The funding of the arts in the UK comes from a complex mix of sources, including central government, national assemblies, local authorities, the lottery and private bursaries.

Essentially, the bulk of arts funding comes from local councils, central and devolved governments in the UK and the lottery.

Arts Council of England Artform breakdown

Drama �34.2m Dance �19.5m Literature �1.6m Music �32.9m Visual arts �5.5m

The Arts Councils of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are entrusted with the power to hand out money given by government to arts bodies and institutions.

Since 1999 the assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland and the parliament in Scotland took on the role of giving the arts councils each a block grant which they can then distribute to the arts in the respective countries as they see fit.

And in a recent move, the Arts Council of England unveiled its plans to merge with the country's 10 regional arts boards with the aim of creating a "streamlined" service and significant cost savings.

The new organisation will aim to cut down on bureaucracy and put up to �10m a year from predicted savings back into the arts.

Nine regional offices will continue with "increased decision making powers" and a head office based in London will work exclusively at the national level.

All four national bodies operate on the arm's length principle - giving them freedom to operate without interference from the government.

Across the UK the four arts councils receive block grants totalling �303m. The breakdown is as follows:

• Arts Council of England: �252m rising to �337 in 2004
• Arts Council of Northern Ireland: �8m
• Arts Council of Wales: �16.4m
• Scottish Arts Council: �39m

On top of that, the four arts councils also distribute lottery money raised for the arts.

The lottery money distributed by the four bodies is as follows:

• Arts Council of England: �194m
• Arts Council of Northern Ireland: �8.5m
• Arts Council of Wales: �15.1m
• Scottish Arts Council: �20m

Wales enjoys the highest arts spend per head of population with �10 spent on the arts per person.

England spends the lowest, with just �8.50 spent on the arts for ever person.

Scotland spends �9.87 per person and Northern Ireland spends �9.80.

The funding covers a comprehensive range of art forms, from crafts to the visual arts, to professional arts bodies and to grassroots arts organisations.

The Arts Council of England spend �32.9m on the visual arts and �19.5m on dance each year while the Scottish Arts Council spends �2.5m on Visual Arts and �13m on music. A similar artform breakdown for Wales and Northern Ireland was not available.

Funding boost

The Arts Council of England also uses its grant to fund 10 regional arts boards which work to ensure funding reaches the right recipients on a local or regional level.

Scottish Arts Council Artform breakdown

Drama �6.2m Dance �3.5m Literature �1.4m Music �13m Visual arts �2.5m

The 10 boards receive a total of �113m, with each board receiving between �4.8m and �29.8m.

Each council is made up of a board of members, usually around 12, who work on a part-time basis to help direct where funding goes.

The Arts Council of England has also received a �100m funding boost from central government which will take effect from 2003/4.

The Arts Council of Wales, too, has been told it will receive a funding boost from the National Assembly of Wales of between seven and 11% in the future.

Council board are advised by departments of full time arts professionals.

The arts professionals evaluate and advise on which arts organisations should receive funding and how much but its the council members who ratify the decisions and direct council policy.