"Do you really think that the relative strength of the Scottish and Irish folk scene is down to public funding..." yup. And government support. Both of which are sadly lacking in England.

"We've seen for over twenty years that the Arts Council (in its various guises in England) has been more concerned with government targets for "inclusion", ticking charts on clipboards and the religion of homogeneity/multi-culti rather than anything recognisable as an English tradition. In its search for the New it actively funds activities which water-down Englishness and tradition."

Yes, the inclusion agenda has led a lot of funding policy (though I wouldn't say it's been 20 years - the Tory government was much more interested in the arts becoming self-funding. The inclusion agenda can pretty much be traced back to the PAT 10 Report on the impact of the arts on social exclusion in the late 90s).

But things do change, and a lot depends on specific circumstances, time and place, etc. As it happens, there are myriad projects around right now which are not about watering down the tradition, but about giving people access to it without any social or "multi culti" (my, what an offensive term!) dimension. EFDSS's Take 6 Project, recently funded by Heritage Lottery, is one example. The folk outreach project I do with local schools would not be happening were it not for Grants for the Arts. There are lots more.

"Folk traditions do not; they can be self reliant and deliciously at variance with the "Approved Art" sector."

Yes, if you want them to remain an insular, amateurish backwater. Personally, I don't. I refer back to my point about the numbers of people actively engaging with their folk heritage. Small as it already is, you would have that number decreasing exponentially with every ACE grant you turn your nose up at. It's a straightforward fact.

"Professionalised Arts Management MBAs"

Is there such a thing? It's usually a BA or an MA degree.

"(who rarely commit to more than two years in any job) are as likely to be the enemy of authentic traditions as their saviour, regardless of what their own hype says to the interview panel."

Well, as a BA Hons (1st Class) in Arts Management, who has in fact taught Arts Management at university level, I would dispute this. I can think of several colleagues who did my course who are working very hard within the folk and traditional arts, both as part of their current brief and in addition to their day jobs, bringing their wide-ranging skills and experience into the folk sector. I've been in my current venue for three years and hope to be here for some time to come - I run a small folk festival and a folk outreach project as part of my job, by the way.

Oh, and I'm on National Council for EFDSS. Us Arts Managers, we don't give a stuff about the tradition, you see.