Culture and Tourism Steering
Group
London Cultural Consortium
Report by:
Dianna Neal
Date:
17 May 2005
Contact
Officer:
Dianna Neal
Telephone:
020 7934 9819
Job
title:
Emai
l:
Item
no:
10
Head of Policy and
Grants, Renewal and
Culture
[email protected]
Summary:
This report updates members on the second meeting
of the London Cultural Consortium (LCC).
Recommendation
s:
That Members:
1. Note the report;
2. Agree the proposed ALG activities around the
LCC, as outlined in paragraph 11.
Report Page 2
Background
1. During the Mayor of London’s first term of office, a
Cultural Strategy Group was established to advise on the
development of the Mayor’s Culture Strategy. One of the
Culture Strategy’s1 proposals was to establish a London
Cultural Consortium (LCC). The Cultural Strategy Group has
therefore been re-configured to become the LCC. The LCC will
assist in the delivery phase of the Culture Strategy and
maximise the potential of London’s cultural offer through
better co-ordination and joint working.
2. The first meeting of the LCC was held in January 2005. A
second meeting was held on 6 April 2005.
Borough representation on and engagement with the LCC
3. There are 17 members of the LCC and one observer. The ALG
has one representative on the LCC – Cllr Lyn Brown, Chair of
the ALG Culture and Tourism Steering. Following discussions
between the ALG and the Mayor, the Mayor has agreed that the
ALG representative on the LCC is now the joint vice-chair2.
This is to reflect the significant role in and funding of
cultural activities by the boroughs in London.
4. The Chair of the ALG’s Culture and Tourism Steering Group
has written to Chris Smith (Chair of the LCC) seeking a
meeting with him to discuss the consortium and the borough’s
engagement with it. This letter is attached as Appendix 1.
Resources for the London Cultural Consortium
5. The LCC currently has no significant financial or staff
resources available to take forward key issues identified at
the meetings. Currently, the GLA Culture Team provides
secretarial support to the LCC. All other regional cultural
consortiums in England receive funding from DCMS
(approximately £200,000 per annum) that is used to support
LCC activities and provide staff to manage these activities,
in conjunction with the RCC members. The DCMS has argued
that the Mayor should provide such resources for the LCC.
6. Chris Smith has written to the DCMS questioning this
position. He had received no response to his letter at the
time of the second LCC meeting. The ALG could assist with
lobbying on this issue. If the current arrangements persist,
London’s Cultural Consortium is unlikely to be as effective
as other regional consortiums across England that are much
Mayor of London, London Cultural Capital: Realising the potential of a worldclass city, April 2004
2 The other vice-chair of the LCC is the representative of the GLA Assembly.
1
Report Page 3
better resourced. Joint lobbying on this issue will be
discussed at the meeting with Chris Smith.
Second meeting of the LCC
7. The second meeting of the LCC was held on 6 April 2005 and
it focused on Culture and the Thames Gateway. The main issue
was how to ensure that cultural activities and facilities
are integrated into the new and expanding communities that
will be developed and how culture’s profile and contribution
to sustainable communities where people want to live and
work can be raised among government ministers, officials and
practitioners working on the Thames Gateway. The following
actions were agreed at the meeting:



Create a post to work on promoting culture in Thames
Gateway, funded through some of the main cultural agencies
(ALM London and Arts Council offered funded at the
meeting; the GLA and LDA will explore what they can
contribute);
Build on the mapping of cultural facilities and spend
undertaken by the Thames Gateway culture working3; this
group will be now chaired by a member of the LCC and
report progress to the LCC;
Organise an awareness raising event with the wider culture
sector to increase culture’s profile within the Thames
Gateway and sustainable communities agenda. This would
take place after funding has been secured for a Thames
Gateway culture post and the position had been filled.
8. The ALG will continue to put staff time into the Thames
Gateway working group and its activities; however it is
unable to commit funding towards the Thames Gateway post.
9. The ALG also gave a brief presentation on its work on
promoting London’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralymic
Games in 2012, following a request at the first meeting.
Future LCC meetings
10.
Future LCC meeting will focus on a particular theme.
The themes for the next two meetings were agreed as follows:
Tuesday 19 July
Culture and London’s Olympic bid
Wednesday 28 September
Culture and Diversity
Future ALG activities
3
The ALG is represented on this group
Report Page 4
11.
ALG officers propose the following activities around
the LCC:


Work with the LCC, London boroughs and London CLOA on how
boroughs can effectively engage with LCC activities;
Consider joint lobbying around the lack of resources
available to the LCC compared to other regional cultural
consortiums in London.
Equalities implications
12.
Promoting London as a city of vibrant and diverse
cultural activities is one of the aims of the LCC. The ALG
will work with the LCC to ensure that diversity and
equalities issues are considered in all aspects of the LCC’s
work.
Recommendations
13.
It is recommended that Members:
1. Note the report;
2. Agree the proposed ALG activities around the LCC, as
outlined in paragraph 11.
Background papers
GLA, London Cultural Consortium Agenda and Papers, 6 April 2005
Mayor of London, London Cultural Capital: Realising the
potential of a world-class city, April 2004
Report Page 5
APPENDIX 1
Chris Smith
Chair, London Cultural
Consortium
c/o Clore Leadership
South Building
Somerset House
Strand
London, WC2R 1LA
Contact:
Direct
line:
Fax:
Email:
Our
reference:
Your
reference:
Date:
Dianna Neal
020 7934 9819
020 7934 9903
[email protected]
10 May 2005
Dear Chris
MEETING TO DISCUSS THE LONDON CULTURAL CONSORTIUM
Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the London
Cultural Consortium (LCC).
I am writing to introduce myself as a member of the consortium,
as I was unable to attend the first two meetings on behalf of the
Association of London Government (ALG). I am the chair of the
ALG’s Culture and Tourism Steering Group.
The ALG supports the aims and objectives of the LCC. The LCC will
have an important part to play in advocating for culture in
London and ensuring that there is a strategic coherence and coordination in taking forward the priorities in the Mayor’s
Culture Strategy. The LCC also has a challenging task in focusing
the resources of the many cultural agencies in London around
agreed priorities and demonstrating progress against these
priorities.
It would be very useful to meet with you to discuss the LCC, the
role of the ALG and how we might effectively engage London’s
boroughs in the work of the LCC – given that they are the second
largest spenders on cultural activities in London, after the
Government. A meeting before the next LCC meeting on 6 April
2005 would be particularly beneficial.
Please contact Dianna Neal at the ALG with any potential dates
for a meeting.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Report Page 6
Cllr Lyn Brown
Chair, ALG Culture and Tourism Steering Group
Cc: Cllr Denise Jones, Deputy Chair, ALG Culture and Tourism
Steering Group