Recommendation 4

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government appreciates the importance of guaranteed and long-term public funding settlements for giving local and regional government the confidence, clarity, and certainty to continue investing in and working closely with their local cultural, creative, and wider ecosystems, and recognises the significant amount local and regional government has invested, and continues to invest, in supporting and developing these sectors, many of which are non-statutory services. Local Authorities themselves already invest significantly each year in their local arts and cultural offer, with councils in England spending an estimated £2.4bn net revenue on Cultural Services in 2021 to 2022.15 Taking 2022/23 and 2023/24 together, the funding available to local government in England has been increased in real terms. The Local Government Finance Settlement 2023/24, published in December 2022,1616 makes available an additional £5bn to councils, including around £2bn in additional grant for social care. This is an increase of up to 9% in cash terms compared to 2022/23. The majority of the Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet their pressures and fund local priorities, including culture, heritage, and the visitor economy, where relevant. The Government’s consultation on the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement ran for 4 weeks and has now closed; views provided as part of the consultation will be reflected in the final settlement before it is laid in the House of Commons. 15 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england- 2021-to-2022-final-outturn/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2021- to-2022-final- outturn#local-authority-expenditure 16 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement- 2023-to-2024- consultation/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2023-to-2024-consultation In addition, the most relatively deprived areas of England (the upper decile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation) will receive 17% more per dwelling in available resource through this year’s settlement than the least deprived areas. One key case where public funds are invested in a long-term fashion is the Arts Council England’s Investment Programme. Organisations supported through this programme - the National Portfolio - are provided with revenue funding over a multi-year period, allowing for organisations to plan and deliver meaningful and sustainable activity over the medium to long-term. In addition to signposting best practice for councils looking to invest in and see the benefits of cultural and creative activity, Government and its arm’s-length bodies are already encouraging and developing private sector investment in arts, culture, and heritage, and the broader visitor economy that supports and is in turn supported by these. This recognises the important role a diverse and commercially-strengthened funding approach has in ensuring these sectors’ ongoing ability to access further funding sources, and their financial sustainability over the longer term. For example, Arts Council England supports Beacon Collaborative, which carries out research into the role of philanthropy in the UK and within the arts and cultural sector, as well as further developing the New Philanthropy for Arts and Culture network across different places in England. Beacon’s research focuses on the efficacy of Cause Related Networks (CRN) including for arts and culture; what motivates high-level donors to give; and how best to celebrate and inspire philanthropists. In addition, Arts Council England will recognise and build on recent findings from their 2022 Private Investment in Culture Survey.17 Arms-Length Bodies can also play a key role in convening and delivering private investment in relevant cultural, heritage, and creative sectors in ways that ensure the investment delivers the best economic and social outcomes for the organisations and people involved. For example, the Hamish Ogston Foundation Heritage Building Skills Programme, administered by Historic England, is a five-year in-work training and apprenticeships programme in the North of England1818. The programme is generously supported by a £4.3m grant from The Hamish Ogston Foundation, a charity supporting health, heritage and music in the UK and abroad, founded by philanthropist Hamish Ogston. The programme aims to reduce shortages in heritage craft skills, improve the condition of Heritage at Risk (HAR) sites and create viable career opportunities for young people from less-advantaged backgrounds. Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) can also play an important role in stimulating private sector investment in their local and regional cultural, creative, and broader visitor economy ecosystem, as the Government’s response to the de Bois review of Destination Management Organisations recognised. The £2.25m