Campaigns

We use our knowledge, contacts and expertise to influence policy and legislation through delegations, position papers, briefings and consultation responses.

Take a look at our current campaigns below.
Or, access information, briefings and reports on all of our past and present campaigns by searching the NCA's Online Resource.

Current Campaigns

• Arts Manifesto

Launched at a national, cross art form conference on 15 June, the Arts Manifesto is a vital lobbying and advocacy tool for use in the run up to the next General Election and beyond. This document has been produced after lengthy consultation with interested parties the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. The manifesto is not meant to be a policy wish list; instead we have sought to articulate a vision for the UK and the arts sector's place within it. We have outlined the challenges we believe the sector itself must address to achieve that vision whilst also challenging governments to address specific concerns that will help the arts sector suceed in its aims. We have taken care to articulate our concerns not in terms of what the sector wants or needs but in terms of why the arts and culture are important to our national life and worth supporting.

• Visas and Immigration

In December 2005, the Home Office published a new immigration strategy designed to simplify the immigration system and strengthen UK borders.  The NCA, aware of the potentially detrimental implications for the arts sector which the proposed changes posed in terms of costs and procedures, has been involved in the changes that have taken place since this date. As a result of meetings between the Home Office and the NCA, the Home Office established a sector specific task force to inform immigration policy and the NCA was invited to become a founder member of this. Through the task force, formal submissions, and in meetings with Home Office officials, the NCA has consistently campaigned for an immigration system which does not place undue burdens on visiting artists and UK organisations hosting them.

• Participation

The NCA believes that arts participation should be open to all as a fundamental human expression of culture, identity and community. It is central to the development of many art forms and crafts. It also produces social, personal and on occasion economic benefits for the participants, their families and the communities in which they live and work. These benefits are also reflected in the Manifesto for the Arts published by the NCA in June. The need to establish a manifesto arose as a direct result of the involvement of Voluntary Arts England, the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers, National Culture Forum – Leading Learning, Disability Cultural Projects and the National Campaign for the Arts in advising the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) on their Public Service Agreement on participation and through the Taking Part research undertaken by Arts Council England (ACE). It was felt that DCMS and ACE were not able to mobilise the wider constituency of arts organisations - particularly the smaller and local organisations and those who do not receive public funding - as effectively as a representative coalition might. Since that time the manifesto’s initial development group expanded to include the Foundation for Community Dance. The NCA has pledged its support and commitment to participation and we encourage our members and colleagues to do the same.

• Local Government

Local Government is one of the key delivery agents for cultural activity and provides a high proportion of funding for the arts in England. The value and benefits the arts bring to local communities is recognised by many local authorities across the UK. The levels of investment and support however, vary greatly across communities, rural to urban. It remains vital that in order to ensure the continued investment and support for the arts by local authorities, especially in times of financial strain, the arts community continues to find ways to express its contribution to the social and economic fabric of society. This has meant in recent years a greater emphasis being placed on gathering evidence in order to provide persuasive information for local government about the benefits of working with and supporting the arts. It remains crucial to understand that the relationship between the major funders of the arts in the UK affects many thousands of people working in the sector.