Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Conclusion 12
Third Report - Reimagining where we live: cultural placemaking and the levelling up agenda
Published 2 Nov 2022
Paragraph 78
Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Reimagining where we live: cultural placemaking and the levelling up agenda All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
It is a matter of serious concern that despite the UK’s status as home to successful, world-renowned creative industries, the sector is experiencing a significant and ongoing national skills shortage. This has compounded the issue of poor social mobility in the creative industries that successive governments have failed to address. Indeed, despite the Government’s recognition of the need to provide greater opportunities for people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in the 2016 Culture White Paper, the creative industries remain among the worst for social mobility. We find it incredible that the UK cannot deliver on the provision of skills needed to meet the employment needs of the sector and equip our potential future creatives with the best possible opportunities to succeed. This shortage must be addressed if the UK is to maintain its status as a stalwart in arts and culture in future.
From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Third Report - Reimagining where we live: cultural placemaking and the levelling up agenda (HC 155), paragraph 78, 2 November 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 3 February 2023 (deadline 11 January 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the inquiry and agrees that place-based cultural policymaking can help deliver the Levelling Up missions, but it disagrees with the Committee's conclusion on a joined-up approach and declines several recommendations.
- It disagrees with the Committee's "lack of faith" that a collaborative approach to Levelling Up cultural infrastructure is being taken, citing partnership working between Government, Arms-Length Bodies and places.
- On skills, it says a Government-led national training programme "is not required", and does not agree that an audit and roadmap of cultural placemaking skills is necessary, citing the risk of duplication.
- On Cultural Compacts, it says that "in the current fiscal climate, further Government investment in Compacts at this time is unlikely", preferring their "organic development".
- On funding, it says current policy does not distinguish "national" from "regional" or "local" organisations. It says there are "no plans to expand the Music Hubs model to other art forms".