Arts Council England Publish ‘No-Deal’ Brexit Guide for Arts Organizations

Arts Council England have issued a guide to arts organizations, museums and libraries advising them on what to do in the case of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. The publication highlights government policies regarding funding, customs and borders and data protection that could affect cultural organizations if the UK is no longer a member of the European Union.

Exploring the impact that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit will have on artists travelling to the EU, ACE have warned organizations that ‘British passport holders will need to comply with different rules to enter and travel around the European Union.’ It also states that the government’s planning assumptions indicate that there will be ‘reduced access across the straits at Dover and Folkestone for up to six months’ which would have impact exhibition production and touring performance art groups. In addition, organizations in receipt of EU funding will ‘no longer receive future funding for projects under EU programmes Creative Europe, the European Regional Development Fund and Horizon 2020’ unless they have successfully bid into EU-funded programmes before the end of 2020, which the government have guaranteed will continue to receive funding over the project’s lifetime.

The document also urges arts and cultural organizations employing EU nationals to inform them that they will have to register under a new settlement scheme that will open on 30 March 2019. Post-Brexit, the government proposal to end freedom of movement and institute a minimum salary threshold of GBP £30,000 for skilled workers could be put into action.

Deputy chief executive of ACE, Laura Dyer said the guide ‘puts all the current relevant government advice in one place and explains which might be relevant for different organizations. I hope it will help organizations decide what actions to take in preparation for a no deal outcome.’

The UK is due to withdraw from the EU on 29 March.

_{Main image: Banksy Brexit mural, Dover, 2017. Courtesy: Getty Images; photograph: Carl Court}