Birmingham City Council Declaration of Bankruptcy and likely impact on BRB

[Shade]

10 hours ago, trog said:

The Core Theatre in Solihull is closing because of RAAC

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/solihull-core-theatre-closes-after-27657953?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop

 

Also of worry is Birmingham City Council issuing a Section 114 notice, being "in a negative General Fund position" according to Fiona Greenway, the council's interim finance director and S151 officer. What can't she just say they have no money? Only essential services such as rubbish collection will be provided. This probably means no more funding for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Museums, etc. The Birmingham Museum and art Gallery is closed until 2024 for maintenace work and I'm guessing this will stop with immediate affect.

The news about Birmingham is very concerning for culture. Is the museum and art gallery where the Pre-Raphaelite paintings are displayed?

[trog]

14 hours ago, Shade said:

The news about Birmingham is very concerning for culture. Is the museum and art gallery where the Pre-Raphaelite paintings are displayed?

 

Sure is, probably the best collection in the world. It is a shame that like most galleries they can't display all they have. You could request to see anything in their collection and I've seen some wonderful paintings that are never on the wall.

[alison]

I didn't know it existed until it was mentioned the other day

[Odyssey]

When a few days ago Birmingham CityCouncil announced its bankruptcy, my mind immediately went to the likely impact on BRB and other superb arts institutions the City supports. Sadly, the report in The Stage which you can read in today’s Dance Links confirm my worst fears. It’s alarming because BRB is unlikely to command the same level of support and publicity as English National Opera have done to secure their immediate future. However, if anyone can marshall support Carlos Acosta is certainly the figure to do so. Nevertheless. I fear there’s a very rocky road ahead for this wonderful company. 

[Blossom]

There's also an article on it in the Times 2 this morning by Richard Morrison. 

[alison]

From what Carlos Acosta said to the Ballet Association on Monday, I gather that funding (greatly reduced from the previous level) for the current season is secure, but nothing beyond that.

[Sabine0308]

I'm so sorry!! The arts are always the first thing that comes to mind of authorities when money needs to be cut...I hope BRB is strong enough to survive!! I hope the funds for this year/season are safe at least.🙏

[LinMM]

This is truly awful news 😥

There seems to be a suggestion that hosting the Commonwealth Games was a big factor in the Council running short of funds. 
It seems obvious that huge sporting events (which are highly desirable of course) need a different way of funding  as they’ve become too expensive….and why we are hearing Cities across the Globe are now turning down invitations to host them. 

Anyway I don’t know whether the Gov can help in this instance I hope so but sadly won’t be holding my breath. 
 

[ChrisG]

I hope I’m not being too political in saying this, but if arts organisations like BRB can make it through the next year, and as seems likely there is a change of government, the future might be less bleak. I say this mostly because the newly appointed Shadow arts minister Thangam Debbonaire is a practicing cellist who studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal College of Music and indeed has played with the RLPO. To have someone like that potentially in charge of the arts relatively soon fills me with hope that arts organisations may soon have a fairer hearing from central government, whatever may be the travails of local government.

 

However, I may of course be cruelly disappointed…

[San Perregrino]

per The Stage article, BRB receives about £160,000 per annum from BCC, much less than i would have imagined, but any loss of funding is always a blow to an organisation.

 

there are a total of 49 performances of Nutcracker, Black Sabbath & Sleeping Beauty scheduled for the Hippodrome in 2023/2024 which has a capacity of 1850.

 

Perhaps a 'Save The BRB' levy ticket can be considered.  An average of less than £2 per seat (at full capacity) would fill the funding gap.  If the levy was applied across performances outside Birmingham, more funds could be raised or the levy reduced.

If there was a way in which such a 'levy' could be considered as a donation, Gift Aid would increase the amount raised.

[Pas de Quatre]

Chris, I fear you may indeed be cruelly disappointed. No matter how well Thangam Debbonaire advocates for the Arts, she would be a lone voice in the wilderness (if Labour is elected but it is far from sure). I have just read Richard Morrison in Times 2, and he gives a good over view of the causes of Birmingham Council's financial woes. To blame it on equal opportunity legislation, i.e. they have to pay those pesky women is a classic of Labour Party misogyny!

