NPO briefing events - July 2015
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A review of our ten-year mission, the current political environment, the upcoming spending review, and advice on how to advocate to local and national politicians. Presented to delegates from the Arts Council's National Portfolio Organisations in July 2015.
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NPO briefing events - July 2015
- 1. Musical Rumpus, Spitalfields Music Photo: James Berry & Spitalfields Music July 2015 Arts Council briefing The landscape for 2015 and beyond
- 2. Agenda • Welcome • Great art and culture for everyone: the next five years • Political environment • Spending Review: • What do we know? • Making the case
- 3. The next five years • National and Area plans • Mid-way through our strategy • Creative case for diversity • Distribution • Cultural education guarantee
- 4. Great art and culture for everyone: mid-way through • We’ve reached the mid-point of our 10- year strategy, Great art and culture for everyone. • We will look back at achievements over the first five years of the strategy… • …and look ahead to the context, challenges and opportunities for next five years.
- 5. Next five years: Creative case for diversity A fundamental shift in approach ‘I’m committing this organisation – which belongs to all of us – to a fundamental shift in its approach to diversity. Britain’s got many, many talents, and our work should reflect and engage with all our talent and communities.’ Sir Peter Bazalgette, December 2014. • Our commitments oProgramming oAudiences oSupporting leadership oDiversity across the workforce • How we will achieve this oRole of NPO/MPMs oData oStrategic funds, Grants for the arts and goals
- 6. Next five years: Distribution of funding “I’m announcing a significant shift in how we invest our Lottery revenue. Arts Council England has already increased its investment of lottery revenue outside London up to 70%. But I want us to do better still.” Darren Henley, May 2015 •Our commitment o 75% of Lottery funding outside London by 2018 – a 5% point change o Building capacity and infrastructure across the country o A two-way street of ideas, talent and resources o A boost in production outside London is essential to the success of the national arts and culture ecology. • How we’ll achieve this o Area budgets for Grants for the arts and target bands for Strategic Funds. o Changes to Grant-In-Aid challenging in context of SR and decreasing budgets
- 7. Next five years: towards a cultural education guarantee “I believe that creative talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Cultural education should be a right, not a privilege.” Darren Henley, May 2015 The cultural education guarantee •great arts and culture to be an everyday part of the lives of every child across England, no matter who they are or where they live •every child to have the chance to create, visit and participate •closing the gap that currently exists, including focus on early years and disadvantage Partners at a national and local level to help realise this ambition. •Relationship with Government •National programmes •Local delivery •Partnerships
- 8. Your thoughts • Your opportunity to share your thoughts and ask us about what you’ve heard so far
- 9. Political environment: what we know • Government • A Conservative majority of 12 • Priorities: spending reductions, growth, constitutional issues, city devolution, EU, Human Rights Act, etc. • 2015/16 in-year cuts • DCMS cut by 2.5% (£30m) • Arts Council by 0.35% • Budget announcements • £17bn of savings announced • Surplus delayed to 2019-20 • Spending Review
- 10. Political environment: DCMS • Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries • Responsibilities in DCMS and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). • Culture white paper • Rt Hon John Whittingdale is new Secretary of State • Former Shadow Secretary for DCMS and Select Committee chairman • Engaged in arts, with focus on their intrinsic value • Jesse Norman is the new Chair of CMS Select Committee • Very supportive of the arts • Committee priorities to include regional arts funding as well as the BBC, broadband and football.
