Issue - meetings

Decision

That a phased reduction of the current annual grant funding of £310,220 to the YAT be approved as follows:

£273,000 (2022/23)

£236,500 (2023/24)

£200,000 (2024/25)

Reason:

To deliver financial savings to the Council.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Council faced a projected budget deficit of £6 million over the coming four years. As a part of a comprehensive medium term financial review of discretionary services the Executive considered a report recommending reduced future grant funding for the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (YAT).

In the absence of the Lead Councillor Environment, the Leader of the Council introduced the report. The Leader reflected on the challenging financial position facing the Council. The (YAT) had been in receipt of Council funding for many years. The funding had remained at £310,220, the same level since the 2015-16 financial year despite very substantial reductions to the Council’s central government funding over the last decade. This level of support was no longer affordable for the council and a phased reduction of the funding was proposed over the coming three years.

The YAT had received over a million pounds in government Covid support grants during the pandemic and an independent credit check showed the theatre to be in a sound financial position. In addition, the Executive heard that public consultation conducted last year had revealed that local residents had put arts and culture as a low priority for public spending compared to other discretionary services provided by the Council.

The report had been considered by the Strategy and Resources Executive Advisory Board (EAB) on 6 December 2021. Councillor Ruth Brothwell who chaired the EAB meeting was in remote attendance and explained the debate had revealed a clear split of opinion illustrating the difficulty of the decision before the Executive. The minute extract of the meeting of the EAB was included in the Supplementary Information Sheet.

The Leader noted that the Council itself had undergone a significant restructure to find savings before looking at its discretionary services. The theatre was a valued partner and, given the community outreach work it delivered, worthy of continued funding by the Council but not at the same level as previously.

There were some enquiries from councillors about the condition of the Mill Studio which was leased to the YAT. The Leader explained that there would be a future discussion regarding the building before the expiration of the current lease which would be at the end of the year.  Having considered the report, the Executive

RESOLVED:

That a phased reduction of the current annual grant funding of £310,220 to the YAT be approved as follows:

£273,000 (2022-23)

£236,500 (2023-24)

£200,000 (2024-25)

Reason:

To deliver financial savings to the Council.

The Executive Advisory Board (EAB) received an introductory presentation from the Strategy and Communications Manager regarding the mandate in respect of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (YAT) grant.  The mandate addressed the following areas:

·             Introduction

·             Strategy

·             Strategic Options to Deliver a Solution

·             Considerations

·             Resources

·             Risks, Assumptions and Issues

·             Dependencies, Constraints and Opportunities

·             Internal Stakeholders

·             Next steps

·             Appendix 1 – Key Financial Data and Ratios

The presentation explained that the YAT provided a mixture of professional theatre both directly produced and received in its main house, an annual programme of small-scale touring companies and a term-time education programme for young people.  In addition, the Mill Studio hosted theatre by local amateur and semi-professional companies.

The YAT had been supported financially by the Council for many years.  Following a report to the Executive in February 2015, the annual grant to the Theatre had been set at £310,220 each year for the three year period from 2015/16 to 2018/19 with no provision for inflation.  At that time, it was highlighted that the Council would face financial pressure to reduce the amount of the grant over following years and the YAT was expected to manage cost reduction and additional income generation programmes over time to compensate for the reduction.

Despite substantial reductions to the Council’s central government funding over the last decade, YAT funding had remained at the same level since 2018/19.  The Council was now facing a projected budget deficit of £6 million over the next four years and needed to make substantial savings across its discretionary services.  Although grant funding to the YAT had been protected to date, this was not a sustainable position in the future owing to the amount of the grant and the Council’s financial challenges.

The mandate set out five options for future funding of the YAT in the context of the Council’s challenging financial position and corporate priorities.  The Options consisted of (a) Do nothing, (b) Do something [1], (c) Do something [2], (d) Do more [1] or (e) Do most.  Having considered the mandate at its meeting held on 3 November 2021, the Executive / Management Team Liaison Group recommended that Options (b) and (c) should be pursued and requested that further information regarding the grant as a percentage of the Theatre’s turnover be provided.  In response, the Group was advised that in a typical year, the Council’s full grant represented 7-8% of the Theatre’s turnover.  This percentage increased substantially in 2020/21 to 22% due to reduced turnover caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.  A credit check had been undertaken and indicated that the Theatre was in a sound financial position.

Officers met representatives of the YAT on 18 November 2021 to discuss the mandate and set out the opportunities to submit representations.  The Theatre subsequently submitted a recent response and this was circulated to the EAB as a late sheet to its agenda.

The Leader of the Council advised that the mandate contained the necessary facts regarding the YAT’s financial situation and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36