News & Policy Briefing / August 11
16.08.11
With Parliament in recess there has been a slight hiatus in policy developments over the past month. However, relevant announcements include details on the Renaissance in the Regions funding programme for museums, plans to develop flexible apprenticeship models for specific crafts and news of government initiatives on growth. There has also been a wealth of publications on issues including cultural economy, creative education and methods for valuing non-market goods.
Contents:
1) Sector News
- Renaissance
- Design Fund
- Creative Britain in Reverse?
- Contemporary Craft at 10 Downing St.
- Olympic Medal Designs
2) Skills and Training
- National Skills Academy
- Higher Apprenticeships
3) Growth Initiatives
- Renewed Focus on Cities
- Enterprise Zones
- Local Enterprise Partnerships
- Regional Growth Fund
- Big Society Bank
4) Publications
- Supporting growth in the arts economy – ACE
- Charitable Giving Indicators – DCMS
- Impact of Cuts on UK Museums – MA
- Culture and Volunteering – GLA
- EBac – Education Select Committee
- Design in the School Curriculum – RSA
- Measuring Well-Being – ONS
- Valuing Social Impacts –Treasury Green Book
- Draft National Planning Policy Framework – DCLG
1) Sector News
Renaissance
Arts Council England (ACE) has announced further details of how the Renaissance in the Regions funding programme for museums will be delivered once it is taken over from the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in October.
ACE confirmed that it will retain the National Programmes strand from the MLA proposal for Renaissance, whilst establishing three new strands covering a programme of major grants, a strategic support fund and museum development.
See the ACE announcement here.
As we reported last month, ACE also commissioned former Education Secretary, Baroness Estelle Morris, to review its 10-year strategic framework ‘Achieving great art for everyone’, in order to assess how strategic goals can best cover the museums and libraries sectors alongside the arts.
The report which includes recommendations is now available on the ACE website.
Design Fund
The Design Council has established a fund to support projects which facilitate the use of design for economic growth. Grants of up to £20,000 from the ‘Design Fund for Growth’ will be used to create or strengthen programmes run by intermediary organisations, such as professional bodies and networks, working to improve collaborations between design, business and technology.
The deadline for proposals is 2 September and further details can be found on the Design Council website.
Creative Britain in Reverse?
In other design news, the Design & Technology Association (D&TA), James Dyson Foundation and industrial designers Seymourpowell have initiated a campaign to raise awareness of the value of design and technology in the National Curriculum. The campaign comes in response to recent proposals and changes in education policy which have resulted in an ‘uncertain’ future for design education in England.
The Crafts Council attended the launch event for ‘Creative Britain in Reverse?’ at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and continues to highlight synergies between craft and design and to make the case for cultural and practical education, particularly craft education, in schools.
Read the D&TA announcement here.
Contemporary Craft at 10 Downing St.
A display of contemporary craft by established and emerging makers is currently being shown at the Prime Minister David Cameron’s official residence. The display is curated by Janice Blackburn OBE and includes works by Edmund de Waal, one of the world’s leading ceramic artists, Kate McBride, winner of the Zelli Porcelain Award and Felicity Aylieff, senior tutor at the Royal College or Art.
Contemporary craft is also on display at the DCMS with a rotating display of works from the Crafts Council Collection installed in Culture Minister Ed Vaizey’s office. Commenting on the Downing Street display Ed Vaizey said:
‘Contemporary craft doesn’t necessarily have the same profile as contemporary art, but it is no less important in terms of creativity or its ability to enrich people’s lives’.
More here.
Olympic Medal Designs
Amid Olympic celebrations last month was a special moment for craft when the renowned artist in jewellery David Watkins’ design was chosen for the 2012 Olympic medals. He described the commission, showing the Goddess Nike and River Thames front to back, as the ‘crowning honour’ of his career.
See the design here.
2) Skills and Training
National Skills Academy (NSA) – Growth and Innovation Fund
Following the first round of bids to the £50m Growth and Innovation Fund the Department for Business (BIS) announced on 18 July that it will allocate funding to seven leading sectors. The National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills, a network of theatre and music employers and colleges, was amongst successful applicants and funds will be used to develop a business plan to expand into the jewellery, design and heritage industries. The plan will be submitted to the Skills Funding Agency in January 2012.
Read more from the NSA here and from BIS here.