- 11. Political environment: wider policy areas • Rt Hon Sajid Javid is the new Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills • Responsibility for Creative Industries; Ed Vaizey a Minister • Apprenticeships and Higher Education • Rt Hon Nicky Morgan remains Secretary of State at the Department for Education • Education Bill introduced • Fund Music Education Hubs, National Youth Music Organisations, In Harmony and other projects
- 12. Political environment: wider policy areas • Rt Hon Greg Clark MP is the new Secretary of State at Communities and Local Government • Focus on decentralising powers to city regions, particularly in Northern England • We’ll remain adaptable to the needs of local leaders • Rt Hon George Osborne remains Chancellor at HM Treasury • Supports devolution and large-scale projects, and increasing focus on One Nation agenda • Personal support for the arts
- 13. Spending Review: context Government plans •£37bn savings to be found •£20bn to be set out in Spending Review •Settlement likely for 2016/17 – 2019/20 Our approach •Making the case for growth •Wide-ranging scenario planning •Consider GiA/Lottery balance •Impact of cuts to LAs Plan for the worst but be prepared for the best.
- 14. Spending Review: implications 16/17 – 17/18 •-5% - current NPO/MPM funding could be protected •Impact on sector through loss of strategic funds •Implications for museums and libraries •-15% - loss of over £75m in 17/18 •Need for resilience and sustainability 18/19 and beyond •Serious challenges from 18/19 and distribution at risk •Up to a c. £200m loss to £600m per annum investment •Assumes consistent Lottery funding
- 15. Spending Review: the holistic case • Economy • Creative Industries • Tourism • Regeneration • Education and skills • Health and well-being
- 16. Spending Review: making the case • Resources: Refreshed advocacy toolkit, films, digital activity, new Create • Evidence base: CEBR Economic Report, Creative Industries Federation report • Between now and the Spending Review: the new Parliament, the case in Government, Whitehall and Local Authorities, public engagement
- 17. Spending review: making the case www.artscouncil.org.uk/toolkit ‘The arts matter in 2015 – make the case with us’
- 18. Spending review: engaging your MP www.artscouncil.org.uk/toolkit ‘Engage your MP with the value of arts and culture’
- 19. Making the case: Local Authorities • Largest funders of arts, libraries and regional museums • Impact of SR cut to DCLG • Arts Council cannot be ‘last funder in town’ • Using the Advocacy Toolkit
- 20. Making the case: in our area Discussion • What are the opportunities and priorities in your area? • How can we work together to make the case for culture? • Is there content or guidance the Arts Council could provide?
- 21. Thank you
Editor's Notes
- A lot of our focus today will be on the political environment following the Election and what it means for art and culture. Before we move on to this, we think it would be helpful to set out the context of the Arts Council’s recent and upcoming activity.
- On a national level, we’re also reflecting on what’s been achieved. We’re looking back to 2010, when we mapped out a ten-year strategy in Great Arts and Culture for everyone. And we’re asking, five years into that strategy – what have we done, where have we met challenges and where is there is room to do more. In this context, we want to spend some time now talking about a number of our big priorities for the coming five years.
- As you know, Baz announced in December 2014 a fundamental shift in our approach to diversity. We recognised that, despite the many well-intentioned plans over the past decade, we simply hadn’t achieved what we’d intended when it came to diversity. We’d tried to promote diversity but relied on a small number of organisations without making real strides to embed diversity and equality across the whole portfolio. We need to do both – we need to support diverse-led organisations and challenge the whole portfolio. We have published the Creative Case for Diversity to support funded organisations in shaping their programmes of work. It encompasses race, ethnicity, faith, disability, age, gender, sexuality, class and economic disadvantage and any social and institutional barriers that prevent people from creating, participating or enjoying the arts. We’re now making changes to how we work with you on diversity – making sure public money is invested for the benefit of everyone in England, and ensuring the whole sector is responsible for promoting diversity. We’re asking organisations to commit to making real change. Our commitments In December, we committed to a fundamental shift to achieve greater diversity in: Programming – to ensure that people of whatever background can see work that resonates with them Audiences – to achieve more diverse audiences Supporting leadership – to support more diverse leadership as well as a more diverse workforce Across the workforce – to see diversity not as an obligation, but an opportunity to increase talent and resilience How You are central to achieving these ambitions. As part of the National portfolio for 2015-18, you have already signed up to the Creative Case for Diversity to help deliver these commitments.. And we’ve asked you all for more robust data – so we can see and demonstrate progress. We are also using strategic funds to increase diversity. As well as the dedicated £6m Creative Case fund, we have made diversity a priority in other strategic funding programmes, like Ambition for Excellence. We are analysing Grants for the arts applications to ensure they’re increasingly diverse and making sure diversity features clearly in all our goals. [Areas - cite an area example of how diverse work has been support locally through strategic funds or GtfA] We know that there’s more to do, and we’ll be talking to you about this more in the autumn.
