SO, finally the Government has put together a package of money for the arts, £1.57 billion. To be absolutely clear, this is a good thing and I am delighted.

However, we are not just talking about theatres and music venues but also arts centres, museums, galleries and much more.

Whether it is enough and should have come sooner are important questions. There have already been closures and thousand of redundancies.

It was interesting that the Government described its package as ‘world class’ yet also admitted that it was aware that there were areas of the arts which would not get any help.

(France has put together a £6 billion arts package just to give a comparison with a similar economy.)

The full detail of the package has not yet been published, but we are told it is concentrating on buildings and institutions rather than people. These will be national flagship venues, like the Albert Hall, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Also, where arts buildings are at the very heart if their communities (isn’t that all of them?).

What is missing in the package is help for people. There are thousands of freelancers in the industry, writers, producers, directors, actors, designers, set-builders, costume-makers, lighter, technicians etc.

Many of these are already having to look for other careers. They need help now!