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Short debate on the impact of the Budget on arts, heritage and cultural organisations, 14 November

Culture and library services have an essential role in helping councils to engage with, and support, communities to achieve sustainable social outcomes. This is particularly relevant to promoting economic growth, tackling health inequalities, and improving cohesion at a time of increasing financial challenges.

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About the Local Government Association

  • The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We are a politically led, cross party membership organisation, representing councils from England and Wales.
  • Our role is to support, promote and improve local government, and raise national awareness of the work of councils. Our ultimate ambition is to support councils to deliver local solutions to national problems.

Key messages

  • Local government holds the keys to solving some of our biggest national challenges. They run a nationwide network of local cultural and leisure organisations, which in England includes 3,000 libraries, 2,727 leisure centres, over 350 museums, 116 theatres, 27,000 parks and green spaces and numerous castles, amusement parks, monuments, historic buildings and heritage sites.
  • Although there was a positive increase in local government funding announced at the budget, this will be used by critical under-pressure statutory services such as adult and children’s social care, homelessness support and SEND services. This leaves the important community services like culture and sport that are accessible to all residents, but largely non-statutory, at risk of further service reductions and the need to put up fees and charges. It is critical that the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) meets with the LGA to discuss how to manage this challenge and maximise the contribution that these services can make to the Government’s missions.
  • Local government has a core role in supporting inclusive economic growth and the creative industries. Strategic investment in creative clusters and corridors will support councils to help this growth industry thrive and expand in their areas. However, this must not be at the expense of provision of local cultural services.
  • The contribution of grassroots culture to the pipeline of talent for the creative industries cannot be understated and must be recognised as an important contributory factor to the success of the industrial strategy. The LGA’s independent Commission on culture and local government found council cultural services played a critical role in enabling practitioners refine and improve their skills, and maintain a viable income for freelancers. These services are often also the first exposure of young people to the wonder and opportunity offered by creative activities, which is essential for inspiring the future workforce of the creative industries.
  • For this reason, cancelling the Levelling Up Culture and Capital Projects would significantly impact communities who have been promised improved cultural services. The LGA’s independent commission on culture and local government found that local cultural infrastructure is critical to providing a pipeline of talent for the creative industries, allowing professionals to develop their practice and secure a degree of job security through a balanced portfolio of public and private projects.
  • These projects would also work alongside existing cultural services to promote community cohesion and positive engagement work that is so important following the violent disorder that marked the summer period. Cultural and heritage services, alongside sport, have a key role to play in rebuilding community networks, and anecdotally provided some protective effects during the Summer for places that had managed to continue investing in those activities. While investment in new capital projects may not be the new Government’s preferred way forward, it is important that investment in cultural services and activities continues if we are to avoid a repeat of the summer violence.

Background

  • Local government holds the keys to solving some of our biggest national challenges. They run a nationwide network of local cultural and leisure organisations, which in England includes 3,000 libraries, 2,727 leisure centres, over 350 museums, 116 theatres, 27,000 parks and green spaces and numerous castles, amusement parks, monuments, historic buildings and heritage sites.
  • Councils remain the biggest public funder of cultural services, spending over £1 billion a year, but this core revenue funding for culture reduced by over 40 per cent in the 10 years leading up to the pandemic because of pressures on council budgets and rising demand for statutory services.
  • In the run-up to the general election, we published our Local Government White Paper which sets out councils' urgent priorities for a new Government. It makes the case for a fundamental reset of the relationship between local and national government, including the establishment of a central-local partnership, where local and central government come together to codesign the solutions to the problems this country is facing.
  • Our new analysis reveals that councils in England now face a funding gap of £6.2 billion over the next two years. This financial strain has forced councils to focus their spending on meeting their statutory obligations, leading to a reduction in spending on universal and preventative services and a greater focus on reactive, demand-led provision. Despite the growing body of evidence demonstrating the financial and social benefits of prevention, between 2010 and 2024 culture and leisure services saw a real-terms annual spending fall of £2.324 billion.
  • Investment in cultural infrastructure drives local economic growth, reduces spend on acute health and wellbeing services, drives educational outcomes, and improves quality of life for people across the country. As the LGA’s Commission on Culture and Local Government highlighted, access to culture is not evenly distributed across the nation and measures to address this challenge are very welcome.
  • Providing people with the right culture and leisure services has the potential to deliver significantly better outcomes and socio-economic benefits. In 2019, the creative industries contributed £115.9 billion to the UK, accounting for 5.9 per cent of the UK economy and accounted for 2.2 million jobs. Indeed, for every £1 generated in the arts and culture, an additional £1.23 gross value added is generated in the wider economy.
  • The LGA’s Commission on Culture has highlighted the real potential for council cultural services to unlock growth, improve physical and mental health, and tackle inequalities. By adopting these measures, together we can extend the reach and efficacy of existing funding streams, ensuring a greater local impact.
  • Local authorities take their responsibilities for organising Remembrance events and parades very seriously, working with their Royal British Legion (RBL) branches, and other Armed Forces charities. DCMS will need to engage at an early opportunity with councils to ensure proper preparations and coordination can be put in place to mark these significant commemorative events and make best use of the new funding announced.

Contact

Zahraa Shaikh
Public Affairs Support Officer

Phone: 020 3838 4861
Mobile: 07591 353623
Email: [email protected]