- Another one of our priorities is to deliver a significant shift in how we distribute funding across the country. We have already increased our investment of lottery revenue outside London to 70%, strengthened capacity and distribute 90% of our museums funding outside London. But we want to do better still. So, by the end of 2018, we are committing to increase Lottery funding outside London by at least a further 5% points. At least 75% will be invested outside London. There won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. We’ll make this investment by targeted use of our Strategic funds and Grants for the arts, so that we can be confident that we don’t harm London’s arts and culture sector. A flourishing London, with its arts and cultural organisations that serve the whole nation, is essential. We have also launched a new fund, Ambition for Excellence, which will develop talent and leadership in all regions, support work of increased ambition and help build ‘cultural capacity’. We believe that there is a demand for this investment. But in some places we will have to encourage and support quality applications. Our goal is to increase artistic production, ambition and growth across the country while recognising how London’s flourishing arts support success throughout the country. We want to create more a of two-way street between our great capital city and other parts of England, with ideas, talent and resources flowing throughout England. How To deliver this ambition, we’re making changes to Grants for the arts and strategic funds. For Grants for the arts, each Area will have its own budget, based on population, demand and our judgement to what funding is appropriate. This approach will see the maximum amount deployed to London at 25%. For Strategic Funds, each fund will have an approximate range for the proportion of funding to be invested outside London (not by Area). We won’t set specific budgets across each area as we think that can limit ambition and opportunity. We’ll indicate the approximate levels of funding to be committed outside London to prospective applicants in guidance and working to a range to give us flexibility when considering which grants to make. We’ll continue to take a conservative approach to estimating the area of benefit which, if anything, will underestimate how investment in London benefits areas outside the capital. Grant applicants will be classified by area based on their postcode, with the only exceptions being that we will consider the Youth Music investment as “National” and sitting outside our calculations and in the cases of Strategic Touring and National Activities (touring) we will calculate the investment in terms of area of benefit rather than postcode of applicant. This does not mean we accept that the postcode of applicant is a fair way of describing the influence and reach of arts and cultural activities but accept it provides clarity in being able to track figures clearly. We will also continue to invest in clusters, rather than spread money evenly across the whole geography, as we need this strategic approach to have an impact, but will continue to support the development of high quality applications from across the country, through programmes like Creative People & Places and the new Ambition for Excellence. Grant in Aid At the moment, Grant in Aid is set in the 2015-18 portfolio. We will look at how we can increase funding outside London in 2018, but we have been clear to Government that any meaningful change will be exceptionally difficult if there are further budget reductions. The key factor is how culture fares in the forthcoming Spending Review, which we will come to later on in the presentation. At his speech in May, Darren also talked about his 25-year vision for developing the next generation of creative talent.
