Dr David Wright and Dr Heidi Ashton on the Hodge review of The Arts Council England

Publication of Dame Margaret Hodge's review of the Arts Council England (ACE) took place on 16 December 2025. The review re-asserted the need for the Arts Council England and re-affirmed the importance of the 'arms-length principle' that maintains its independence from government. It also contained recommendations about how future funding for the arts might be managed, some of which may yet prove to be controversial.

Dr. David Wright, Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, commented, "The Hodge report represents a thorough review of the Arts Council's practices and strategies - arguably the most substantial such review for 17 years. While there is always a sense of a pendulum swinging back and forth in the history of UK cultural policy, one interesting recommendation that resonated with our recent research was for the return of more regional, devolved decision making about questions of cultural funding. The recommendation to review the Let's Create strategy - which had sought to distribute funding to previously 'under-served' places - will be welcomed by some of the more established institutions that felt disadvantaged by it. But in a context in which local authority funding for the arts has been under severe pressure - and is often the first thing to be cut when budgets are tight - ACE control and oversight over a regionally distributed model of arts funding could help underpin more sustainable and locally responsive forms of cultural provision. Regional stakeholders and policymakers would need to talk through the implications."

Dr Heidi Ashton, Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, added, "Drawing on Warwick’s State of the Arts report, Hodge underscores that the UK ranks amongst the lowest in the EU for public investment in the arts and culture and highlights the profound impact of Covid on the cultural ecosystem. Within this context the report emphasises the ‘vital’ role of the Arts Council England (ACE) in sustaining England’s arts, culture and heritage. It clearly acknowledges that freelancers (artists) underpin the success of our creative and cultural sectors, whilst also recognising the chronic precarity that they face and the inadequacies of current support systems. ACE therefore has a significant role to play in ensuring that freelancers are not treated as peripheral but essential partners in creating a thriving cultural environment. To this end, a funding scheme is proposed for targeted individuals to develop their own art.

"While this initiative is welcome in acknowledging the challenges faced by freelancers, it remains unclear whether an individualised approach can truly support the wider cultural ecosystem. Arts Council England cannot, on its own, transform the wider policy landscape which fails to account for the unique labour market conditions shaping freelancers’ experiences and precarity within the sector. However, the implementation of Hodge’s recommendations provides an opportunity to lay a stronger foundation for change by embedding an ethos that recognises and values the contribution these workers make to arts and culture.”