[Sim]

Just now, PeterS said:

per The Stage article, BRB receives about £160,000 per annum from BCC, much less than i would have imagined, but any loss of funding is always a blow to an organisation.

 

there are a total of 49 performances of Nutcracker, Black Sabbath & Sleeping Beauty scheduled for the Hippodrome in 2023/2024 which has a capacity of 1850.

 

Perhaps a 'Save The BRB' levy ticket can be considered.  An average of less than £2 per seat (at full capacity) would fill the funding gap.  If the levy was applied across performances outside Birmingham, more funds could be raised or the levy reduced.

If there was a way in which such a 'levy' could be considered as a donation, Gift Aid would increase the amount raised.

I think this is a great idea, and I would be very happy to pay an extra pound or two per ticket to help this wonderful company.  Sadler's Wells charges an obligatory fee per ticket to 'save the building' or whatever it is, so I think saving a company is even more valid reason to add a surplus charge.

[capybara]

In 1989, I sat in front of a row of Birmingham City dignitaries at a Hippodrome performance by the Bolshoi. At that point, it had not been announced that SWRB would become BRB the following year but the conversations I overheard were interesting. All were related to the kudos to be derived for the city by having a ‘home’ ballet company and the different kind of publicity and profile which would accrue.

Those ‘arguments’ apply no less today, in fact possibly even more so.

I agree that £160,000 a year seems less than one would have thought but the Hippodrome itself is also subsidised.

And, yes, a ‘Save BRB Ticket Levy’ would be a great idea.

[LinMM]

I don’t really understand your post Pas de Quatre!! It’s the Labour Party who brought this Equal Opportunities Act in …2010 I believe! So not sure what your last sentence means!! 
 

yes your idea is a good one PeterS I’d be happy to do this as well

[Ondine]

Does the city council also contribute to the costs of the Hippodrome?  Will that have to close?

 

There is a non paywalled piece here in the Guardian detailing the financial difficulties. The equal pay issue was not confined to Birmingham.  The Commonwealth Games presumably was seen as bringing wider benefits to the city.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/councils-sewage-school-buildings-britain-basic-services

 

What a mess all this is, it isn't only Birmingham at risk.

 

 

 

 

[Pas de Quatre]

9 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I don’t really understand your post Pas de Quatre!! It’s the Labour Party who brought this Equal Opportunities Act in …2010 I believe! So not sure what your last sentence means!! 
 

Many articles in the press and online are blaming the shortfall in finances on the fact that the Council have paid recently huge amounts of money to female employees as a result of Equal Opportunites legislation.  It is in the Guardian article Ondine has posted the link above.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Pas de Quatre

[zxDaveM]

39 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

No matter how well Thangam Debbonaire advocates for the Arts, she would be a lone voice in the wilderness (if Labour is elected but it is far from sure).

 

Labour look far more kindly on the arts than the tories do

[Ondine]

Yes they have as have other councils. Women fought for equal pay, I'm not sure how this can be blamed on 'a classic of Labour Party misogyny'. 

 

As a woman who has lived through many equal rights for women struggles I can tell you that we have Barbara Castle to thank for the 1970 Equal Pay Act

 

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/tradeindustry/industrycommunity/collections/equal-pay/barbara-castle/

 

How that was and wasn't implemented is a wider issue, but Birmingham wasn't alone in its interpretation and then having to pay a massive backlog of cash to those affected.

 

The situation is ongoing. I'm sure councils of all political persuasions are affected.  Women still have far to go to attain equality.

 

 

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-10/hundreds-of-women-lodge-fresh-equal-pay-claims-against-councils

 

 

And this is politics not ballet.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Ondine

[Jan McNulty]

IIRC Birmingham City Council dramatically reduced funding some years ago causing the non-production of La Bayadere.

 

It was also stated that funding was intended to be reduced year on year till it was zero.  That seems to have come sooner than expected.

 

Best wishes to all the Birmingham arts organisations affected by this.

[Jan McNulty]

32 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Does the city council also contribute to the costs of the Hippodrome?  Will that have to close?

