The government has commissioned a review of Arts Council England.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it had appointed Dame Mary Archer, chancellor of the University of Buckingham and a former chair of the Science Museum Group, to lead the exercise, supported by a panel of 14 arts and cultural sector experts.
The review, which is the first of ACE since 2017, would “ensure it is delivering in its mission to support high-quality arts and culture across the country”, a DCMS statement said.
The DCMS said that as part of the standard process for reviews of this kind, “the review team must identify how Arts Council England could implement 5 per cent of cost savings”.
It said the review will “also assess how Arts Council England is delivering creative excellence in the arts to ensure that the projects it supports are ambitious and high-quality”.
The exercise is expected to take up to six months.
The DCMS said the review was part of the Cabinet Office’s cross-government public body reviews programme – “a standard process routinely carried out on all publicly-funded organisations”.
The department said the government was spending £445m a year through ACE in the latest 2023 to 2026 funding round.
It said 985 organisations receive regular support from ACE as part of its National Portfolio Organisation funding programme.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, the arts and heritage minister, said the review would help the government ensure that ACE was spending the money it had been provided wisely, “so that its important work can transform as many lives as possible”.
Archer, who is married to the author and former Conservative politician Jeffrey (Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare), said: “It is a privilege to lead this review because the work of Arts Council England is so important to us all. It enriches our lives, enhances our individual wellbeing and maintains our national reputation for excellence across the arts and creative sectors.
“I look forward to working alongside my expert advisory panel, and listening to a wide range of voices, to help ACE to deliver its vital mission.”
Darren Henley, chief executive of the Arts Council England, said: “The public bodies review gives us a welcome opportunity to show how we’re delivering our 10-year strategy, Let’s Create, by supporting artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries as they create ambitious, high quality work for audiences and communities in villages, towns and cities across England.
“We’ve already begun preparing for the review with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and with Dame Mary Archer, and we look forward to engaging positively with the process, as we did during our last review in 2017.”