WIREDGOV

Virgin Money CEO, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, yesterday called for evidence for a new enquiry into the resources available for culture in cities across the UK.

Conceived by leaders from culture and local government sectors, the Cultural Cities Enquiry brings together experienced innovators from education, property, finance and elsewhere, to ensure that culture continues to provide economic and social benefits for communities across the UK.

The Enquiry, which will be independently chaired by Gadhia, has been established as financial pressures on local authority budgets mean that cities have diminishing resources available to fund culture as public funds are diverted to pressing economic and social welfare priorities. At the same time city populations are growing larger and more diverse. At a time in which both our city populations are growing larger and more diverse, and the drivers of economic fortunes are evolving rapidly, culture will play a crucial role in helping our cities to draw strength from diversity and grasp the opportunities for success in the years ahead.

Later this year, the Enquiry will produce a report providing practical recommendations to policy-makers, funders, and deliverers of culture to address these challenges. Policy questions the enquiry will examine include:

• How culture’s contribution to government priorities like integrated communities, loneliness, or skills and education could unlock new funding streams
• How tax incentives may be used to encourage cultural investment and philanthropy
• How cities and cultural organisations can make greater use of innovative financing mechanisms, including social investment, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of repayable finance
• How cultural organisations could be supported to develop sources of commercial revenue, to become more self-sustaining
• Whether the planning system or incentives for developers could be used more effectively to provide spaces for culture
• How we can increase non-traditional sources of giving, including at community level, through crowdfunding or local sponsorship

The Enquiry board will be made up of expert individuals from a variety of sectors, and includes Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, economist Bridget Rosewell, Cardiff Council Leader Cllr Huw Thomas, Deputy Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund Seona Reid, and Alison Nimmo, CEO of Crown Estates.

The inaugural board meeting will take place on 18 April 2018 at the Deptford Lounge in Lewisham, an award-winning community hub with a broad range of arts programming and local services. Evidence will be gathered via six roundtable events in other cities across the UK, further Board meetings, expert interviews and a call for evidence, which can be accessed online until 30 May 2018 here.

Quotes:

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO, Virgin Money
“I’m honoured to be asked to chair this important enquiry. I firmly believe that culture can and should be a force for social and economic good, bringing together communities and driving investment to foster growth. I hope that through this enquiry, we will be able to provide creative and practical recommendations to really improve the ability of our cities to invest in culture, for the benefit of all.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England
“Culture is an integral part of life in cities. We need to secure the creative strengths of our great cities by finding fresh ways of doing things. The Cultural Cities Enquiry will look at the current challenges and will seek to provide answers. The pressures on our cities may be great, but the prize is cities that are rewarding places to live in.”

Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader, Cardiff Council
“Public sector investment has long been the backbone of UK cultural provision, but after a decade of austerity we cannot fund it in the way we used to. The challenge is compounded as technology changes the way culture is consumed, and the persistent blight of inequality leaves a significant proportion of our most disadvantaged communities with limited access to the arts. That is why the time is right for the Cultural Cities Enquiry.”

Cllr Alan Waters, Leader, Norwich City Council
“The Cultural Cities Enquiry will help us understand the many different benefits that flow from cultural investment and its potential in cities to be a powerful driver for social and economic cohesion”.

To find out more, visit the Cultural Cities Enquiry website here.

For more information contact:

Abigail Knell, Communications Officer, Arts Council England
T: 020 7268 0537 E: Abigail.knell@artscouncil.org.uk

David Ward, Communications Manager, Arts Council England
T: 020 7268 9579 E: David.ward@artscouncil.org.uk

Will Mapplebeck, Strategic Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Core Cities UK
T: 07932 568571 E: W.mapplebeck@corecities.com

Duty Press Office (out of hours contact), Arts Council England
T:  07595 091334

By 2020 the Local Government Association says local Government will have lost 75p out of every £1 of Core Central funding it received in 2015.[1] According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, the UK-wide picture is similar. Local government budgets across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are 26pc lower, taking into account inflation and ability to raise funds, since 2010 and central Government grants will have fallen by 38pc.[2]

Private investment in arts and culture grew by 21 per cent across the UK in 2014/15, primarily driven by high-value individual donations to the largest recipients. Just 50 organisations receive 60 per cent of total private funding across the UK, while smaller organisations have managed to grow their private funding portfolio by 8 per cent per annum.

Board Members

• Jayne-Anne Gadhia CBE, CEO Virgin Money – Enquiry Independent Chair
• Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England
• Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader, Cardiff City Council – representing Core Cities UK
• Cllr Alan Waters, Leader, Norwich City Council – representing Key Cities
• Cllr Darren Rodwell, Leader, Barking & Dagenham – representing London Councils
• Charles Landry, Founder, Comedia
• Bridget Rosewell OBE, Advisor to Volterra Partners, Economist
• Tom Bloxham MBE, Co-founder and Chair, Urban Splash
• Shirley Atkinson, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sunderland
• Dame Seona Reid, Deputy Chair, Heritage Lottery Fund
• Nisha Tandon OBE, CEO of ArtsEkta
• Isaac Julien CBE, Filmmaker and artist
• Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality
• Shain Shapiro PhD, Founder and CEO, Sound Diplomacy
• Alison Nimmo CBE, CEO, Crown Estates

Roundtables will take place in the following cities:

• Manchester     19.04.18
• Wakefield        27.04.18
• Norwich           26.04.18
• Birmingham    23.04.18
• Cardiff             24.04.18
• Belfast             02.05.18

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Core Cities UK is a unique and united voice representing the UK’s ten Core Cities. It aims to unlock the potential of our great cities creating a stronger, fairer economy and society. The Core Cities are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Key Cities was founded in 2013 and now represents 20 cities across England and Wales. It seeks to promote mid-sized cities and urban areas as engines of economic opportunity and inclusive growth for the UK, and ensure local areas across Britain are empowered to deliver greater opportunities and public services for their residents.

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life.  We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com.  Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland

Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts. We provide the main support for artists and arts organisations throughout the region through a range of funding opportunities. We distribute public money and National Lottery funds to organisations and people who develop and deliver arts programmes across Northern Ireland. Our vision is to place the arts at the heart of our social, economic and creative lives. To do this we champion the arts, promote access to the arts and help build a sustainable arts sector. For further information please visit www.artscouncil-ni.org  Follow us @artscouncilni and www.facebook.com/ArtsCouncilNI

Arts Council of Wales is responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. We believe the arts are central to the life and wellbeing of the nation. We invest public funding, using these funds to create opportunities for people to enjoy and take part in the arts. Our principal sponsor is the Welsh Government. We also distribute funding from the National Lottery and raise additional money where we can from a variety of public and private sector sources. Working together with the Welsh Government, we are able to show how the arts are helping to meet the Government’s policy ambitions.

BOP Consulting is an international consultancy specialising in culture and the creative economy. With offices in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Shanghai, BOP delivers over 100 projects each year covering research and evaluation, strategy, and buildings and regeneration. For over 20 years, BOP has partnered with cities, cultural organisations, and policymakers to reshape the way culture is experienced and delivered locally, nationally, and internationally.

BOP also founded and convenes the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF) in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Culture Team. WCCF is a network of over 35 cultural affairs departments and cultural sector leaders from cities around the globe collaborating on shared research and policy solutions.

[1] https://www.local.gov.uk/local-government-finance-settlement-2018

[2] https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/bns/BN166.pdf

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk