 2014 – 15. Dr Miles Gregory, Chief Executive of the theatre, said: “We are obviously pleased that Arts Council England recognise the significant improvements that we have delivered over the last two years. We realise though that other organisations in our region may not have been successful, and there will be a need for arts organisations to work together to minimise the impact of cuts to arts budgets across Northumberland. “The Maltings will have much work to do over the coming years, and there will be serious challenges ahead as our organisation grows considerably. But today’s news is a wonderful result for The Maltings and the communities we serve. “I would like to pay tribute to the Board, staff and volunteers at The Maltings, who have worked so hard over the last few years to transform the way The Maltings operates. We can be justly proud of our theatre in this town.” Charlotte Higgins , who is at Arts Council England headquarters in Westminster this morning, sends this: I’m at Great Peter Street, the ACE HQ, scanning the figures. This is after a very quick glance: Aldeburgh music is 9.3% cut, a surprise (though it’s a successful, and hopefully very sustainable, organisation), but DanceEast, its neighbour, 27.1% raised. Nearby, Norwich and Norfolk festival is a big winner at 87% rise. Orchestras on the whole being cut by 11-15% – this goes for LPO, London Sinfonietta, LSO, Philharmonia. Almeida theatre is a big loser – down by 39% – but its neighbour to the immediate east, Arcola, goes up by 82.1%, and to the south the Barbican goes up by an amazing 108%. Some interesting winners in literature – English PEN up by 190% Big national organisations: ENO is down by 11%, ENB by 15%, Royal Opera by 15%, National theatre by 14.9% Visual arts: mima, in the northeast gets a 143% boost. New members of the portfolio include: Academy of Ancient Music Gecko theatre HighTide festival theatre Clod ensemble Innovative, small-scale theatre gets a boost: FUEL producers are up by 203.9%; Ockham’s Raxor up by 173.2%; Punchdrunk (not so smallscale any more) up by 141% Lots of boost for dance: Greenwich dance agency, for example, up by 42.6% . 10.04am: Sad news from my home county, Northumberland Theatre company has been completely cut. They tour nationally. Will try and find out what next for them. 10.00am: Artsdepot in North Finchley, which had its funding brutally and suddenly removed by Barnet Council – a 100% cut of £194,000 for the only professional arts venue in the borough – has at least had cheering arts council news. They’ve got £300,000 this year, down 6% from this year, but they are just relieved. 9.56am: Forced Entertainment have been given standstill funding. Its artistic director Tim Etchells said: “We’re pleased that our commitment to artistic excellence and innovative practice combined with sound management has been recognised by Arts Council England. With ACE’s support and that of our other partners we can continue to excite and challenge audiences in the UK and elsewhere. We have a strong sense of how fortunate we are to receive this funding given that the demands of central government for cuts at any price will devastate the British arts scene. We feel that the government cuts – to the arts and to other vital areas of social provision – are both destructive and ideologically motivated. Cuts for the arts are particularly short-sighted given that the recent commitment to funding and development has made British culture the envy of the world and an industry which enjoys a sizable return on investment.” 9.54am: Eastern Angles in Ipswich get standstill funding. “Good news,” they say. 9.53am: Charnwood Arts in Loughborough have been successful getting £131,000, rising to £137,500 in 2014-15. CEO Kevin Ryan said: “We are happy and relieved by this outcome but sad that our uplift for the Writing Industries Network was not supported. Nevertheless, the acknowledgement of the quality and strength of the WIN programme gives us confidence that we will find the support that we need. But on balance we are extremely happy with the decision!” 9.51am: Barnsley Civic is fine. They are not getting what they asked for but are getting an increase. They’re happy. 9.50am: English Touring Opera is getting an increase in funding . It says: £1,577,015 in 2012/13, rising to £1,819,244 in 2014/15 from Arts Council England. This represents an overall increase in funding of 9% in 2012/13, compared with the Regularly Funded Organisation grant received in 2011/12 (£1,440,196) and will enable ETO to sustain its current level of activity. From 2013/14, the increase in support from ACE will enable ETO to increase its programme of activity across the UK. 9.48am: More positive circus news as it’s a yes for Jacksons Lane in north London . Artistic director Adrian Berry says: “This will enable us to continue to support, produce and develop new contemporary circus and visual theatre in North London and support exciting artists and companies all over the country. It is also a sound acknowledgement by ACE of the innovative work being produced by circus artists.” 