Prime minister Keir Starmer has announced an audit of how the Arts Council handles antisemitism allegations following a meeting with civil society groups this week.
In a speech at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, Starmer said he would ensure that Arts Council and Home Office funding can be used to cover protective security costs for Jewish organisations and artists.
Starmer also reaffirmed the government’s plans to give the Charity Commission “stronger powers to act against organisations that enable” extremism.
On the Arts Council audit, he said: “Where public funding is being used to promote or platform antisemitism, the Arts Council must act, using its powers to suspend, withdraw and claw back funding.
“And, today, we are mandating an independent audit of how allegations are handled.
“This will be a hard-edged review of where systems are failing and where they need to be strengthened. We will not and cannot accept complacency, delays, or weak enforcement.
“And where complacency is found, it will be challenged and addressed swiftly.”
Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, said in response: “Antisemitism is abhorrent and there is no place for it in Arts Council funded organisations.
“The new independent audit announced on Tuesday is valuable at this time, and we welcome any intervention that helps ensure our processes are robust and effective in addressing complaints about antisemitism.
“We expect all organisations we fund to uphold freedom of expression, to support Jewish artists to work without fear, and to ensure Jewish audiences feel safe in cultural spaces.”
‘Critical’ charities can support communities
The summit on Tuesday saw sector figures including NCVO chief executive Kate Lee discuss a collective response to the spate of recent antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community in the UK.
Lee said she was pleased to be at the event to ensure charities’ voices are heard and that they can be part of the solution to tackling antisemitism.
“Right now, people are feeling isolated, unsupported and very frightened, and that’s when the most vulnerable are even more at risk,” she said.
“We need both immediate security and long-term work to tackle the roots of antisemitism so every community can feel safe.
“It’s critical that we ensure charities can operate and support their communities and feel safe to do so.”
