The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, has unveiled the 2025 Autumn Budget.
In an initial reaction from the Campaign for the Arts, Director Jack Gamble said:
“While this Budget avoided big new cuts, it did not unlock significant new potential for the UK’s arts and culture sector.
There were bright spots for the arts. We welcome the £5m investment in books for secondary schools, the commitment to maintaining film studio relief, and the move towards a more supportive licensing framework for cultural and late-night venues.
But the structural threats to the arts remain severe, and there was no significant change to the headline outlook for arts funding revealed by June’s Spending Review. We still face planned cuts to Culture, Media and Sport at national level, and the likelihood of yet more cuts at local level due to the unresolved funding crisis in local government.
The Chancellor announced changes to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses (including cultural venues), which will ultimately mean higher bills at a time when many organisations are already in a financially precarious position.
Inequalities in arts access begin at birth, and the abolition of the two-child limit represents a significant attempt to tackle child poverty and its harms. But we must also ask: what cultural opportunities will exist for children in 10, 20, or 50 years? To ensure a thriving arts sector for the next generation, we need to see far more ambitious action now.”
