UK govt announces details of round three of CRF

Britain’s culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, has announced details of the final £300 million of the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) for creative, arts and heritage businesses.

Applications for the funding are due to open “shortly”, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), with almost £220m available for both new  organisations at “imminent risk of failure” and existing recipients of CRF grants and loans, which include historic venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Alexandra Palace and Southbank Centre, as well as a number of private live music businesses.

Originally worth £1.57 billion, the CRF received a further £300m in the March 2021 budget. So far, the fund has provided over £1.2bn to more than 5,000 organisations, supporting over 200,000 jobs, according to DCMS.

“Our record-breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of organisations across the country to survive and protected hundreds of thousands of jobs,” says Dowden (pictured). “Now, as we look forward to full reopening, this funding shows our commitment to stand behind culture and heritage all the way through the pandemic.

“This round of funding will provide a further boost to help organisations build back better and ensure we can support more of those in need, safeguarding our precious culture and heritage, and the jobs this supports.”

“This round of funding will provide a further boost to help organisations build back better”

The package announced today (25 June) is made up of several strands, including an emergency fund for organisations who are at risk of ceasing to trade viably within 12 weeks, and have not been supported by the CRF; and a continuity fund offering support for those who have been previous recipients but now may be struggling to survive or reopen, collectively worth £218.5m.

The remainder of the money will go towards a £35m ‘heritage stimulus fund’ to support essential capital projects and a £20m ‘cultural asset fund’ to save historic assets at risk of loss. A further £7.5m is budgeted for admin costs.

Sir Nicholas Serota, chair of Arts Council England, comments: “The Culture Recovery Fund has been a lifeline for the sector throughout the pandemic, and has saved hundreds of cultural organisations across the country from collapse.

“Creativity and culture will be an essential part of our efforts to rebuild after the pandemic, and we’re extremely grateful for the government’s continued support to help organisations reopen and play their part in the national recovery.”

Guidance for each funding stream will be published shortly, says DCMS.

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