Recommendations & Conclusions
27 items
2
Recommendation
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We are concerned about the Department’s and Arts Council England’s ability to manage the significant and ongoing loan book commitments created by the Culture Recovery Fund. As a result of repayable finance awarded under the Culture Recovery Fund, Arts Council England is now responsible for managing £252 million in loans …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: We are concerned about the Department’s and Arts Council England’s ability to manage the significant and ongoing loan book commitments created by the Culture Recovery Fund. 2: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should …
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
In implementing the fund during the pandemic, the Department’s need to act quickly to provide funding to applicants while also protecting taxpayers’ money meant some applicants’ experiences could have been better. The Department announced the fund in July 2020, with the intention to pay successful applicants by the end of …
Government response. 3. PAC conclusion: In implementing the fund during the pandemic, the Department’s need to act quickly to provide funding to applicants while also protecting taxpayers’ money meant some applicants’ experiences could have been better. 3: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department lacks a comprehensive understanding of the coverage and impact of its funding on parts of the sector which found themselves without funds. The Department and its arm’s-length bodies have distributed around £1.2 billion to 5,000 organisations and the Department is confident that all applicants that met criteria for …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: The Department lacks a comprehensive understanding of the coverage and impact of its funding on parts of the sector which found themselves without funds. 4: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us within three months setting …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
It remains to be seen whether the Department has achieved its objectives for the Culture Recovery Fund and secured longer-term value for money. The Department and its arm’s-length bodies are looking to build on the new relationships they have made with stakeholders, including many organisations they have not previously worked …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: It remains to be seen whether the Department has achieved its objectives for the Culture Recovery Fund and secured longer-term value for money. 5a: PAC recommendation: The Department should set out: • in its Treasury Minute response, …
HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The taxpayer’s investment in the sector, and the Department’s future role in overseeing it, present a huge opportunity for the Department to step up its support and advocacy for the sector. The Department has gained a lot of new information and understanding about the sector, which it could put to …
Government response. 6: PAC conclusion: The taxpayer’s investment in the sector, and the Department’s future role in overseeing it, present a huge opportunity for the Department to step up its support and advocacy for the sector. 6a: PAC recommendation: The Permanent Secretary …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (the Department), Arts Council England (ACE) and Sir Damon Buffini, chair of the Culture Recovery Board, about the Culture Recovery Fund (the fund).1
Government response. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Monday 26 April 2021 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Committee published its report on 23 June 2021. This is the government’s …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department acknowledged that the changing pandemic scenarios around issues such as the return of international visitors, reopening and social distancing had changed the economics for organisations in receipt of grants or repayable finance.12 It told us that the fund was stretched further than it had anticipated at the time …
Government response. 2021. This is the government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: Overview of English Rail System – Session 2021-22 (HC 1373) • PAC report: Overview of English Rail System – Session 2021-22- (HC 170)
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department wrote to us to explain that ACE was now responsible for managing £252 million in loans.16 Although the take-up of loan funding was lower than the Department originally predicted, it forms part of the £92 billion total of COVID-19 loans across all of Government.17 Sir Damon Buffini explained …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2021 2.2 DCMS officials are working carefully in order to establish the most appropriate mechanism for managing the loan book over the long term, factoring in best practice …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We questioned the Department about its assessment of the profile for default on loans and what plan it and ACE had to tackle organisations defaulting on their loans. The Department told us that it had developed a profile of default. It said it would take a prudent approach to valuation …
Government response. 2: PAC conclusion: We are concerned about the Department’s and Arts Council England’s ability to manage the significant and ongoing loan book commitments created by the Culture Recovery Fund. 2: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department about its long-term plans for the loan book, as our experience has been that Government has generally had issues at times managing loan books.24 The Accounting Officer confirmed her accountability for the fund’s loans but said it was too early to say what the plans were …
Government response. 2: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should set out how it will make sure it has the resources in place to take on the new responsibilities for managing loans, and how it has drawn on learning …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department had considered that the end of September 2020 represented a cliff- edge for the sector, with many organisations in the sector likely to run out of money and close permanently if support was not available by then.27 We therefore questioned the Department about its timetable and whether it …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department what it had learned about setting and communicating realistic deadlines. It considered that what mattered to organisations was knowing that they were going to get funding. It acknowledged that it had given advance notice about when allocations would be announced and then had not been able …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department whether in retrospect it had struck the right balance between applying due diligence and how quickly funding reached organisations. The Department and ACE assured us that they were not aware of any organisation that had fallen into difficulty because of the timing of the receipt of …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked about the low level of fraud in the fund and whether the Department’s focus on due diligence had led to this low level. ACE explained it had a dedicated counter-fraud resource and had so far identified no fraudulent payments at all. It said it had received and investigated …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We received good evidence from a number of bodies about their experience of the fund and the challenges they had faced. For example some had struggled with the language of the grant form, which seemed to be geared to the not-for-profit sector or larger organisations;36 and some unsuccessful applicants were …
