Legacy Subsidy Schemes

The legal basis and policy objective or purpose of the subsidy

Arts Council England was established by Royal Charter on 13 March 1994, taking over those responsibilities in England previously discharged by the Arts Council of Great Britain. The Arts Council of England, trading as Arts Council England, is a registered charity, charity registration number 1036733.

The current objects of Arts Council England as stated in its Royal Charter are to:

• develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and practice of the arts
• increase accessibility of the arts to the public in England
• advance the education of the public and to further any other charitable purpose which relates to the establishment, maintenance and operation of museums and libraries (which are either public or from which the public may benefit) and to the protection of cultural property
• advise and co-operate, where it is appropriate to do so, with Departments of our Government, our Scottish administration, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Welsh ministers, local authorities, the arts councils and equivalent organisations in the museums and libraries sector for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (or their successors) and other bodies on any matter related to the objects

The Royal Charter is at the core of the Arts Council’s mission as reflected in its strategy, Let’s Create.

The policy objectives and purpose of the Transition Programme are set out in guidance for applicants originally published on  July 2022  and subsequently revised on November 2022.

In addition:

• The purpose of the subsidy is set out in the applicant guidance referenced above
• Primary beneficiaries of the scheme are residents in England and those employed within creativity and culture in England

Applicants could apply for:

• up to seven months’ funding for National Portfolio Organisations (or those that were funded outside the National Portfolio through Business Plan funding) during the year ended 31 March 2023 and that were unsuccessful in their applications to the 2023-26 Investment Programme. This is 58 per cent of the Arts Council investment provided for the year ending 31 March 2023; or
• up to ten months’ funding for National Portfolio Organisations (or those funded outside the National Portfolio through Business Plan funding) during the year ending 31 March 2023 who receive a conditional offer of funding in October 2022, but are unable to reach agreement with the Arts Council on a Funding Agreement for the 2023-26 investment period. This is 83 per cent of the Arts Council investment provided for the year ending 31 March 2023

The Transition programme was open to organisations that had received National Portfolio or Business Plan extension funding for the year ending 31 March 2023 and were unsuccessful in their applications to the 2023-26 Investment Programme as a National Portfolio Organisation or Investment Principles Support Organisation or were unable to reach agreement with the Arts Council on a Funding Agreement for the 2023-26 investment period.

Organisations at risk of insolvency were ineligible.

Find out more information about the Transfer Programme >

About the subsidy

Details of organisations receiving funding under the Transition Programme 2023-24 have not been published as the eligible organisations were unsuccessful in their applications to the National Portfolio Investment Programme. Arts Council England does not publish information about unsuccessful applicants.

Read the details of all organisations in receipt of subsidy >

Awards are for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 October 2023, or 1 April 2023 to 31 January 2024. 

Subsidies awarded are based on amounts applied for under the terms of the scheme. In some cases, reductions were applied following detailed consideration of the application.

All award recipients receive detailed funding agreements with standard grant conditions in March 2023. Additional conditions were also applied where relevant or required.

 

The legal basis and policy objective or purpose of the subsidy

Arts Council England was established by Royal Charter on 13 March 1994, taking over those responsibilities in England previously discharged by the Arts Council of Great Britain. The Arts Council of England, trading as Arts Council England, is a registered charity, charity registration number 1036733.

The current objects of Arts Council England as stated in its Royal Charter are to:

• develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and practice of the arts
• increase accessibility of the arts to the public in England
• advance the education of the public and to further any other charitable purpose which relates to the establishment, maintenance and operation of museums and libraries (which are either public or from which the public may benefit) and to the protection of cultural property
• advise and co-operate, where it is appropriate to do so, with Departments of our Government, our Scottish administration, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Welsh ministers, local authorities, the arts councils and equivalent organisations in the museums and libraries sector for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (or their successors) and other bodies on any matter related to the objects

The Royal Charter is at the core of the Arts Council’s mission as reflected in its strategy, Let’s Create.

The policy objectives and purpose of the Transfer Programme (which includes National Portfolio Organisations and Investment Principles Support Organisations) are set out in guidance for applicants published on 16 June 2022.

In addition:

• The purpose of the subsidy is set out in the applicant guidance referenced above
• Primary beneficiaries of the scheme are residents in England and those employed within creativity and culture in England
• Applicants could apply for a minimum of £50,000 per year (no upper limit)

The Transfer programme was open to organisations that applied for the National Portfolio Investment Programme from an address within the Arts Council’s London area, and who would be willing to relocate to an Arts Council area in England (outside of London) by 31 October 2024. 

Eligibility criteria for the National Portfolio Investment Programme were as follows:

• Organisations must be able to clearly demonstrate that their primary aims within the context of their application are around creativity and culture and that the activities they are applying for fall within the remit of Arts Council England
• We will use the definitions of ‘creativity’ and ‘culture’ in Let’s Create to help establish eligibility
• The programme of work that our investment would support must mainly benefit artists, practitioners, participants or audiences in England
• Organisations must have a registered address within the United Kingdom
• The lead organisation (the organisation submitting the application) should be properly constituted as an organisation as one of the following:
• limited companies registered at Companies House
• community interest companies (CICs) registered with the CIC regulator
• charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charity Commission
• charitable companies or charitable trusts registered with the Charity Commission
• limited liability partnerships registered at Companies House
• partnerships established under a partnership deed governed by the Partnership Act 1890 or the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, where a signed partnership agreement in writing is in place
• community benefit and co-operative societies regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Royal Charter bodies
• statutory bodies and other public bodies including universities and local authorities who run or maintain cultural services
• Museums applying to this programme must be Accredited (or working towards Accreditation) and must be based in England
• Public libraries operating as part of the statutory service as defined in the Public Libraries and Museums Act of 1964 are eligible to apply for this programme where the primary aims of the application are creative and cultural activity’

Find out more about the Transfer Programme >

About the subsidy

Details of all organisations receiving funding under the Transfer Programme 2023-25 can be found here.

Details of all organisations in receipt of subsidy (including points (b) to (e) above) can be found here.

All awards are for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025. Conditional offers were issued in October 2022.

Subsidies awarded are based on amounts applied for under the terms of the scheme. In some cases, reductions were applied following detailed consideration of the application.

All award recipients receive detailed funding agreements with standard grant conditions in March 2023. Additional conditions were also applied where relevant or required.