- At the Arts Council, we want all children to have broad, lively and exciting experiences with arts and culture. We think that every child and young person has the right to create, visit and participate in arts and culture, in and out of school. A guaranteed cultural education would unlock the potential of our human capital, providing skills and personal confidence that would challenge barriers to social mobility and improve life chances. We think it’s time for some fresh thinking about how we target our resources, so that we’re focusing on what is most important. We’re working towards a cultural education guarantee - a commitment to making sure that arts and culture is an everyday part of every child’s life, no matter who they are or where they live. We want this to be underpinned by the principles of access, reach, diversity, quality, impact and accountability, and the voice of young people. But the Arts Council can’t guarantee anything alone – we’ll need the backing and collective effort of many partners – at a national and local level. At a national level we have relationships with Government – for example with the Department for Education, Ofsted and local government – to promote the value of a high quality provision in schools, including arts options at KS4. Then we focus on some key ambitions, through national programmes like Artsmark, Arts Award, and our work with the Government’s Pupil Premium. Then in every area there’s activity that is most effective if it’s led and delivered at local level. This includes NPOs and MPMs – 83% of whom have committed to work with children and young people – as well as Youth Music grants and the activities of partners like Film Clubs. Finally, we work through other partners to encourage access and provision. For instance, our Bridge organisations connect and develop cultural education partnerships, and Music Education Hubs create joined up music provision in and outside school. We want to ensure that all children, wherever they are, can create, experience and participate. We think cultural education guarantee has to be for every child, but we know that there’s a huge gap at present – 42% of children whose parents have few qualifications spend no time on cultural activities, while 80% of those whose parents have degrees spend over 3 hours a week. We know that if children and families get involved in cultural activities when they’re young, they’re more likely to engage throughout life. So early years experiences, and activity in schools are very important. For some young children, the statutory provision is where they first encounter the arts, so it needs to be of a great standard. We’ll be talking more about these developments, and how you all can be part of it, in the Autumn.
- The May General Election result was unexpected, but it does give some clarity and a degree of continuity. With a small majority and some contentious issues to navigate, the Government will be looking to move quickly with their agenda. They began in June with the announcement of £4.5billion of in-year savings, including £3bn in cuts to Government departments. The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) was cut by £30million – 2.5% - a relatively small amount. Of this, only 0.35% was passed onto the Arts Council. Any cuts are difficult and must be carefully managed, but this was a relatively small amount and will not impact our 2015/16 grants to NPOs and MPMs or Arts Council staffing numbers. The Summer Budget last week gave us a further insight into the Government’s spending plans. They have committed to £37bn in further savings, of which £17bn in welfare and tax changes were set out in the Budget. This leaves £20bn still to be announced in the Spending Review, including all cuts to non-protected Government departments. That’s a significant amount, but it is worth noting that they have delayed the first year of surplus to 2019-20 which slows the rate of cuts. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, this will mean departmental spending remains relatively flat in cash terms. In real terms, this would be equivalent to the cuts felt over the last few years and Osborne has indicated that none of the cuts will be as deep as in 2011-12 and 2012-13. But, with Health spending likely to be ring-fenced, there will be a lot of pressure on the non-protected departments. Details will be announced in the Spending Review in the autumn. We’ll be talking later about what we can all do to make the best possible case for the arts to Government before the Spending Review.
- As we approach the Spending Review, here’s what we know about the Government and its priorities. The new Secretary of State for Culture, John Whittingdale, knows his way around the brief having chaired the Culture, Media and Sport Parliamentary Select Committee for a decade. He is committed to public investment for the arts, has a track record of standing up for intrinsic value in arts funding and has talked about the impact we have on the creative industries and the need for quality cultural education in schools. But with the BBC Charter Renewal coming up, its unlikely that much of his focus will be on the arts. Ed Vaizey has been reappointed as Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, with his responsibilities in DCMS and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He knows the sector well and they’ll be significant continuity with