Government backs proposal for statutory duty on local authorities to prepare cultural strategy

In her independent review, Baroness Hodge said: “We encountered dismay across the country at the cuts to local authority funding for the arts.

“[…] To maintain the link between local authorities and their cultural infrastructure I would recommend a statutory requirement for local and regional authorities to regularly publish a cultural strategy […] which should encompass the arts, culture, and heritage.”

The Government yesterday (26 March) confirmed it will take forward recommendations from the review, which also included:

• Committing to work with the Arts Council to develop a new fund for future artists and creatives. The new programme, part of an improved total offer for individuals, will sit alongside work to ensure that access to a high-quality arts education will be the entitlement of every child. The government’s enrichment framework will support schools to build relationships with arts organisations so that all children have access to a stronger arts enrichment offer.
• Maintaining a strong, politically impartial and independent Arts Council that remains a champion for freedom of expression.
• Incentivising philanthropy, cultural tax reliefs, and exploring the potential opportunities that charging international visitors at museums could bring.

According to the Hodge review, in 2022-23, public funding for culture was made up of 51% from local authorities, 32% from grant-in-aid (GiA) allocated by central government (for Arts Council England, the British Library, Historic England and DCMS-sponsored museums), 11% from the National Lottery, and 7% from tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras and museums.

Between 2009-10 and 2022-23, per person public spending on culture by Arts Council England and local authorities fell in real terms, by 18% and 48% respectively.

According to the report, some local authorities have completely cut their spending on culture.

In the Government response, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it would work with the Arts Council and local government “to achieve effective collaboration, ensuring decisions on funding by both are done in a strategic way with maximum impact for local people”.

It added that it had already begun work in response to Baroness Hodge’s recommendation to consider new statutory duties for local government to prepare cultural strategies.

“Recognising the importance of local government to the arts and cultural sector, ‘culture’ has been added as a standalone competency for Strategic Authorities," the response noted.

"This empowers the Mayors of Strategic Authorities to use their convening power to bring together local partners, including Arm’s Length Bodies and public service providers, to grow their cultural offer."

DCMS also said it agreed with Baroness Hodge’s recommendations for the Arts Council to improve its regional decision-making structures, and for these structures to include local community groups, local cultural organisations, individuals, education partners, and local government.

“We believe it is critical that local people and organisations should have more of a say in decisions that affect them, and that Arts Council decisions should be integrated into local places and plans. We want to reach a point where all local funding decisions and all local activity is shaped by citizens.”

The Arts Council is to spend £2.225m to deliver hyper-local engagement with citizens to ensure that the decisions about funding are informed by the voices of citizens. “This “Citizens’ Voices for Culture” project will mean going beyond the familiar perspectives of government and industry, but give more say to those whose voices are less often heard in deciding what culture and creativity they want to be supported.”

The DCMS said that while the Arts Council will be doing more work to determine precisely how these will function, they are looking at models such as that of the West of England Combined Authority’s recent Citizens for Culture panel.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “For far too long, the benefits of culture have not been equally distributed.

“I refuse to sit back while communities are forgotten in our national story. Change must start today. That change begins with a culture sector that is proud and unafraid to tell the whole story of our nation. A reformed and independent Arts Council will sit at the heart of this vision to reach, inspire and nurture young people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to be creative, let alone pursue a creative career.

“We must seize the opportunity we have to build a culture sector that works for the whole country and provides the tonic we need in the face of division.”

Commenting on the Government's response, Cllr Julie Jones-Evans, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Committee, said: “The Government is right to focus on widening access to excellent culture and strengthening public confidence in an independent Arts Council England.

“Councils are major investors in local culture and the statutory providers of public libraries, so reform will only succeed if it is designed and delivered in partnership with local government and combined authorities.”

Cllr Jones-Evans added: “Any new statutory expectations on councils must be fully funded, and changes to local decision‑making should build on existing place‑based partnerships rather than create new, parallel structures.

“Any new structures and approaches should also recognise local government’s role as the democratically elected leader of place — adding value to existing local conversations and operating in line with devolution principles, not through top‑down implementation.”

Lottie Winson