English National Opera told to improve or face funding axe
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Version 0 of 1. The beleaguered English National Opera is being placed in special measures by Arts Council England and removed from the national portfolio of arts organisations given regular funding. ACE’s national council decided on the drastic action on Tuesday because of concerns over governance and the company’s proposed business model. Related: The crisis at the Coliseum is just part of our national opera’s malaise | Charlotte Higgins ENO has been hit by two high-level exits over the past couple of months. First the chairman, Martyn Rose, stood down after writing, in a subsequently leaked letter, that the company’s artistic director, John Berry, was part of the problem not the solution. Two weeks ago, the company’s executive director, Henriette Götz, stepped down after disagreements with Berry. Although ACE is removing ENO from the national portfolio, it will get funding for two years equivalent to that proposed last year. Althea Efunshile, ACE’s acting chief executive, said: “The Arts Council’s role is to ensure that we get the best value for the taxpayers’ money by investing in well run companies who delight audiences with brilliant work. With the very occasional exception, all the organisations we fund do just that. “No one is doubting that ENO is capable of extraordinary artistic work, but we have serious concerns about their governance and business model and we expect them to improve or they could face the removal of our funding.” The Arts Council is effectively moving ENO from a three-year funding arrangement to a two-year one. It will still get the £12.38m agreed last year, which will also be given in 2016/17. Instead of £7.6m transitional funding to make changes to its business model, it will get £6.13m - which is effectively £1m more than had been agreed because it is over two years instead of three. All that comes with conditions. They include “the recruitment of a suitably qualified chief executive able to develop and deliver a new business model for the company; strengthening of the company’s financial operations and the recruitment of a permanent chair”. There should also be monthly reporting on income and expenditure, audience figures and recruitment progress. ACE also announced that the Colchester gallery firstsite, which opened in 2011, was being put in special measures with funding for one year. Efunshile said ACE believed both organisations could “inspire audiences long into the future – and it is our hope and expectation that this happens”. ENO has hovered on the brink of financial peril for years, and last year had its public funding cut from £17.2m to £12.4m. As a result, it has been attempting to move to a new business model under which it would make more money from opening up the Coliseum’s bars and restaurants and staging West End musicals with a commercial partner. Harry Brunjes,ENO’s acting chairman, said: “We are very grateful to Arts Council England for awarding ENO £30.5m over two years and thank them for their acknowledgment of our exceptional artistic programme. The ENO board will continue to work closely with Arts Council England to inspire confidence in our future plans, the management of the Company and the London Coliseum.” |