Entertainment unions call on Arts Council England to safeguard ENO’s future

Entertainment unions call on Arts Council England to safeguard ENO’s future.

The Musicians’ Union (MU), Equity and Bectu today called upon the Arts Council England (ACE) to produce a realistic strategy for English National Opera which remains under threat. Since ACE announced their plans to remove funding from ENO in November and relocate the Company from its London home, the company has been fighting for survival.

ENO’s business plans – following their discussions with ACE – now include maintaining its base at the London Coliseum and finding a second home outside the capital. It is understood that ACE may endorse this plan but the timescale for finalising proposals, and the amount of funding on offer, remain a cause of concern for the Musicians’ Union, Equity and Bectu as well as the wider arts community.

The amount being offered for this transition period by ACE, whilst a huge improvement on what was being suggested in November, is notably less than ENO previously received as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). Plus, it is now expected to cover the costs of transition together with the establishing of a new base outside London in keeping with the Arts Council’s demands.

ACE has apparently failed to factor in the significant associated costs of establishing a new base in a new city, and any relocation fees required for staff. Transporting the company across several premises will be prohibitively expensive and the Unions are very concerned about how the company will stay intact.

Furthermore, with the money now needed to stretch across two workplaces, this will impact immediately on the amount of opera ENO can effectively produce and deliver, which then reduces the vital income streams from ticket sales and donor investment.  In effect, only making the Company proportionately more reliant on ACE funding.

Philippa Childs, Head of Bectu, said:

“If the UK is to continue to be a leading cultural centre, we must safeguard nationally significant institutions and the highly skilled jobs associated with them. Bectu members and all those at the ENO have faced an incredibly challenging and anxious time in the wake of the brutal cuts. We need commitment from ACE to work with the unions and the ENO on a thorough and realistic plan for the company. One that sets it up for future success and protects the livelihood of its staff and freelancers.”

Naomi Pohl, MU General Secretary, said:

“We are fighting for a positive, sustainable and long-term future for the whole orchestral sector. Recent funding decisions have caused significant disruption and left world-class organisations fighting for survival. The orchestra, chorus and crew that make up the ENO company are crucial to its hard-earned reputation and on-going success. They must not be dismantled. ENO is innovative and making significant headway in attracting new audiences to opera. They deserve a secure future and for Arts Council England to support them in achieving it.”

Paul W Fleming, General Secretary of Equity, said:

“Equity’s priority for the ENO is always jobs, terms, and conditions. The paltry settlement provided does not assuage the concerns of our members, who comprise 25% of the UK’s permanent opera chorus workforce, that their jobs are under threat. If ‘levelling up’ is real and not just a populist ploy, we have to see a settlement which provides for good jobs at the current London base, with additional funding to create new work opportunities around a regional home for the ENO. Let’s learn from the historic successes of the establishment of Opera North, and the relocation of Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, both moves which created more jobs, more art and, frankly, required more money, not less, to secure a stable future.”