John Wyn Owen, secretary of the Nuffield Trust, said the reforms appeared to be working.

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The clearest conclusion of the Nuffield Trust was that despite the difficulties, the status quo was not satisfactory either.

BBC: NHS logo

The six groups with reduced funding are Southampton's Turner Sims Concert Hall, John Hansard Gallery and Nuffield Theatre, The Anvil in Basingstoke, Southampton-based Art Asia and the Aspex Visual Arts Trust, based in Portsmouth.

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