Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has outlined her plan to end the UK "North-South divide" in a series of ambitious proposals.
Dorries told the Yorkshire Post that she is looking to use the arts to tackle the "deeply unfair" inequalities that define a historic "imbalance" between the north and the south of the UK.
Nadine Dorries
Steve Parsons
She points to a "successful argument" in October with the Treasury that resulted in an extra £43.5million funding for the arts.
The Culture Secretary confirmed in her plans that "every single penny of that extra money will be going to organisations outside of London".
Ms Dorries feels certain towns and cities have felt the effects of low cultural engagement and spending more than others, with places such as Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and other Yorkshire towns earmarked for funding.
As part of the plans, the minister has asked Arts Council England to redistribute another £24m per year from their existing budget to these neglected places by 2025.
Internationally recognised cultural organisations such as the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre will be "supported" further in order to develop on their "already valuable work outside of London".
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries arriving in Downing Street, London, for the government's weekly Cabinet meeting. Picture date: Tuesday February 1, 2022.
Stefan Rousseau
Dorries says other cultural organisations that receive national portfolio funding will be "encouraged and helped to relocate or expand beyond the capital, where they can".
She says the proposed plans will "epresent one of the biggest ever redistributions of arts funding in our history".
She told the Yorkshire Post: "These plans are proof that levelling up isn’t just a catchy slogan. We’re putting our money where our mouth is, to deliver real change.
"It means more good arts jobs and a deeper pool of artistic talent outside of London.
"It means people won’t have to spend hours on the motorway or on the train to experience our world-class arts institutions."
The Culture Secretary concluded by saying "theatres, museums, performance venues and other arts institutions enrich people’s lives".