the last Parliament. We have a long standing relationship with Ed which stands us in good stead. DCMS has indicated that the Government will introduce a white paper on arts and culture in early 2016. It’s be the first since Jennie Lee’s inaugural arts white paper in 1965. Content is still to be confirmed, but we will work closely with DCMS and Ed in particular to make sure it sets out a positive vision for the arts. The new members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee have also been confirmed, including the new Chair, Jesse Norman MP. The MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire is a big supporter of the arts and a trustee of the Roundhouse and Hay Festival. He has said since his election that he’d like the committee to look again at regional arts funding and how London-based collections are lent across England, as well as the BBC, football and digital. He’s had a combative relationship with Government in the past and is likely to keep the Select Committee on the radar. The membership of the rest of the committee has changed too. Four former members – Damian Collins, Jason McCartney, Steve Rotheram and Paul Farrelly – will be joined by 6 new members: Nigel Adams, Andrew Bingham and Nigel Huddleston for the Conservatives, Ian Lucas and Chris Matheson for Labour and John Nicholson for the SNP. The committee is yet to meet formally to agree its first inquiries. [for areas – you may wish to mention the CMS Select Committee members in your area: North: Jason McCartney, Steve Rotheram, Nigel Adams, Chris Matheson SE: Damian Collins Midlands: Jesse Norman, Paul Farrelly, Andrew Bingham, Nigel Huddleston, Outside England: Ian Lucas, John Nicholson
- We work with a range of other departments on issues and opportunities that contribute to the Government’s agenda across policy areas: business and growth, skilled employment, apprenticeships, education, local authorities etc. The main departments we work with are: Department for Business, Innovation and Skill (BIS) The new Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, was a champion of the Creative Industries during his time at DCMS. He is likely to be a useful ally, and will chair the Creative Industries Council which Darren sits on. The department is likely to focus on productivity and growth, but there’s potential for us to engage with their commitment to 3million more apprenticeships, higher education and trade. Department of Education (DfE) Nicky Morgan, who was Secretary of State for Education at the end of the last Parliament, remains in role. She’s a known quantity and we have a long-standing relationship with her department, now enhanced by Darren’s arrival. She’s been keen to make amends for her comments on the importance of arts subjects last year but they’re still not a part of the Ebacc, which will be compulsory from September. A new Education Bill has been introduced which largely covers school provision. We will continue to work closely with the Department on a wide range of projects like the Music Education Hubs, Sorrell Saturday Clubs, and In Harmony, on policy areas including the curriculum, and on our cultural education guarantee.
- Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Greg Clark is the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He was previously Cities Minister at the Cabinet Office. A Cities and Local Devolution Bill has been introduced and we expect this and the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ agenda to continue to grow in importance. Arts Council already works with the Department, including on the Arts and Communities fund, and we will continue to work with them as well as Leaders in local government as this agenda is clarified. We briefed Greg on the value of culture to cities in his previous role and he understands our case. We’re committed to being flexible and adaptable to local needs as an investor, and we are already working closely with authorities like Manchester, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Bristol, Plymouth and many more in this way. HM Treasury Our direct relationship with Treasury is one of the most important on the run up to the Spending Review. As Chancellor and the architect of the Government's election-winning strategy, Osborne’s power and influence is greater than ever. He’s one of the central agents in the Government’s devolution agenda and is increasingly focused on large-scale infrastructure projects like HS2 and Heathrow. He is a big fan of the arts, which has been reflected in the introduction of creative tax reliefs, capital funding for projects like the Factory, and his personal support for the new concert hall in London. After he saw a performance of The Nutcracker with his daughter, he invited the principal dancer Tamara Rojo to watch prime minister’s questions. The artistic director of English National Ballet describes the chancellor as an “educated and knowledgeable man” about the arts. The challenge for us is to convert this understanding of the value of the arts into a favourable settlement in the Spending Review. Osborne is very closely tied to the Government’s austerity policy, but it’s increasingly felt that he’s more flexible on the cuts than the rhetoric suggests and keen to pursue a One Nation agenda. With his personal support for the arts, we think we can make a compelling case to Osborne and the Treasury in the run up to the Spending Review.
