Issue - meetings

Developing a strong cultural agenda that offers inclusive opportunities lies at the heart of our aspirations for fulfilled lives, brighter futures, connected communities and a better place to live, work and visit.

The recommendations of the 2019 BCP Cultural Enquiry were widely accepted and Arts Council England encouraged and supported the setting up of a multi-sector BCP Cultural Compact to deliver on the recommendations and support the development and delivery of a city-region wide Cultural Strategy.

In response to the COVID emergency the Cultural Future conference, which would have been a stepping-stone to the Cultural Compact, was postponed and £150k funding previously made available to support this work was withdrawn.

To take forward the Enquiry recommendations a task and finish Cultural Action Group worked from May to September 2020, producing a report and recommendations (Appendix 1) including the proposed outline format of the Cultural Compact.

To deliver on these recommendations the agreement of Cabinet is requested to re-provision a three-year budget package to support cultural development and the establishment and delivery of the Compact and a Cultural Strategy and delivery plan.

The three-year budget package will be the start up investment required to enable this work to be undertaken. It is anticipated Arts Council England will support this with an additional £20k grant. Over time the funding of the Cultural Compact from external sources will reduce its reliance on Council funding for day-to-day running costs.

The budget allows for further consultation with communities and groups with protected characteristics which have been identified in the Cultural Enquiry as under-represented in cultural activity, such as young and older people, disabled and Black and Minority Ethnic communities. This work will also be a platform for diverse recruitment to the Cultural Compact and new officer roles. 

When the Cultural Compact is fully established it will become the focal point for cultural development and participation in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, upholding the values and aspirations of the Council, our communities and multi-sector stakeholders.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)          Cabinet agrees the proposal for funding to deliver on the recommendations of the Cultural Enquiry, to establish and develop the Cultural Compact and to improve and diversify BCP Council’s cultural development activity for a three-year period should be considered as part of the budget setting process for 2021/22;

(b)          Cabinet agrees the report and recommendations of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Cultural Action Group, including the proposed format of the Cultural Compact; and

(c)          Cabinet agrees that the Cultural Compact should embody the BCP Council’s equality, diversity and inclusion principles and practices in its work and in the Cultural Strategy so that they fully reflect the Council’s values.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Tourism, Leisure and Culture

Reason

To facilitate the establishment of the Cultural Compact, so that BCP Council and the Cultural Compact can deliver on the recommendations of the Cultural Enquiry and the priorities of the Council. In doing so we will support and enable inclusive and diverse creative engagement and participation by the community and visitors.

The Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Culture presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Cabinet was advised that the Cultural Compact sought to develop a strong cultural agenda that offered inclusive opportunities to enable fulfilled lives, brighter futures, connected communities and a better place to live, work and visit.

In relation to this Cabinet was informed that when the Cultural Compact was fully established it would become the focal point for cultural development and participation in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, upholding the values and aspirations of the Council, our communities and multi-sector stakeholders.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board addressed the Cabinet advising of the enthusiasm and support expressed at the recent meeting of the Board.

In addition Councillor Lawrence Williams addressed the Cabinet also expressing the importance of the Cultural Compact.

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the paper expressing their thanks also to the Portfolio Holder, Members and Officers who had been involved in the work.

RESOLVED that:-

a)            Cabinet agrees the proposal for funding to deliver on the recommendations of the Cultural Enquiry, to establish and develop the Cultural Compact and to improve and diversify BCP Council’s cultural development activity for a three-year period should be considered as part of the budget setting process for 2021/22;

b)           Cabinet agrees the report and recommendations of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Cultural Action Group, including the proposed format of the Cultural Compact; and

c)            Cabinet agrees that the Cultural Compact should embody the BCP Council’s equality, diversity and inclusion principles and practices in its work and in the Cultural Strategy so that they fully reflect the Council’s values.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Tourism, Leisure and Culture

To consider the following Culture related report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 13 January 2021:

·       Setting up the BCP Cultural Compact

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Mohan Iyengar, Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Culture.

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Setting up the BCP Cultural Compact - The Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Culture presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. A number of issues were raised by the Board in the subsequent discussion, including:

• A Board Member queried how the Compact would be set up to work effectively in order to drive the project forward. The Portfolio Holder explained that from a governance point of view, there was not the ability to make any changes, but he agreed with the points that had been raised and felt it important to ensure that the driving force behind ideas for moving this forward, came from the creative industries as opposed to the governance board. In response, the Board Member, having led the compact as in his role within the previous administration, could share some additional information with the Portfolio Holder outside of this meeting. The Lead Member for Cultural Events and Bournemouth Regeneration added that the makeup of the compact would be a cross-section of people and was currently quite fluid, the set up would be the next step.
• A Board Member queried if it was possible to move away from using the word ‘culture’ to avoid putting a large number of people off from getting involved due to the common interpretation of what culture was over what it could actually mean. The Lead Member explained that it was important that the full range of the word ‘culture’ was understood, i.e. not just ballet or the orchestra and should be about recognising the diversity of what this compact could encompass and its potential to transform the conurbation.
• A Board Member commented that town centres across the country were rapidly changing and queried whether the regeneration plans for BCP Council included the provision for its cultural aspirations in order to revitalise town centres and other districts across the conurbation. The Portfolio Holder referred to the proposals for the Lansdown Project, which was originally put forward as a way to encourage the use of open space for open air markets or as performance space. He added that he felt town centres needed to be considered as an experience, rather than just a space for the retail sector, as this had been dwindling in recent years.
• A Board Member agreed with the Portfolio Holder’s previous statement and stated the importance of encouraging all promoters of culture, regardless of whether large or small in scale, local or national or indeed what sector, e.g. arts, music or sport, to name a few.
• A Board Member queried how youth and students of the area’s universities or language schools would be drawn into contributing to this framework. The Lead Member advised that there was a further piece of work to be undertaken to achieve a greater level of engagement in relation to this subject area. The compact needed to include representation from educational settings to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125