"The Arts Council in England has been told to sell works from its art collection - which includes masterpieces by Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas, Mark Wallinger and Damien Hirst - in a highly critical report.

"In what is to be a crucial week for the arts - English cultural organisations will be told on Wednesday how much public money they will receive from the Arts Council - the report from the parliamentary select committee on culture criticises the funding body for "spending far too much on itself".

"The MPs on the committee, chaired by Tory John Whittingdale, condemn a "gross waste of public money" and "failure of leadership" over the body's conduct in relation to the Public, the West Bromwich gallery that cost £52m to build but went into administration before it opened."

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