Should councils run arts centres?

The BBC online offers some top tips on saving money from a Birmingham fringe meeting with Cllrs David Burbage, Stephen Greenhalgh and Edward Lister.

Among them:

Don't run arts centres. Stick to what councils are good at doing, advised Edward Lister, such as keeping the streets clean and maintaining infrastructure. Don't run arts centres or museums -
outsource them to charitable trusts instead. Not only did doing that save Wandsworth money, and led to a better run theatre, there were now productions "that are actually worth going to - there's no dead hand of Wandsworth Council trying to be an arts organisation. We are no good at things like that. That's not our world," said Mr Lister.