- So that’s the overall political landscape for the next five years. We know that there will be a Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn. The Government confirmed in the Summer Budget that they are looking to achieve £37bn in further savings over the course of the Parliament. With £17bn in welfare and tax changes confirmed in the Budget, there is £20bn still to find in the Spending Review. As spending on areas like health is set to increase, there is a lot of pressure on non-protected departments like DCMS. While Treasury officials have not formally confirmed how long the Spending Review will be for, the Summer Budget indicated that it will cover to the end of the Parliament. We favour a four year settlement, so that much of the income for the next investment round is known, but we are planning for everything between one and five years. Our approach We are confident that we can make a strong case for growth in the Spending Review. The latest in-year cuts were relativity small. The current Chancellor is supportive of the arts and we can argue that we contribute to a whole range of Government objectives for a tiny proportion of Government spending. We are therefore in a position to argue for growth, to strengthen cultural infrastructure and capacity outside London while safeguarding the capital’s ecology. A relatively modest increase in the Arts Council’s budget would enable us to invest across the country, making a meaningful impact on proportions of investment, while maintaining London on current levels. But, because the pressure on public spending in the SR will be enormous, we still need to prepare for every possibility. That includes a situation at 10% or 20% cut where Lottery overtakes Grant in Aid to become our predominant source of income. We also have to factor in the impact of any further cuts to the Communities and Local Government budget, which will be passed onto Local Authorities. We’re making a strong case to Government on the need for sustained investment in Local Authorities as part of our Spending Review work but we have to be prepared for the fact a reduction in investment at a local level would wipe out any modest growth we were able to secure. So we’re considering all eventualities – including the downside scenario of cuts to the Arts Council and Local Authorities which would require radical changes – and planning for the worst while being prepared for the best.
- We are modelling a number of scenarios: Growth of £17.5m per annum for core arts funding and £1.5m for the museums core funding plus a range of project funding ideas Reductions of 5%, 10% and 20% per annum from 2016/17 Let’s look at what these scenarios would mean. From 2010/11 to 2014/15 our income has been relatively flat. We’ve had roughly £600m per annum to invest in the arts, museums and libraries. Any cut from 16/17 onwards would be detrimental, but at 5% we would be able to honour the in-principle allocations to NPO/MPMs for 16/17 and 17/18. Unfortunately, cuts in these years would come from strategic funds. We have already had to pause funding for the Museums Resilience fund until the outcome of the Spending Review is known, and it is likely that a 5% cut or greater would have a significant impact on our strategic funds across libraries, museums and the arts. That includes really valuable funds like Creative People and Places, Ambition for excellence, Digital R&D and Strategic Touring. Any cut larger than 5% would put NPO/MPM grants for 16/17 and 17/18 at risk and we’d need to consider all possible options across our full portfolio of organisations, including museums, MEHs and libraries. We will need to prioritise, and consider reductions to levels agreed with NPOs and MPMs, as well as whether to reduce strategic funds or GftA?. And, whatever the outcome, it is clear that financial restraint is part of the political climate. As well as advocating for the arts, we are going to help organisations to become more sustainable and resilient, by supporting you to build fundraising capacity, forge new partnerships and explore alternative sources of non-grant income over the coming years. Looking further forward, even 5% per annum cut would be extremely challenging from 2018/19. We’ve projected that we’d have to cut between 77-359 organisations from the portfolio altogether. And, if we were cut by 20% year on year, we could lose up to £200m of our £600m per annum investment. That would require radical changes. It would also put our commitment to build capacity across the country while protecting the capital’s infrastructure at risk – a 8.8% cut, which is by no means unlikely, would mean a cut of £83million to the London based portfolio in order to achieve a 43/57 spilt, and still entail a £7million reduction outside London. This is clearly not tenable and would be disastrous in the context of other public sector and local authority cuts. It also doesn’t take into account the impact of any future changes to National Lottery revenue, which we’ve assumed would remain constant. We will consider how to balance NPOs, GftA and strategic beyond the budgets that have already been set; how much lottery we should invest in NPOs; and whether we will reach a tipping point where we need a radical rethink on how we invest. For example, fewer, better funded organisations or more on less money? Now is the time to make the case the benefits of arts and culture.