9.46am: Another update from Steve Morris in the south west: Tense and early start” for artistic director Philip Wilson at the Salisbury Playhouse. But here’s its statement: Salisbury Playhouse is delighted that Arts Council England will continue to fund the organisation at a similar level to its current commitment, through until 2015, as part of the National Portfolio Funding Programme. As an arts and educational charity, and a nationally recognised producing theatre, last year Salisbury Playhouse’s work reached over 114,000 people through its productions and community activities. It also contributed more than £9 million into the local economy. This agreement means that the first year (2012/13) will see funding at an equivalent level to 2011/12, with an increase of 2.5% in Years 2 and 3. Salisbury Playhouse will now be able to plan across the next four years with confidence, and actively pursue new partnerships. This announcement also strengthens the financial stability of the organisation, which will help attract additional funding to enable the creation of new areas of activity. 9.44am: Bristol’s Spike Island is another winner. Anna Searle emails: Spike Island is pleased to announce that it has been included in Arts Council’s National Portfolio. The Arts Council grant to Spike Island for 2012-13 has been set at £152,847, with inflationary increases over the following two years. This follows a major grant of £223,000 for Organisational Development awarded two weeks ago. Spike Island is grateful for the continued support of Arts Council England in spite of government funding cuts. Spike Island plays a national role in the development of artists’ practice and is a model for the provision of mixed workspace. Its 80,000 square foot building houses one of Europe’s largest studio complexes, providing subsidised studios and workshops for over ninety artists and low cost workspace for a wide range of designers, arts organisations and other creative businesses, leading to a dense arts ecology. It contains the South West’s largest gallery space, designed by architects Caruso St John and opened to the public in 2007. Since then it has presented a critically regarded programme of exhibitions, talks and events. The Associates scheme offers peer support and professional development for artists, designers, curators and writers, while Spike Design provides low cost working space, networking opportunities and business advice for creative startups. Spike Island’s income is largely self-generated: it currently raises approximately 78% of its running costs, with just 22% being derived from public funds. It has a diverse mix of income sources and is actively working to further increase funds, in particular from trusts and foundations, philanthropic sources and space hire. Director Helen Legg says, “It’s positive news that Spike Island has been included in the National Portfolio though we deeply regret the loss of funding to so many others across the country. The next few years will be difficult for the arts and it is critical that City Councils maintain their support for the arts and that the government introduces tax breaks in order to encourage philanthropy.” 9.41am: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has had good news with standstill this year and small uplift thereafter. 9.38am: Colette Bryce emails: Poetry London, the literary magazine, has received funding. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for all our fellow poetry organisations. 9.36am: Outdoor performing arts company Nutkhut has been successful. 9.34am: Sue Jones, director of Whitstable Biennale, tells me they were unsuccessful. She adds: We had good feedback on everything – except a weakness in funding, which is true I would guess for a lot of organisations who weren’t already RFOs (like us) and raise all funding on a project by project basis. Ultimately, ‘other organisations fit better into the national picture’. Whitstable Biennale has gone from strength to strength over the last five years, raising project-by-project funding, and we will continue to do so……. 9.32am: London-based mimbre has had an increase in funding. General manager Emma Forster said: mimbre are overjoyed and slightly humbled to announce that we will be part of the Arts Council England’s new National Portfolio, securing our funding until 2015 at £125,000 plus an inflationary increase. We are of course delighted but remain very concerned about the impact the cuts are going to have on the sector at large. We hope that all the organisations who have received good news this morning will be willing to share their skills and expertise with the wider arts community to help ensure its continued health, as best as we can with newly limited resources. It’s sobering to remember that despite many pieces of good news this morning, a huge number of people are going to be losing their livelihoods and the chance to share their passions as a result of the cuts as a whole. The arts are naturally resilient: in one form or another they will grow. Nonetheless, the cuts will have a significant (and for now, painfully degrading) impact. At the risk of being political, they are a bitter pill to swallow when other sectors, directly tied up in the current financial crisis, are by contrast receiving bonuses. 