What are the parties' arts policies?

Title: What are the parties' arts policies?

Convenor: Kirsty Lothian

Summary

Amelia Bird had done a lot of research- she passed on these links:

Conservative policy:

http://www.shadowdcms.co.uk/pdf/The%20Future%20of%20the%20Arts.pdf
 
They want to promote philanthropy, and endowment funding, through matched grants from ACE and tax breaks. They also want ACE etc to have no more than 5% overheads, and they want more long term multi-year grants.
They seem to be big on digital technologies, and getting the arts and museums online.
They focus on music in schools- every child is to have a chance to learn a musical instrument, and sing, as well as getting a "solid cultural education"

Lib Dem policy:

http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/PDF/Power%20of%20Creativity.pdf

They want to set up a cabinet committee on creativity and celebrate the arts more in public buildings and government. They will look at easier visas for artists, more money for Grants For the Arts, and are planning more balance between the regions and London, receptions at number 10 for arts philanthropists and tax schemes, Creative Entreprise start-up loans and red-tape simplification, independent regulation for the BBC, apprenticeships schemes for young people, plenty of arts in schools

Labour policy:

http://www.labour.org.uk/policies/culture-and-arts

They mostly talk about what they have achieved, so I assume they plan to carry on much as they are.

Some of the smaller parties:

The SNP's website is having trouble with policies, but they do have some on the arts, I think. They don't like the arts council, and would prefer direct funding. They think traditional arts are currently underfunded, and Scottish Opera is over funded.

Plaid Cymru don't seem to have any arts policies, but Hywel Williams MP does list Arts as one of his main political interests.

The Greens have a lot to say- largely to do with avoiding discrimination, and strengthening artist led communities, and local and regional arts. They want to Zero rate VAT on live performance, but possibly to tax superstar performances to fund small scale local cultural enterprises.

http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/mfss/mfsscms.html

UKIP has very little to say on the Arts- the closest I could find is part of their Restoring Britishness Policy:
(mainly they like the Last Night of the Proms, and the UK theme is to go back on to Radio 4)
https://ukip.org/content/ukip-policies/1447-restoring-britishness-ukip-policy

The BNP don't have anything to say about the arts or culture at all. They do want more competitive sports in schools though.

The Socialist Workers Party doesn't seem to have any specific policies, let alone arts ones.