The Arts Council of England
- Registered charity number
- 1036733 · official register entry ↗
- Status
- Registered, registered 1994-04-19 (reporting: Submission Received)
- Type
- Other
- Latest income
- £843,062,677 for the year to 2025-03-31 (was £803,065,402 the year to 2024-03-31: +5%)
- Latest spending
- £731,085,056
- Trustees
- 16 listed below
- Employees
- 704
- Volunteers
- 0
- Address
- ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND, 2ND FLOOR, THE HIVE, 47 LEVER STREET, MANCHESTER, M1 1FN (North West, by postcode area M)
- Phone
- 0161 934 4317
- Website
- www.artscouncil.org.uk
- Other names
- Arts Council England (working name)
- Gift Aid
- Not registered
- Land or buildings
- Owns or leases
What it does
Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people's lives. As the national development agency for the arts we support a range of artistic activities, acting as an independent body at arm's length from government. 'Achieving great art for everyone' is our 10-year strategic framework for the arts.
Charitable objects
(1) TO DEVELOP AND IMPROVE THE KNOWLEDGE UNDERSTANDING AND PRACTICE OF THE ARTS. (2) TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE ARTS TO THE PUBLIC IN ENGLAND; AND (3) TO 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; AND(4) TO ADVISE AND CO-OPERATE, WHERE IT IS APPROPRIATE TO DO SO, WITH DEPARTMENTS OF OUR GOVERNMENT, OUR SCOTTISH AMINISTRATION, THE NORTHERN IRELAND EXECUTIVE AND THE WELSH MINISTERS, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, THE ARTS COUNCILS AND EQUIVALENT ORGANISATIONS IN THE MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES SECTOR IN SCOTLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND (OR THEIR SUCCESSORS) AND OTHER BODIES ON ANY MATTERS RELATED TO THE OBJECTS IN (1), (2) AND (3) ABOVE.
Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED
Governing document: ROYAL CHARTER GRANTED 30/03/1994AS AMENDED ON 13/03/1996AS AMENDED ON 22/04/1998AS AMENDED BY SUPPLEMENTAL CHARTER DATED 31/05/2002AS AMENDED ON 12/02/2008AS AMENDED ON 12/10/2011
Finances over time
| Year to | Income | Spending | Income, to scale | Accounts received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-31 | £843,062,677 | £731,085,056 | 2026-01-23 | |
| 2024-03-31 | £803,065,402 | £756,289,350 | 2024-09-27 | |
| 2023-03-31 | £795,709,913 | £989,630,527 | 2024-01-18 | |
| 2022-03-31 | £941,845,043 | £952,649,738 | 2023-01-13 | |
| 2021-03-31 | £1,488,506,017 | £1,419,616,010 | 2021-12-24 |
Annual return, part A (latest year to 2025-03-31)
- Staff paid £60,000 or more: 66
- Trustees received payments or benefits: yes; for acting as trustee
- Grant making is its main activity
Annual return, part B (year to 2025-03-31; charities over £500,000 only)
| Income | Spending | Assets and funds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donations and legacies | £0 | Raising funds | £0 | Fixed assets | £15,544,574 |
| Charitable activities | £580,286,818 | Charitable activities | £731,085,056 | Investments | £803,610 |
| Trading | £0 | Grants to institutions | £261,272,889 | Cash | £25,761,382 |
| Investments | £12,057,264 | Governance | £469,812,167 | Net assets | -£41,234,310 |
| Legacies | £0 | Support costs | £23,093,911 | Unrestricted funds | -£42,922,299 |
| Total income | £843,062,677 | Total spending | £731,085,056 | Reserves | £0 |
Earlier years, part B
| Year to | Total income | Total spending | Net assets | Reserves | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-31 | £843,062,677 | £731,085,056 | -£41,234,310 | £0 | 704 |
| 2024-03-31 | £803,065,402 | £756,289,350 | -£152,345,567 | £0 | 679 |
| 2023-03-31 | £795,709,913 | £989,630,527 | -£198,317,090 | £0 | 700 |
| 2022-03-31 | £941,845,043 | £952,649,738 | -£3,842,128 | £0 | 720 |
| 2021-03-31 | £1,488,655,343 | £1,419,616,010 | £250,371,621 | £250,370,994 | 618 |
Trustees 16
| Name | Role | Appointed | Charities | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota | Chair | 2017-02-01 | 1 | |
| Helen Judith Birchenough | Trustee | 2018-12-05 | 1 | |
| Abigail Pogson | Trustee | 2022-05-15 | 1 | |
| Deborah Shaw | Trustee | 2022-05-15 | 1 | |
| William Bush | Trustee | 2022-05-15 | 2 | |
| YolanDa Brown OBE DL | Trustee | 2022-05-15 | 2 | |
| David Bryan CBE | Trustee | 2023-01-01 | 1 | |
| Annabel Turpin | Trustee | 2023-12-01 | 1 | |
| Sally Shaw MBE | Trustee | 2023-12-01 | 1 | |
| Andrew Lovett OBE | Trustee | 2024-12-01 | 1 | |
| Phil Stokes | Trustee | 2024-12-01 | 1 | |
| Pawlet Brookes MBE | Trustee | 2025-10-01 | 1 | |
| Grace Chan | Trustee | 2025-12-01 | 2 | |
| Jonathan Douglas CBE | Trustee | 2025-12-01 | 1 | |
| Jo Verrent MBE | Trustee | 2025-12-01 | 1 | |
| Jon Gilchrist | Trustee | 2026-05-15 | 1 |
Current trustees, as the Commission lists them. Each links to the trustee’s page, which lists every charity they serve. A link to a US person page needs the same name at a US nonprofit matched to this charity.
What, how and who
- What it does: Arts/culture/heritage/science
- How it works: Makes Grants To Individuals; Makes Grants To Organisations; Provides Advocacy/advice/information; Acts As An Umbrella Or Resource Body
- Who it helps: Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies; The General Public/mankind
Where it works
Throughout England
Policies it reports
Bullying and harassment policy and procedures; Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures; Complaints handling; Complaints policy and procedures; Conflicting interests; Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures; Financial reserves policy and procedures; Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures; Internal risk management policy and procedures; Investing charity funds policy and procedures; Paying staff; Risk management; Safeguarding policy and procedures; Serious incident reporting policy and procedures; Social media policy and procedures; Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures; Trustee expenses policy and procedures
History
- 1994-04-19: Standard registration
Largest charities in the same postcode area (M)
- Aqa Education £280,125,196
- The Road Safety Trust £102,117,204
- Sickle Cell Care Manchester £88,933,000
- BBC Children in Need £61,012,000
- The Manchester Grammar School Foundation £32,427,150
Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities: the daily data extract of registered, removed and linked charities in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their own registers, not loaded here). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Charity Commission for England and Wales. The register has no pay for individuals: it records, per charity, the income and spending reported to the Commission, the number of staff paid over £60,000 (in bands) and whether trustees were paid. Figures are as the charity reported them to the Commission, in pounds sterling. Open Government Licence v3.0. About this data.
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