Letter:Arts Council's role in the lottery

From Lord Gowrie

Sir: Your in general kind and accurate description of the structure of the Arts Council (18 February) contains one important error of fact, one of omission and one of interpretation. The Lottery Board of the council does not allocate the lottery funds; only the council as a whole may do that. The board advises Peter Gummer, who in turn advises the council, of which he is a member. You omit any mention of two significant areas of the Arts Council's work - combined arts, and film, video and broadcasting.

You also describe Mary Allen and myself as dirigiste. The council's Royal Charter, and its system of public accountability for tax payers' money, require us to decide the strategy and count the pennies. But outside that overall frame, great strides are being made to involve us more closely with both the regional arts boards and the wider public, and quite right, too.

Yours sincerely,

GOWRIE

Chairman

Arts Council of England

London, SW1

20 February