Arts Council grants: ‘Sheffield badly let down for years over cash for culture and MPs want explanation’

Mr Betts’ voice has been added to those concerned over how Sheffield is receiving only a fraction of the money given to northern other cities by the Arts Council, with Mancester getting seven times more per head of population, and three times as many grants.

The MP for Sheffield South East said: “Sheffield has been badly let down. It is outrageous, the disparity between us and the likes of Leeds. The explanation I have been given is it is because they have significant arts and cultural organisations that generate that funding. But if we don’t get the money in the first place, we cannot develop the large organisations.

"It is like a snowball effect. I think we need to sit down and work with the voluntary sector, and the business community to plan for more arts funding. I think collectively we as MPs want an explanation from the Arts Council about how they’re going to improve things in the future."

Manchester and Leeds get more money

Details of grants issued across the country for 2023-26, published at the end of last week, showed that per head of population, Manchester was awarded seven times more money than Sheffield, based on 2021 census figures published by the Office for National Statistics. While Sheffield’s grants amounted to £6.23 per head of population (£3.47m in total), Manchester was paid £44.41 per head (£24.5m).

Leeds was paid nearly six times more than Sheffield per head, with £35.65 per person (£28.9m in total), and Newcastle received nearly five times more with £29.74 per head, and £8.9m in total

Councillor Martin Smith, chairman of the economic development and skills policy committee at Sheffield Council, says the Arts Council make funding decisions for their National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) in line with their own priorities under the Let’s Create Strategy, and cities with larger and more arts organisations are generally awarded higher amounts.

Potential arts funding opportunities

He said: “The latest award for Sheffield represents a 15 per cent increase in overall NPO funding to the city. This will provide vital multi-year support to 11 important arts organisations and has seen new and more diverse organisations being included, such as Utopia Theatre. We’ll continue to focus on and invest in our local arts sector and wherever possible help them access all potential funding opportunities.

“Unfortunately we’ve seen lower levels of funding for many years in Sheffield, which makes our arts sector smaller and less able to secure national funding. Those applying in Sheffield have been given small sums of match funding from the Sheffield Culture Collective to demonstrate support from the city, which we hoped would increase our national funding award. However, this year more organisations than ever before have applied so our arts organisations are competing with excessive demand across the sector nationally.

“We know that a strong cultural sector is significant to the local economy and despite funding challenges the creatives in this city are delivering on so many levels for Sheffield. We’re extremely proud of our diverse cultural landscape and will do everything we can to see it thrive and be recognised as it should.”