9.29am: FutureEverything, the Manchester festival of digital culture, is a winner. General manager Joanne Wain said: “Like many arts organisations we are a very small team delivering on an ambitious scale, and the security of this funding allows us to plan ahead with confidence. We’re also pleased that FutureEverything was rated strongly across many areas of our bid; the perfect morale-booster for us as we gather steam toward this year’s event in May!” 9.27am: Zinc, which says it is the largest disabled-led arts organisation in England and has had arts council funding for 16 years has been turned down. Zinc Chair, Annette Bennett said this: “Decisions such as this one mean that there is less money being invested in supporting some of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society to engage in the arts and to lead a rewarding and fulfilling cultural life. In difficult economic times it is even more important to invest in creating opportunities that will provide these groups with the chance to develop new skills, create excellent art and benefit from pathways to employment and supported employment through artistic and creative activities.” Chief Executive, Jeff Banks said this: “We understand the difficult decision that the Arts Council has had to make this year with a reduced operating budget but have been very fortunate to have been in receipt of funding from ACE for over 16 years and we are very grateful for their invaluable support to our organisation over that period of time”. 9.23am: John Harte, general manager of Aurora Orchestra, emails with good news: We’ve had excellent news this morning at Aurora Orchestra: ACE has decided to bring us into the National Portfolio with a grant of £60k annually, as requested. We’re all thrilled at the possibilities this opens up for bringing orchestral music to new audiences over the coming years. 9.22am: It was a no for Salt Publishing in Cambridge. Director Chris Hamilton-Emery says: Sadly, Salt didn’t succeed in its bid for Arts Council funding. We fully intend to take our innovative publishing programme forward by increasing our book sales with the continued support of the tens of thousands of customers who have bought Salt’s books over the past decade. We’re very grateful to the Arts Council for the support they’ve given us in the past. 9.20am: London-based Kali Theatre Company are another which has been successful. 9.17am: Dash Arts have joined the portfolio. Josephine Burton emails: Along with the 2 Olivier Awards for Dash’s co-commission of Babel (premiere at Sadler’s Wells in May 2010), last week’s announcement of the UK premiere of our theatre production of One Thousand and One Nights at the Edinburgh International Festival this August (http://www.eif.co.uk/1001) and the fact that Dash Arts was shortlisted last week for the British Arab Awards for Culture and Society 2011 along with AL Jazeera English and Delfina Foundation (http://www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/what-we-offer/awards/arab-british-culture-society-award-2011 ), we heard today that Dash Arts has joined the Arts Council’s portfolio of regular funded organisations, receiving £277,000 over three years. Masses of good news. 9.15am: Leicester Print Workshop (visual arts) gets an increase. 9.14am: This tweet from Firstsite (visual arts) which got £617,000 in 2011/12: Add @firstsite to the list of relieved arts orgs this morning. 9.12am: An uplift in funding for Oldham Coliseum . 9.11am: Good news for the London mime festival – an uplift in funding. But director Helen Lannaghan says: We’ve had good news – confirmation of an uplift in funding for 2013-15 for the London International Mime Festival. It’s bittersweet when so many others aren’t doing so well… 9.09am: Alex Byrne, artistic director of the successful Cambridge based NIE-Theatre company, responds to Bev Adams earlier email and says this: I totally empathise with her sentiments – I have spent the last 10 years creating and developing NIE and shaped my life around it (and put my family through hell at some points). The last weeks of waiting have been a real strain and the uncertainty has had a big impact on planning. We became and RFO in the last round (08/09). This morning we got the news that we will continue in ACE funding as part of the new NPO scheme – this is great news and means that we can continue to develop and share our work with more people. I guess over the course of the morning we will see the fuller picture emerge. It will be real pity if this very dynamic and successful part of the economy is punished because of failures elsewhere. 