Government response. 3: PAC conclusion: In implementing the fund during the pandemic, the Department’s need to act quickly to provide funding to applicants while also protecting taxpayers’ money meant some applicants’ experiences could have been better. 3: PAC recommendation: In its Treasury …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department whether some organisations had been excluded from the support offered by the fund and whether certain regions or sectors had been under- represented in the applications.43 We also asked whether it should have a relationship manager function for parts of the sector which it knew less …
Government response. 4: PAC conclusion: The Department lacks a comprehensive understanding of the coverage and impact of its funding on parts of the sector which found themselves without funds. 4: PAC recommendation: The Department should write to us within three months setting …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department considered that the regional breakdown of all the success rates in awards for the applications it had received suggested that there were parts of the country that had less ‘cultural and heritage fabric’ than others. It asserted that the fund aimed to support existing organisations at risk of …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We challenged the Department and ACE on what they had done to support parts of the sector including freelancers, commercial organisations, supply chain businesses delivering the technical aspects of the sector’s activity (for example, sound and lighting for events) and festivals.49 The Department described how ministers decided that the fund …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We questioned the Department about the assessments it had made of the long-term impact on supply chain organisations.51 It told us that supply chain organisations had been eligible to apply for the fund where they were culturally significant, but we had seen evidence that applicants from such organisations, which often …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department what the obstacles were to setting up a Government-backed insurance scheme for live events, given that many festivals, in particular outdoor ones, were struggling because they were unable to get insurance this year and would have to make decisions about whether to go ahead.55 The Department …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked the Department to tell us how it would be evaluating the success of the fund and its value for money, for example measures of the impact on jobs, freelancers and supply-chain organisations. The Department told us that it had awarded a contract to Ipsos MORI, BOP Consulting and …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: It remains to be seen whether the Department has achieved its objectives for the Culture Recovery Fund and secured longer-term value for money. 5a: PAC recommendation: The Department should set out: • in its Treasury Minute response, …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
The Department said it wanted to satisfy itself that organisations in need were supported and that it achieved its objective of supporting a significant proportion of the cultural sector through a very difficult time. It also told us it wanted to test the fund’s regional impact, how far the Department …
Government response. 5: PAC conclusion: It remains to be seen whether the Department has achieved its objectives for the Culture Recovery Fund and secured longer-term value for money. 5b: PAC recommendation: The Department should set out: • once its evaluation is complete, …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We queried whether the Department ought to have set its value for money criteria for the evaluation earlier in the process. The Department told us that it had been assured of the value for money of its spending at all times, and never doubted that the funding had been value …
Government response. 5.5 The evaluation will also assess the value for money of CRF. The approach will be based on a methodology compliant with the Treasury Green Book. The approach will draw on data collected across the evaluation to assess the economy, …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked ACE what it had learned about the sector. It told us that for round one of the fund, about 40% of those organisations it funded were new to it, and for round two of the fund, 23% were new to it.62 The Department also told us that the …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We questioned the Department about the future of the sector and what it saw as emerging risks, given the pandemic situation exceeded the worst-case assumptions when it set up the fund. The Department replied that it did not want to see its investment wasted, and it was now supporting organisations’ …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
We asked what plans ACE had for its funding in future years and how its future funding could build on innovation, given the effect of the pandemic on the sector. ACE told us that it was very interested in the shape of what it described as “the cultural ecosystem” of …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Eighth Report - COVID 19: Culture Recov…
Nationally, the sector contributed £34.6 million to the UK economy in 2019.67 We therefore challenged the Department about its role in overseeing the business aspects of the sector and what it was doing to build the sector including exploiting its export potential. The Department told us there was “food for …
Government response. 6c: PAC recommendation: The Permanent Secretary should write to us by the end of 2021 setting out: • how the Department will realise future cultural and economic impacts, including for export, from its investment. 6.5 The government agrees with the …
HM Treasury