Free theatre tickets scheme is an absolute shambles says Foster  

The latest statistics on the Free Theatre Scheme for under-26s released by Arts Council England show that: 10 months into the scheme just 177,345 tickets have been made available – 17,735 a month Only two thirds (121,345) of the tickets offered have been taken up At this rate of take-up it would take nearly seven years to reach the Government’s original target for the scheme The pledge was subsequently downgraded to 600,000 tickets – at the current rate the Government will be way off this target as well Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said: “These figures are a disgrace and the Government ought to be ashamed. It is no wonder they were buried in a little visited area of the Arts Council’s website. “The resources and forward planning...