9.06am: Further to the Bristol news, this from the Guardian’s south west reporter Steve Morris: Relief and excitement at Bristol Old Vic. They will receive a “standstill grant”. “Good news for us and good news for Bristol” they say. “In addition we’re excited about a new conversation with ACE about how they support us in developing touring work.” Theatre already busy with today’s work – a coachload of young people from Tiverton High School in Devon has just got off a coach. They are performing here tonight as part of the National Theatre’s Connections Festival to encourage young performers. 9.04am: Bristol Old Vic are getting standstill funding. 9.03am: Poor old Forest Forge in Hampshire have just been on Radio 5. They get £117,000 this year, but nothing from 2012. 9.01am: Yorkshire Dance has been given quite a large increase, up from around £185,000 to £323,600. Antony Dunn says: While we are very pleased to receive this offer, and very grateful to Arts Council England for this recognition of the value of our work across Yorkshire, we wait anxiously for news from our partners and other dance organisations across the region and nationwide. 8.58am: 2021 Visual Arts in Lincolnshire is now a National Portfolio Organisation, they tweet. 8.55am: Locus+, the Newcastle-based visual arts commissioning agency that has worked with artists such as Mark Wallinger, Fiona Banner, Douglas Gordon, Anya Gallacio etc, has had its funding confirmed and an inflationary uplift over the next 3 years. 8.53am: Mike Roberts, director of pyrotechnic arts group The World Famous , is disappointed. He was told by the arts council: “Other organisations fitted better into the national picture.” 8.50am: Theatre company New International Encounter have retained funding. 8.47am: Lots of my colleagues will be posting and tweeting today. Follow their tweets here . 8.46am: London-based Tete a Tete are happy with their £100,000 plus inflation settlement. 8.43am: East Midlands based participatory community theatre company Hanby and Barrett has been unsuccessful. Andy Barrett says: We know that the work we produce is well thought of by ACE and so we’re in the same position as before, running project by project which can be totally exhausting. 8.41am: Studio Voltaire and Intoart, mentioned earlier, got £70,000. 8.40am: Oops, when I said Circus Arts had been successful, should have said Greentop Circus had been successful. Read about them here 8.38am: East London based theatre company ATC is a winner. Its executive director Nick Williams says: ATC has been fortunate enough to have been offered National Portfolio funding to continue its work touring contemporary international drama around the UK. A small reduction on what was requested but manageable all the same of around 4% less than asked, which cancels inflationary increase request but permits an increase all the same. Perhaps this is a sign of a more coherent approach to touring? 8.35am: This tweet from Rosehill Theatre in Whitehaven: We’ve only went and gone and got our ACE Funding!!! Couldn’t be happier! 8.33am: Studio Voltaire and Intoart , a joint application, become one of the 100 or so (estimated) new national portfolio organisations. 8.29am: Circus Arts, which provides circus training across the north of England, say they have received an increase in funding. Craig Gamble Pugh says: This is an incredible step forward for Circus Arts and arts education in the relatively underserved northern regions. 8.26am: Phoenix Dance in Leeds tweet that they’ve retained funding with an 11% drop. 8.21am: Of course a villain is always needed. Here’s what the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts thinks this morning. This morning, the Arts Council of England will announce cuts to orchestras, galleries, theatres and festivals. Stand by for a performance worthy of bad Greek tragedy, peppered by Left-wing breast-beating about ‘broadening access’. There will be keening and caterwauling on an epic scale. ‘Woe is us!’ the corduroyed luvvies will chorus, taking their lead from the Arts Council’s bossy Brunnhilde of a chairman, Dame Liz Forgan. 8.18am: Pilot Theatre has been told it’s getting more money. This year it gets £260,000. Next year it will get £327,500. Read Marcus Romer’s blog here . 8.14am: Arts groups will be hearing the news up until 9.30am. Heard yet? Email me at mark.brown@guardian.co.uk 8.10am: Another summer-upper. This tweet from @True_Lizzy_King: . 8.07am: Within seconds of me posting Bev’s email comes news that Faceless has been successful . They’re getting £60,000 with an inflationary increase each year. They’re getting national portfolio money plus Grants for Arts money. Bev says: The decision is effectively standstill to us in real terms, but we are hugely relieved as it stabilises us for another three years. 