 

There is a non paywalled piece here in the Guardian detailing the financial difficulties. The equal pay issue was not confined to Birmingham.  The Commonwealth Games presumably was seen as bringing wider benefits to the city.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/councils-sewage-school-buildings-britain-basic-services

 

What a mess all this is, it isn't only Birmingham at risk.

 

 

 

 

 

As far as I am aware the Hippodrome is not a publicly funded organisation.

[Odyssey]

Shifting this thread slightly to the Company perspective, how can they realistically plan for the following  season with this sword dangling over their head? Won’t the dancers, teachers, creative staff etc. quite naturally begin to look for other openings?  How can they continue to focus on fostering community / educational links which they do so well, and need to continue to do in order to grow their audiences,  if their collective minds have to turn to saving the Company? 

[Jan McNulty]

The company must have been expecting cuts as per my post above.  Hopefully they have planned for this contingency.

 

2 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

Shifting this thread slightly to the Company perspective, how can they realistically plan for the following  season with this sword dangling over their head? Won’t the dancers, teachers, creative staff etc. quite naturally begin to look for other openings?  How can they continue to focus on fostering community / educational links which they do so well, and need to continue to do in order to grow their audiences,  if their collective minds have to turn to saving the Company? 

 

[LinMM]

It was “the Labour Party Misogyny” comment which was confusing.

I have no idea why Birmingham Council got quite so far behind in these payments ….won by the women because of the Equal Opportunities Act…was this due to misogyny on the Councils part? But certainly can’t be applied to the whole Labour Party!! 
 

There do seem to be several factors going on here and it must be remembered that many Councils have only just been keeping heads above water because of stringent cuts to budgets in recent years.  
It’s interesting that the Gov claims the Commonwealth Games brought in something like £870 million pounds to the UK as a whole!! Perhaps some of this is owed back to Birmingham? 

[Ondine]

As I said above in my addition, this equal pay issue, and the backlog, is ongoing and affects many councils.

 

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-10/hundreds-of-women-lodge-fresh-equal-pay-claims-against-councils

 

The Times is entitled to its opinion, but possibly it can also be called propaganda. The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

 

The Commonwealth Games presumably brought in to Birmingham a great deal of money to hotels and other businesses. There will have been costs and I assume Birmingham thought in the end it would be worthwhile for financial and other reasons. Tax will have been paid on income but that doesn't benefit Birmingham does it?

 

 

 

 

[Ondine]

21 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

As far as I am aware the Hippodrome is not a publicly funded organisation.

 

Thanks Jan. It seems not reliant on Birmingham council, though presumably it can access public grants / arts funding, as a charity.

 

Birmingham Hippodrome is an independent charity, run by a board of voluntary trustees with no regular revenue funding from public sources. We frequently invest in projects alongside Arts Council England and with Birmingham City Council. Generous support is received from the business community through sponsorship and other partnerships; from individuals through donations and memberships; and from grant-making trusts for special programming and infrastructure projects. As a major employer in the region, we play a leading role in the Southside Business Improvement District.

Find out more about our Mission, Vision and Values HERE.

 

 

https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/about-us/

 

 

 

 

[Odyssey]

I well recall the  previous cuts and the announcements by the Council regarding the steady removal of funds, but this is set against an acutely worsened economic background and one where the mood music about how much of a priority the continued support for the arts is perceived.

[Ondine]

20 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

how much of a priority the continued support for the arts is perceived.

 In a situation where you have legal responsibilities as a council to pay for certain services and barely the money to pay for those, for wider political reasons than your own competence as an authority,  then anything which is not mandatory will be in difficulties.

 

Ballet versus care services for elderly and disabled people?  Emptying the bins? It's not really a choice is it?

 

We have to hope (and I'm sure those responsible for BRB will have taken this onboard long before now) there has been future funding planning, though (as ENO has found) nothing is secure.

 

Austerity and low taxes are political choices.