- Collectively, we can make a powerful case for the value of public investment in the arts in the run up to the Spending Review. We have met with Ministers and departments across Government to better understand their priorities and help shape a public narrative that reflects the diversity and impact of the arts. We know that they have started to recognise how arts and culture benefit the economy and society. The Holistic Case is central to the argument we will make to Government before the Spending Review. It will say that: Arts and culture is worth over £7bn to our economy. A significant return on a tiny investment of less than 0.1 percent of government spending. But the benefits go deeper and wider. Culture plays a vital role in enriching the lives of the next generation through education and it yields benefits for society – for example, protecting our health and wellbeing. As well as all these measurable benefits to our country, the arts and culture simply give us joy and meaning in our lives. We can show how our work delivers the Government’s agenda: Our theatres, galleries, libraries, museums and arts centres incubate talent and ideas for the wider creative industries – the fastest growing part of our economy They enhance our reputation abroad and attract tourists. Over a quarter of London’s international visitors go to the theatre at least once. They drive the regeneration of our former industrial regions and will be central to the Northern Powerhouse They are a vital part of our children’s education. Creative subjects improve attainment in literacy, maths and languages and create the next generation of creative workers. Culture makes people happier, while taking part in music or dance can improve physical and emotional health.
- To make the best possible case to Government, we need everyone to talk about the value of arts and culture over the coming months. We know that a lot of you are already doing this – delivering some great work and facilitating conversations across the sector – and that for those who can’t, it is often a resource issue. To help you to make the case, we have revised and improved the resources available to you: We’ve refreshed the Advocacy Toolkit. You might already be familiar with this but it has been extensively reviewed. It now includes all the messages you’ll need around the new Parliament and specific ideas and practical advice for advocacy before the Spending Review. We’ve produced new digital resources, including two films you can share across your organisations, and are running campaigns online like #ACESupported to demonstrate the range and reach of publically funded arts. And we’re supporting new research, to provide the evidence you need to make the case, like the updated CEBR report on the arts economic impact and a new digital Create, which will look at the value of the arts in more depth. We hope that all of these resources will help you with the three things we’re asking all of you to do on the run up to the Spending Review: Create your own story about the value that your work brings Communicate that story in every way you can Build relationships with your local MP, local authority and other important decision makers. Your audiences and local stakeholders are a huge part of this work. But the first thing you can do, is make sure you share the Advocacy Toolkit and digital resources with your teams across your organisation, also make sure your Board members see it too. It is designed to help you demonstrate the value of public investment in arts and culture so please have a look on our website and share it with your networks and colleagues. The main message is – don’t assume it’s been said. Find what works for you, and use our and your material to encourage your chairs and other supporters to tell your story, on the terms that matter to the decision makers and influencers you can reach. Everyone’s contribution will be vital to ensuring we get the best possible settlement for the arts in the autumn.
- We’ve talked a lot today about engaging with Whitehall, Government and your local MPs. On the run up to the Spending Review, this is a huge priority, but your ongoing relationship with your local council is still one of the most important. Money may be tight, but local authorities are still major funders of arts and culture. In 2013/4, they invested £933 million in public libraries, £253 million in theatres, £240 million in museums and £128 million in other support for the arts. But it’s not only their investment that’s important; they are a democratic leader with responsibility for other areas that may be of relevance to you. A good relationship can help you to: ensure your council continues to fund you, and other arts and culture organisations, in future connect with your local community influence local decisions We have refreshed the Local Authority section in the Advocacy Toolkit too, so you can build relationships with your locally councillors and create stories that get through. As with MPs, it is important to emphasis the wider benefits of arts and culture, demonstrating how your work drives economic growth, boosts tourism, supports education, engages with the local community, involves children and young people and creates jobs. This is particularly important in the context of the Spending Review, when any cut to the Department for Communities and Local Government is likely to have a significant impact on Local Authority budgets.
- To include area-specific information on MPs and Local Authorities