8.03am: To say there were a few sleepless nights last night is an understatement – so much depends on today’s announcements. Bev Adams, the artistic director of Wakefield-based Faceless (which does outdoor performance and community arts) summed it up in this email to me last night: I feel like I am waiting in a hospital for a doctor to tell me whether or not a good friend is going to pull through. The company which I founded 20 years ago, with £50, as a 2nd year undergraduate is like a good friend. It has kept me in employment for the past 20 years. It is all I have ever done. The company sustains my family and has sustained numerous other artists and their families. My company employs the full time equivalent of 4 people all committed to increasing access to the arts for disadvantaged communities and marginalised people. We are not completely reliant on Arts Council England for our income. Like most Arts Organisations, we juggle a budget of earned income and project specific grants. In fact, we have only had some regular or core cost funding for the past five years. Core cost funding stabilised our business, it evened out our cashflow, enabled us to plan ahead and to make decisions about the work we took on – for its intrinsic value to the artform and for the benefits of the communities we serve. As Government cuts bite deeper, we need our Arts Council more. In the past year, we have seen our earned income shrink and we soon came to realise that the earned income (of which we were so proud) was just recycled public money anyway in the form of a commission from a local authority or a local voluntary group who had raised some funds of their own. If the decision is negative for us, it takes us back to how we were working 10 years ago – freelance artists working on a project by project basis. Our organisation will shrink from four full time posts to just two artists – myself and my co-director. This scares the hell out of me. I am a mid-career arts professional and I am the sole breadwinner in my household. So, tomorrow is a sad day of reckoning. Unfortunately, like with most of the other ConLibDem cuts, it is the wrong people that are being reckoned. Artists contribute to society in so many ways. We have proven our economic and our contributions to social wellbeing. With fewer artists we will have a broken and not a big society. 7.56am: Well it’s here – the day hundreds of arts organisations have been dreading. Today they find out what money Arts Council England will give them for the three years between 2012 and 2015. I’ll be here all day bringing you news and reaction to what the arts council itself has called “the biggest change to arts funding in a generation”. Here’s the context. The DCMS announced last year that the money it gives to ACE would drop by 29.6% over four years, going down from £452m to £350m. But it also said that front line funding could only go down by 15% and the arts council would have to reduce its administration costs by 50% over the four years. The arts council straight away imposed a 6.9% cut on all the 850 regularly funded organisations which get money and announced plans for a brand new national portfolio. The money for that is being given out today. They are taking the opportunity to shake things up. To bring in new organisations which they believe merit public funding. But that, of course, means many organisations will lose money altogether. A total of 1,333 organisations have applied. An estimated 750 will get money. Will any of the big ten lose money? The Royal Opera House , for example, got £26.3m in the 2011/12 settlement. The Southbank Centre got £19.3m. The National Theatre got £18.3m. What about the next tier down? The Baltic in Gateshead got £2.1m. The ICA in London got, in 2011/12, £1.3m. The Theatre Royal Plymouth got £1.2m. What about those organisations hammered by local authority cuts? Artsdepot in North Finchley, for example, had its Barnet council funding cut by 100% or £194,000. So will the £300,000 it gets from the arts council be increased or decreased? And then there are the minnows. Groups like Theatre Hullabaloo based in Darlington, for example, which produces theatre for kids. This year it gets £150,000. Decisions are being emailled this morning with a full list released at 10am. Have you already heard? Are you a winner or a loser? Has the process been fair? Let me know: email me at mark.brown@guardian.uk , tweet @culture_cuts or leave a comment. Arts funding Public sector cuts Arts policy Mark Brown guardian.co.uk
