ixia

The new coalition government, formed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats on 12^th May 2010, has announced that £6 billion will be cut from public spending in the financial year 2010-11, with a plan for deficit reduction being set out in an emergency budget within fifty days. In the meantime, there is widespread speculation and uncertainty. The overwhelming feeling is that the cuts will be made to ‘non-front line services’[1] where funding has not yet been formally allocated. In an article published in Building Design on 14^th May, the Former RIBA President George Ferguson’s verdict was that: ‘”severe spending cuts are inevitable.”‘ He ‘warned new-build health and education projects would be thin on the ground.’[2] Building Design’s view is that ‘the [architectural] profession’s major worry is the future of the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future programme’,[3] which is considered to be ‘the major lifeline for the construction industry.’[4] Ferguson’s observation that government spending cuts will lead to ‘”making the most of what we’ve got rather than everything having to be brand and spanking new”‘[5] has already been made by ixia, who believe that, increasingly, the focus has been on the refurbishment of the existing estate rather than new-builds.

The Ministerial appointments include Jeremy Hunt MP, the new Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, and Michael Gove MP, who took over Ed Balls’ former position as Secretary of State for Education.[6] The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has been re-named the Department for Education.[7] For the BBC’s verdict on how the coalition will affect culture, please click here. [8]

ixia’s research into public art and education, and public art and health has been conducted in response to the growing number of public art commissions within hospital and school building programmes, as well as to recent amendments to national guidance. ixia will, as always, continue to monitor the considerable changes to the political landscape and the updates to public sector building programmes in light of producing future advice.

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[1] Bank of England governor Mervyn King hails deficit plan, BBC news website, 12^th May 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10109518.stm
[2] ‘Architects braced for major cuts’, Will Hurst and David Rogers in Building Design, 14^th May 2010, p.1
[3] ‘Architects braced for major cuts’, p.1
[4] Jo van Heyningen of Van Heyningen & Haward Architects in ‘Architects braced for major cuts’, p.1
[5] ‘Architects braced for major cuts’, p.1
[6] For a full list of the ministerial appointments already announced, click here:
[7] http://www.education.gov.uk/
[8] How will coalition affect culture?, BBC news website, Torin Douglas, 13^th May 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8678797.stm