Tom Taylor says most of the problems in the in-tray of the new culture secretary are traceable to one cause: underfunding
We hope that Lisa Nandy’s appointment as culture secretary stops the revolving door at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Era of culture wars is over, pledges new culture secretary Lisa Nandy, 9 July). There is an overwhelming need for stability if the sector is to develop a coherent culture to tackle the myriad problems that beset it.
Charlotte Higgins refers to some of these (Opinion, 9 July). Most of the problems in her in-tray are traceable to a single cause: underfunding. Just 0.4% of public expenditure is spent on arts and culture – far below comparator nations (such as France and Germany), and the European average spend of 1%.