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Washington questioned over its assertion that UN mandate permits supply of arms to anti-Gaddafi rebels The US is likely to be in breach of the UN security council’s arms embargo on Libya if it sends weapons to the rebels, experts in international law have warned. After Hillary Clinton said it would be legal to send arms to support the uprising, lawyers analysing the terms of the UN’s 26 February arms embargo said it would require a change in the terms for it not to breach international law. “The embargo appears to cover everybody in the conflict which means you can’t supply arms to rebels,” said Philippe Sands QC, professor of international law at University College London. His view was backed by other experts in international law who said they could not see how the US could legally justify sending arms into Libya under the current resolutions. Clinton told a press conference in London on Tuesday that this month’s UN security council resolution creating a no-fly zone and allowing strikes to protect civilians effectively amended or overrode the absolute prohibition on arms to anyone in Libya, “so that there could be a legitimate transfer of arms if a country should choose to do that”. Asked whether the US itself would arm Libya revolutionaries, Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “We have not made that decision but we’ve not certainly ruled that out.” February’s UN security council resolution 1970 on the arms embargo states that all member states must prevent the supply to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya – the Libyan nation – of arms including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts. The embargo also relates to the provision of technical assistance, training or financial and bans the provision of mercenaries. It includes an exemption for “other sales or supply of arms and related material, or provision of assistance or personnel, as approved in advance by the committee”. The committee was established to oversee the implementation of the embargo and is chaired by José Filipe Moraes Cabral, Portugal’s ambassador to the UN. Professor Nicholas Grief, director of legal studies at the University of Kent, said that to him the 17 March resolution in fact appeared to strengthen the arms embargo by calling for its “strict implementation” by member states. “I don’t see how they can say that reading them together means they can circumvent the arms embargo,” he said. “The resolution makes clear it is for the security council to decide whether to strengthen, suspend or lift the arms embargo, not for member states to act unilaterally.” On Monday, the Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasumussen, stressed the importance of respecting the arms embargo. “The UN mandate authorises the enforcement of an arms embargo,” he said. “We are not in Libya to arm people but to protect people.” A leading expert on UN law who has advised the British government and asked not to be named said: “The attempt to take the two resolutions together to justify arming the rebels looks like an imaginative interpretation by the US. I don’t think the security council had the rebels in mind when it passed the resolution. I would be interested to see what the US argument is in detail.” “The idea of the arms embargo resolution is to limit the supply of arms to both sides, as similar UN embargoes covering Iraq and Haiti have done.” A senior state department official confirmed the US government believed that combined, the 26 February arms embargo and the 17 March security council resolution “give us the flexibility necessary should that decision be taken [to arm the rebellion]“. “Taken together the two resolutions don’t preclude the provision of arms to the rebels,” the official said. Libya Middle East Arms trade Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy US military United States Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
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Band’s plans to give away newspaper in Washington DC sent awry as fans are given wrong delivery address When Radiohead announced they would give out their free newspaper on street corners around the world, they forgot to study a map of Washington DC. Yesterday, as instructed on the website for the Universal Sigh , Radiohead fans gathered at the intersection of the city’s Jefferson and 7th Streets NW, waiting for their free tabloid. Then they kept waiting. And kept waiting. And no one – not Thom Yorke, not producer Nigel Godrich, not one of their paid news interns – actually showed up. Radiohead got the address wrong, according to the Washington City Paper . Although they told fans to meet at 784 Jefferson Street NW, that address doesn’t actually exist. They meant to send them to Jefferson Street SW – namely the Hirshhorn Gallery , on the historic National Mall, more than 4 miles away. Instead, more than 30 people showed up at a sleepy intersection in residential Brightwood and, er, sighed the universal sigh. “It makes me not want to listen to Radiohead,” Carla Vizzini told the City Paper, annoyed that she wasted her lunch hour trying to get a copy of the Sigh. One group of five drove 200 miles, from Lynchburg, Virginia, to get their hands on the paper. Before the crowd learned that copies were waiting at the Hirshhorn, they squinted at every passing car, even a Cadillac hearse, hoping it bore Radiohead’s inky prize. “Fuck them for not giving us something for free!” someone joked. Geography can be confusing, especially if you’re organising newspaper handouts in 61 locations worldwide. And Google Maps is not perfect. But in DC they are blaming Pierre L’Enfant, the civil engineer who designed Washington’s “totally confusing” city plan. Imagine if he had helped design the Radiohead website . Radiohead Pop and rock Washington DC United States Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Sean Michaels guardian.co.uk
