A Hampshire charity has today warned of potential job losses as it restructures to safeguard its future.
Faced with the continuing pressures of rises in inflation, utilities and pay, Winchester-based Hampshire Cultural Trust, which operates 24 museums, galleries and arts centres across the county, is undertaking a restructure to reduce its costs and increase its focus on generating income. The charity has started consulting with staff who will be affected by the proposed changes, which could potentially result in up to 20 redundancies. The trust currently employs 210 full-time and part-time members of staff and is looking to place those people at risk into alternative roles within the organisation wherever possible.
Paul Sapwell, Chief Executive at Hampshire Cultural Trust, says:
‘In the face of what anyone can see will be a challenging environment in 2023 and beyond, we are taking action now to protect our organisation and put in place a structure that will sustain us in the long term. Over the coming weeks, we will be undergoing a two-way consultation process with those members of our staff who are affected by the changes we are proposing. These changes unfortunately mean that we will have to make some very difficult decisions, but it is only by doing this that we will be able to continue to deliver high-quality arts and culture both for our communities and visitors to the county in the long term.
‘Although the cultural sector as a whole took a massive hit during the pandemic, Hampshire Cultural Trust venues and activities have recovered well and continue to be popular. However, our visitors are spending less with us as household budgets are squeezed, and we now need to absorb higher wage costs, as well as the impact of inflation and increased utility bills. We have a robust, long-term business plan, which is supported by the investment that we have made in our venues over recent years and the continued support of our funders.’
Hampshire Cultural Trust was recently offered £500,000 per annum for the next three years from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). However, despite this offer of funding, the charity still needs to reduce costs to balance its budget.
Sapwell continues:
‘Our NPO funding for 2023-2026 will be crucial in supporting the additional work we will be undertaking in three of Arts Council England’s priority places in Hampshire – Gosport, Rushmoor and the New Forest. However, Hampshire Cultural Trust is a countywide organisation with 24 venues, and while there will be some impact from the NPO funding on our core costs, it will be minimal.
‘We have the full support of our founding local authorities, Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council, for this restructure and they have agreed not to reduce our grant in 2023/24 which is welcome and critical. However, standstill funding still represents a de facto decrease with inflation so high.’
The consultation process at Hampshire Cultural Trust began on Monday 16 January, and will continue throughout the month. The new structure will be in place for 6 February 2023.