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The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report from The Arts Council of England (Arts Council England) concerning the proposed subsidy to the English National Opera.

Administrative timetable

Final report

11 May 2023: The SAU has published its report providing advice to Arts Council England concerning the proposed subsidy to the English National Opera. The report sets out our evaluation of Arts Council Englands Assessment of Compliance of its proposed subsidy with the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

• Final report (11.5.23)

Request from Arts Council England

27 March 2023: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from Arts Council England concerning a proposed subsidy to the English National Opera. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of the Arts Council England assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working.

Information about the subsidy provided by Arts Council England

Arts Council Englands National Council agreed on 19 October 2022 that a budget should be set aside for English National Opera (ENO) to support it to transition from its current operating model to a reshaped opera company.

Following an application process, a decision has been taken by National Council to recommend funding of 11.46million to support ENO over the course of 2023 to 2024. This funding will address a viability gap between expected costs and revenue affecting ENOs ability to deliver its planned programme of activities for the period up to 31 March 2024. It will also support the planning and development associated with establishing a new base outside London and a new business model.

This proposed subsidy will contribute to the following policy objectives:

• delivering the fullest programme of high quality, and large scale opera in the short to medium term. That programme is to deliver that opera programme to the general public at different ticket price points (in particular but not limited to low cost and affordable tickets to facilitate a range of audiences)
• facilitating ENO to continue with their community engagement and education activities
• giving ENO some time and space to look into ways to develop its business model, in light of changing conditions, and to explore options of opening up operations outside London

In 2023 to 2026 Arts Council England is investing 446 million each year in 990 organisations as part of our National Portfolio Investment Programme (the Investment Programme). ENO were unsuccessful in their application to the Investment Programme, and this has necessitated a separate funding package, which is subject to this referral to the SAU. This investment forms part of Arts Council Englands wider strategic vision as set out in the published strategy Lets Create. The objective of Lets Create is that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAUs evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the Arts Council England subsidy to the English National Opera, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Please send your submissions to us at SAU-ACEENO2023@cma.gov.uk, copying the public authority: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk.

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

1. The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with Arts Council England. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to Arts Council England together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with Arts Council England using the email address provided above.

2. The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

3. For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Contacts

• SAU project team: SAU-ACEENO2023@cma.gov.uk
• CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk