Agenda item

To consider an update to the ongoing delivery of the Arts and Culture Strategy.

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 15 to 30, which provided a summary of the work and achievements of the strategy to date.

The report outlined the six priorities to in order to achieve the vision:

1. Enhancing cultural identity and sense of ‘place’.

2. Fostering social interaction and community cohesion.

3. Improving health and well-being.

4. Developing opportunities for children and young people.

5. Supporting economic growth.

6. Maximising partnerships and collaboration.

The Executive Member outlined that this strategy was of significant importance to the corporate vision as it brought with it significant economic and social value. Arts and Culture was what made life worth living, and this strategy was about working strategically across the organisation and community. The Executive Member added that the first senior cultural development officer had recently started in order to progress this strategy.

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services), Frances Haywood (Head of Strategic Housing), and Nicola Peacock (Senior Cultural Development Officer) attended the meeting to answer Member queries.

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points and queries:

·         Whilst the document listed a considerable amount of activity, it was sometimes difficult to understand what the product actually was and what would change in 5 years’ time. Could this be clarified? Executive Member and Officer response – All work that was being undertaken was linked to the vision in the strategy and to the Council’s corporate vision. The strategy would help to facilitate a range of benefits including health and wellbeing and economic benefits. An example of this was the close work being carried out in conjunction with our educational psychologists to ensure a joined up approach;

·         Why was Shinfield Studios not mentioned within the document? Executive Member and Officer response – The list was not exhaustive, and officers were working closely with Shinfield Studios. By the end of the programme it was hoped that the Borough would have a strong cultural identity which would benefit the wider community. There was also a close working relationship with Shinfield Parish Council, including a community engagement strategy;

·         Was there a need for more focus within the strategy? Executive Member and Officer response – Whilst there was always the risk of trying to cover too much ground, it was crucial that the ‘seed was sown’ as quickly as possible. The Senior Cultural Development Officer post was grant funded for a set period of time, and it was vital to embed arts and culture throughout the Borough whilst building up a clear evidence base to enable further funding bids in order to deliver a legacy of arts and culture. An example of particular focus was the close working relationship with the University of Reading, whilst other areas of focus would need to be phased in over time;

·         Could more detail be given regarding the libraries bid on agenda page 18? Officer response – This bid was led by senior officers including Jackie Whitney (Head of Customer Excellence) and Richard Alexander (Head of Customer Excellence). Unfortunately the bid was unsuccessful and therefore this capital development could not progress in the same way;

·         It was noted that it would be useful for future versions of the document to show which bids were in progress, finished, delayed or cancelled;

·         How were officers engaging with the planning policy team? Officer response – Officers were working with the Local Plan Update team to assess if contributions from developers towards arts and culture projects were viable. The Working Group were considering this at the moment and such a decision would not hold up the completion of the Local Plan Update;

·         What challenges were envisaged moving forwards, and what effort was being made to integrate new residents to the Borough into the cultural vision? Executive Member and Officer response – The big challenge was that there could be huge scope, which could result in the service taking on too many tasks. Officers needed to be mindful of where to focus strategically, whilst engaging with external partners and aligning the work to the Council’s strategic vision. There was an integrated approach to engage all new and existing residents into the cultural vision. Additionally, it was crucial to build up a strong evidence base to demonstrate the value in putting resources into arts and culture, for example by demonstrating that children who had access to arts and culture performed better than those who did not;

·         Could additional support be made by other bodies to support the fixed term post? Executive Member response – Local Government would always have a role to play in this space as the convenors of place and people, but it was equally important to engage with a range of bodies and community groups in order to realise the full potential of the strategy. If the strategy could demonstrate less pressure on other services, for example through promotion of health and wellbeing, then it could be classified as a worthy investment;

·         What support was being offered to local businesses to help deliver this strategy? Officer response – The arts, business and culture forum had been set up to allow the arts and business sector to support each other. The economic development team was working closely with the arts and culture service to ensure support for the sector. There were already a number of job opportunities in the sector throughout the Borough, including with Shinfield Studios and with the British Museum, whilst the aim was to create even more opportunities in order to benefit the local economy;

·         Did events such as Earley Town Council’s COP26 events, which included events on nature and the environment, fall outside the scope of the strategy? Executive Member response – Not necessarily, as these events were embedded in culture;

·         What efforts were being made to promote the strategy and vision with the University of Reading, to advertise opportunities in the sector to the next generations? Officer response – This was a key and ongoing area of focus for economic development colleagues;

·         Most if not every Town and Parish Council had their own Arts and Culture Committee. Had the strategy been to these Committees for consultation? Executive Member and Officer response – The original consultation document went to all Town and Parish Councils for comment. The Arts and Culture Forum included representatives from some Town and Parish Councils, whilst there were also other methods of engagement available. There was a dynamic relationship between the service and Town and Parish Councils, with some authorities more involved than others;

·         How were we engaging specifically with young adults? Officer response – There had been a piece of work carried out with children and young people across the Borough in terms of what they were currently participating in with regards to arts and culture, what they would like to see, and what the barriers to engagement were. This was carried out both via surveys and face to face meetings. One of the challenges, in terms of resourcing, was how we could best focus our efforts. One key theme identified through this work was the link between health and wellbeing and arts and culture. Moving forwards, there were plans to utilise the UK SPF funds to engage with more people within these age groups and to utilise funding. Members were of the opinion that this was great news, and asked for it to be publicised more broadly;

·         What was the measure of success, and was there any funding for university leaders in terms of jobs? Officer response – The British Film Institute were working closely with economic development colleagues, and had significantly contributed to the National Saturday Club Pass funding. It was important that the service was very clear as to what it wanted to achieve, and a range of KPIs would help understand what success looked like. Additionally, success would be embedding arts and culture across the organisation, whilst providing fantastic social value to be used as an evidence base;

·         It was requested that the Chair liaise with officers, the clerk and the Executive Member to establish an appropriate Committee meeting to provide an update on tangible outputs that the public could recognise as successes of the strategy;

·         It was important that the strategy had a whole Borough focus, and was not just Wokingham centric. As such, how many events had been delivered in the other towns of Woodley and Earley last year? Executive Member response – The Council headed the strategic arm of the strategy, and was not putting on events per se but was enabling and empowering organisations to hold their own events across the Borough;

·         It was requested that the arts and culture service plan 2023/24, an internal officer document, be shared with the Committee at the appropriate time.

RESOLVED That:

1)      Sarah Kerr, Frances Haywood and Nicola Peacock be thanked for attending the meeting;

2)      Officers consider amending any future versions of the Committee report to show which bids were in progress, finished, delayed or cancelled;

3)      Officers consider placing additional efforts into advertising the ongoing and future work of engagement with young adults;

4)      The Chair liaise with officers, the clerk and the Executive Member to establish an appropriate Committee meeting to provide an update on tangible outputs that the public could recognise as successes of the strategy;

5)      The arts and culture service plan 2023/24, an internal officer document, be shared with the Committee at the appropriate time.