Culture minister Jet Bussemaker has earmarked a further €18m for spending on the arts, well below the €29.5m spending boost called for by the Arts Council.

Some €3m of the cash will go to subsidise ‘an orchestra which offers pop and jazz’, which effectively means the Metropole Orchestra, the Volkskrant said on Monday.

In total, €5.5m will go to national museums, enabling the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam to stay open.

The minister is also taking the Arts Council’s advice and boosting the budget for festivals which broaden public access to the arts and culture. Extra funding will also go on developing film and theatre talents.

‘It is important that cultural institutions seek new avenues,’ the minister said in a statement. ‘One may choose to develop an international character. Another may focus on local areas. We should not force them all to jump through the same hoop.’

Culture, she said, contributes to self-development and the ability to look at things with a critical eye.’ My aim is to strengthen the power of culture,’ she said.

The previous government slashed spending on the arts and culture by some 25%.