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Super complaint filed with OFT seeks to stamp out card charges favoured by airlines and other online retailers Consumer organisation Which? has lodged a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading to try and stamp out the spiralling “rip off” surcharges levied on debit and credit card transactions. Budget airlines have led the way in charging hefty fees for the privilege of paying by plastic, but the latest research by Which? shows these “unjustifiable” charges are increasingly standard practice across a wide range of business sectors – from local councils and florists to dentists, dealerships and estate agents. While the cost to companies for processing a payment by debit card is around 20p, and no more than 2% of the transaction value for a credit card, Which? researchers found dozens of examples of companies charging far higher fees. These included: • a £25 debit card charge to pay a £5,000 deposit to rent a flat through Foxtons, one of London’s biggest letting agents. • train booking site the Trainline adding a £3.50 charge for paying by credit card, while Eurostar charged £4. • London cab firms Dial-a-Cab and Radio Taxis added 12.5% to the cost of their fares for paying with a debit or credit card, and Addison Lee charged £4.40. • Bath and North East Somerset council levied a 3% credit card charge, while the DVLA adds £2.50 for paying by credit card. • Admiral Insurance levied a £5.95 fee for credit card use, while Swinton Insurance charges 2.5%. • AOL charged £1.99 on both credit and debit cards. • A family of four booking a return flight with Ryanair would be charged £40 to pay by debit or credit card. Such charges make it difficult for consumers to compare prices ahead of making a purchase, and Which? also found that only a third of the public understood it is retailers rather than banks or card issuers who impose charges for paying by debit and credit card. A Eurostar spokesperson said: “In line with much of the travel industry Eurostar charges a fee for credit card bookings, which goes some way towards offsetting the costs charged to us by the credit card companies. “In February we made the commercial decision to increase this fee by £1 per booking. The new fee of £4 is more reflective of our own costs and we will not generate any profit through this charge. As has been the case since it was introduced, this fee is only applied to credit card transactions over £30 and it remains significantly lower than any of our airline competitors – and unlike many of our competitors, all bookings made using a debit card remain free of this charge.” Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “Consumers are really fed up with paying excessive card charges. So far, more than 40,000 people have pledged their support for our campaign to bring these to an end. Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders, but excessive card surcharges are becoming ever more widespread, with everyone from cinemas and cabs to hotels and even some local authorities getting in on the act.” The OFT said it would consider the issues raised in the super complaint in order to establish whether any element, or combination of elements, is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers. It will publish a response within 90 days. Possible outcomes include: • improving the quality and accessibility of information for consumers. • encouraging businesses in the market to self-regulate. • making recommendations to government to change regulations or public policy. • taking competition or consumer enforcement action. • making a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission. • declaring a clean bill of health. Ryanair, one of the companies accused by Which? of levying credit and debit card charges, denies it does any such thing . Instead it charges an “administration fee”, which is avoidable if customers use a MasterCard prepaid card to make the transaction. Ryanair’s own white labelled card is no longer being marketed, but customers can use any prepaid MasterCard to avoid the fees. Kevin Mountford, head of banking and credit cards at moneysupermarket.com , says those who are likely to use the card for buying just one or two tickets may do best with the Freedom Eagle Cash Card, which has no monthly or card application but charges 2.75% for shop and internet purchases. However, those buying several tickets could save money with the Kalixa prepaid MasterCard, which has no monthly or purchase fees, but does have a one off card application fee. • Pledge your support for the campaign and find out more Consumer affairs Credit cards Debit cards Airline industry Ryanair Easyjet Budget travel Rebecca Smithers guardian.co.uk
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