So the political circus has rumbled into Manchester this week. Everyone's here already, and it's only Sunday afternoon. The mood is good too, perhaps the sunshine has something to do with it, or perhaps it's very early in the week... but the coppers are in a good mood, and I've only been told off for going the wrong way twice in four hours! And, none of the food at the lunchtime fringe was deep-fried! Things are looking up.
More importantly, if the quality of the first fringe meeting I went to is anything to go by, we're in for a good conference. The Big Lottery Fund are about to consult on spending priorities for 2009 - 2015. They have some tough questions to think through, covering issues as diverse as whether they should fund the people in most need, or fund a geographical spread of projects throughout the land... Go on, think about it, to me they should fund the people most in need, but then who determines need, and on what basis. Add to this the reality that lottery tickets are disproportionately bought by the poor, but the lottery funding doesn't always reach those areas, and you get into some interesting political turf.
We have a client interest in sports funding, which, because of London 2012, is receiving significant amounts of lottery money at the expense of other arts and community projects. It was a contentious decision, but in my judgement the right one. But, here's the rub, as the glow fades on the British success as BOTH sets of Games this year the real funding challenge for sport, good causes and the arts, is how to secure long-term funding beyond 2012. Failure to do so, will make a mockery of the legacy promise and undermine all the sacrifices the arts community is making now.
We'll be making these, and other points to policymakers throughout the week.
Ahhhhh, Labour conference, where else would you want to be.....?
By Claire Levens
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