In the wake of November’s budget, the Campaign for the Arts (CFTA) said the government had avoided ‘big new cuts but did not unlock significant new potential for the UK’s arts and culture sector’. In other words, it has not reversed the cuts made since 2010.

That means arts organisations and museums have been hit by a triple whammy.  Spending on the arts per head of population in England by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has been cut by nearly a third since 2010, the CFTA says. Regional museums, many of which rely on funding from local authorities, have been hit even harder: the CFTA says local grants have been halved. Lottery funding, which paid for a wave of new museums and refurbishments after it was introduced by John Major’s government in 1994, has also declined as competitors such as Omaze have entered the market.