 

 

[FLOSS]

I wonder how many people remember that one of the Tory governments which have been running the country for the last thirteen years, I think it was the government led by David Cameron in his own right, cut the grants it gave to local authorities at the same time that it gave local authorities the power to raise additional funds by increasing the community charge they set. The idea being that local authorities would either make themselves unpopular  by increasing local taxes or fail to raise them enabling central government to say that if  local authorities were short of funds and failed to use the  powers they had been given they were being irresponsible if they did not adjust their spending to reflect the sums they were prepared to raise. All very cynical of course but understandable if your political ideal is a small non interventionist state and low taxation and you are prepared to  ignore the range of statutory duties which central government requires local authorities  to provide. But then if you don't use those services and can't imagine ever needing to do so I guess it is not that difficult. Now when it cones to the black hole in Birmingham's finances, accounts  that I have read suggest that the missing sum  is almost the same size as the amount docked from its central government funding.

 

I am afraid that while the Times is not as bad as the Sun when it comes to promoting the Murdoch vision of the world it comes from the same journalistic stable and from time to time the owner's views creep into the paper's content. A certain anti Labour stance is to be expected from both papers.As far as the equal pay claim is concerned Birmingham council was foolish to go on fighting that claim for as long as it did and even more stupid  not to make attempts to pay the women concerned the sums they were owed with far greater alacrity than it chose to do. The  council's overall course of conduct does suggest a degree of misogyny in the system. I don't feel equipped to say whethe it is "Labour misogyny" or just good old fashioned "misogyny ai play here although I suspect it is the latter.

 

As far as arts organisations in  Birmingham are concerned it all looks pretty bleak. I can't help wondering how much grass root commitment to BRB  there really is in Birmingham  and the surrounding area. I hope it now has very strong roots in the locality as that sort of commitment may help BRB survive.I always wonder in the case of a company grown and developed in one part of the country and then transported to another fully  formed how long it takes for it to become an unquestioned part of the local arts community. In the context of such a swinging cut having an artistic  director  who is so  newsworthy and so well known outside the supposedly "elite" world of classical dance can only be an advantage.

 

to become part of the local arts scenery then very strong. It should be given the quality of the work the company produces season after season.

the Being given an instant company 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lynette H]

Some very substantial cuts to the arts in Birmingham came in 2016. I recall posting something about them here then, but I don't think it triggered the same kind of reaction.  Here's the news from 2016

 

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/15/birmingham-arts-council-spending-cuts-symphony-orchestra

 

I suspect the funding has shrunk still further since then. So the latest news is indeed calamitous but its the end of a long drawn out process. 

[alison]

Now that we have a dedicated thread, I've moved some related posts out of the RAAC thread to here.

[Emeralds]

Very worrying news for [the excellent] Birmingham arts organisations that bring so much joy and genius to the whole nation and not just Birmingham or the Midlands only. Got to say I’m very relieved that Carlos planned the Black Sabbath ballet at just the right time - not a moment too soon! - and thank goodness for Black Sabbath members supporting it (and the news coverage generated). Those 100% sold out advance bookings have never been more necessary! 

 

If BRB would like to do some fundraising galas in Birmingham and/or London  I would be very pleased to get tickets and donate. Based on the repertoire they (including BRB2) have danced recently and the wonderful dancers and orchestra they have, it’s not a case of “would I go” but more like “when can BRB do it?” 😊 Carlos or BRB, if you’re reading this, please can I put in a request for:  Alexandra Ferri and Carlos in Chacona, Tzu-Chao Chou and Beatrice Parma in the pas de deux from Le Corsaire or Coppelia, Momoko Hirata in La Sylphide with any James of her choosing, Tyrone Singleton in anything, Cesar Morales in a duet from Cranko’s Onegin (I know it’s not in BRB’s repertoire but he’s said he’s wanted to dance it for a long time and he’d be brilliant; he & Carlos can decide whom to cast/invite as Tatiana....yes, invite 😁). There’s actually more on the list but these will do for now. 😊

 

Please get a nice big theatre like ROH or Coli so that more tickets can be sold and more funds raised! (Yes, it’s also an excuse to see more BRB!) I’ll be booking for BRB’s Birmingham Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty too. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Emeralds

[Ondine]

Sunday's Observer

 

The Observer view on Birmingham council: it won’t be the last to fail until local government funding is overhauled

Observer editorial

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/09/the-observer-view-on-birmingham-council-it-wont-be-the-last-to-fail-until-local-government-funding-is-overhauled