To ask the Minister for Communities for his assessment of (i) the role Belfast plays in sustaining arts provision; (ii) whether his Department will ensure that the £150,000 awarded to local councils outside Belfast will, at a minimum, be matched within Belfast; and, (iii) whether the cuts to funding to arts organisations is a factor in the developing situation around the long term sustainability of arts organisations and venues.

Belfast has a crucial role to play in sustaining Arts provision and that is reflected in the funding, disbursed through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI), which is provided by my Department. Seventy-four of a total of 107 ACNI annually funded clients are based in Belfast, providing services to both Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland. In 2016/17 ACNI provided over £7,000,000 to these 74 organisations.

My Department also allocates a total of around £400,000 per year to the Community Festivals Fund (CFF) which is administered and match-funded by Local Councils. Belfast City Council (BCC) was allocated £75,900 from the CFF in 2016/17.

Although BCC has not been included in the Local Government Challenge Fund, since the fund’s development, ACNI and BCC have been involved in discussions to agree a strategic approach to the needs of the core arts organisations in Belfast. This builds on the previous Creative & Cultural Belfast partnership which began in 2013/14 and to which each party committed £150k per year over a 3-year period. The programme was designed to challenge social exclusion by providing everyone in Belfast with the opportunity to experience high-quality culture, arts and heritage.

In the context of the current financial climate, all sectors have been required to make adjustments and to carefully evaluate the way they work. I understand that reductions to ACNI’s budget may have an impact on the short, medium and long term sustainability of arts organisations but further reductions to funding cannot be ruled out in future. However, I fully recognise the value and the returns that the arts can bring and, in the eventuality of further cuts, my Department will continue to work with the Arts sector to offer what support we can. As continues to be the case, I would encourage arts organisations in seeking alternative ways of fundraising, such as sponsorship, rather than being wholly reliant on government grants, as this will make the organisations more sustainable in the long term.