In September 2012 it was announced that he would succeed Dame Elizabeth Forgan as Chair of the Arts Council England. Shortly before his tenure the Coalition Government implemented tough cuts to public arts spending. In his time at Arts Council England this was partly remedied with a new system of tax credits. By the end of his time, in the CSR of 2016, the Coalition actually put arts budgets up. In February 2016 Bazalgette was named as the Chairman of ITV, effective from 12 May 2016, and In September 2016, it was announced that Sir Nicholas Serota would replace him at the Arts Council.