The Arts Council has denied that performers are being forced to take on the role of social workers in the way they target vulnerable groups of people.

The organisation's rebuke follows remarks made by the composer Michael Berkeley this week that it was wrong to link grants to the political correctness of a project.

Giving the annual Royal Philharmonic Society's lecture, Berkeley said the "emphasis on social work rather than art is simply out of control".

But the Arts Council said there was "a huge appetite" from performers who wanted to develop work in these different areas.

The council's head of social inclusion, Nikki Crane, said the performers approached the council with the ideas claiming that new audiences stimulated them artistically.

She said: "They don't go in there with the view that they are going to affect community cohesion or prevent offending. There may be these outcomes but the impetus is to go in with excellent art and engage a wider audience."