Following the National Council meeting on the 19 March, Arts Council England have announced today their decision to recommend to Government that the 2023-2027 National Portfolio be extended through to 31 March 2028. No decision about the next NPO application timeline has been announced yet.

There are separate messages for current NPOs and non-NPOs looking to apply in the full statement.

Arts Council England explained why they’re making changes:

In December, we announced that we would launch the next National Portfolio Investment Programme in April 2025. We said at the time that we’d keep this timeline under review, and since sharing it, our external context has changed.

  • Firstly, the scope of the Government’s imminent Spending Review has become clearer. It will now be a zero-based review, meaning that every budget line across all departments will be reviewed from scratch, including the money the Arts Council receives.   We recognise that government will therefore not be in a position to confirm Arts Council’s funding until after the Spending Review is concluded in June.

  • Secondly, the Government’s independent review of the Arts Council, led by Baroness Margaret Hodge is now underway, and is due to report to Government in the autumn, with publication due in 2026.

  • Thirdly, the Government has published a Devolution White Paper in which it outlines its proposed devolution framework. This is likely to have a significant impact on local Government structures, and on how we work with them.

The combination of these factors means that National Council has therefore decided not to proceed with the current timeline for the National Portfolio Investment Programme. National Council has instead taken the decision that the most appropriate course of action is to recommend to government that we extend the 2023-2027 National Portfolio through to 31 March 2028.

Our next steps

We are currently in discussions with the Government on this recommendation, and will communicate with you as soon as these are completed, which is likely to be after the Spending Review. We recognise that this news creates significant uncertainty for organisations – those who are currently members of the National Portfolio; and especially those who are already working hard preparing to make an application to join, and focusing on this opportunity at the expense of others. We will work as quickly as possible to update you.