On the same day, in written parliamentary questions to BIS, Gordon Marsden, the Labour MP for Blackpool South, asked about Government plans to provide flexible delivery models for higher apprenticeships in the digital and creative industries. The Skills Minister John Hayes replied that draft regulations for flexible apprenticeships are currently being finalised for occupations including digital and creative industries and some crafts. Drafts were due for completion at the end of July and will be put before Parliament in September.
See Hansard p215.
Higher Apprenticeships
On 22 July the Prime Minister announced a £25 million fund to support up to 10,000 Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships, in order to develop the skills base in the advanced manufacturing, information technology and engineering sectors. The fund will support the expansion of apprenticeships up to ‘degree equivalent’ in companies, with a particular focus on SMEs. Industry representatives are invited to bid to the fund with new apprenticeships commencing from October 2011.
More from BIS here.
3) Growth Initiatives
Renewed Focus on Cities
The Cabinet Office has announced new support for cities in order to ‘harness their potential to drive growth and prosperity’.
Measures include the appointment of Greg Clark as Minister for Cities in addition to his responsibilities as Minister for Decentralisation, and he will now sit in both the Department for Communities a Local Government (DCLG) and BIS. A Ministerial Group, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has also been established which will seek to ‘develop new ideas for cities and consider the impact of existing policies’.
According to the Cabinet Office announcement, work will combine a ‘cross-cutting approach’ with an examination of cities on an ‘individual basis’ in recognition of the ‘varied characteristics’ of cities. This will start with an initial focus on the Core Cities and their surrounding areas, with a view to including a broader group and identifying issues relevant to a wide range of cities. The Core Cities are London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
The Centre for Cities, a think thank, welcomed the move as a ‘…real opportunity for government to step up engagement with the cities, businesses and Local Enterprise Partnerships to drive economic growth.’
Read the announcement here.
Enterprise Zones
In further cities news, BIS has announced four Enterprise Zones in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Sheffield designed to accelerate local economic growth and job creation. Enterprise Zones will benefit from measures such as discounts on business rates, new superfast broadband, lower levels of planning control and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances. They were also one of the key initiatives in the ‘Plan for Growth’ document presented by the Treasury alongside the June Budget. The Government is expected to announce a further ten Enterprise Zones shortly.
See the BIS announcement here.
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
As we have reported regularly, the Government has established LEPs to drive private sector growth and job creation. The 37 LEPs to date cover almost all of England and have been operational since June 2011. Last month LEPs received a share of a one-off £5 million fund to support start up costs such as training and office rental. There have been indications that some LEPs will cover the creative industries, with the West of England LEP identifying the sector as one of the key areas for economic support and development.
The BIS announcement and full list of LEPs is available here with a map of LEPs available here.
Regional Growth Fund (RGF)
The first successful project to have been awarded funding following the initial round of bids to the RGF has been opened by the Business Secretary Vince Cable. The Plymouth University and Western Morning News Growth Fund (PWGF) will award grants to small business which have struggled to access finances by other means. In line with the fund’s ambitions the Plymouth project aims to create jobs and encourage enterprise.
More here.
The second round of bidding for the RGF also closed at the end of last month and 490 bids were received in application for a share of the £950 million fund. Bids are being assessed over the summer with decisions expected in the autumn following a review by the Deputy Prime Minister.
More here.
Big Society Bank
As we have reported previously, the Cabinet Office approved proposals for a Big Society Bank in May which is intended to build capacity in the social sector by providing access to investment capital and reducing reliance on donor finance. The Big Society Bank – officially named Big Society Capital – was launched 29 July and board members include Dawn Austwick CEO of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Geoff Mulgan from NESTA. Big Society Capital will also advocate social investment with policy makers, investors, sector stakeholders and the public.
See the Cabinet Office announcement here.
4) Publications
Supporting growth in the arts economy – ACE
ACE has published an extensive report by Tom Fleming and Andrew Erskine comprising three papers: ‘The arts economy’, ‘Place infrastructure and digital’ and ‘Towards an arts and creative economy’, which explores the ‘multilayered’ relationship between the arts and creative economy. The report also makes recommendations to ACE on how ‘mutually beneficial’ links between the arts sector and the creative economy can be forged.
Read the report here.
Charitable Giving Indicators – DCMS
The DCMS has released its 2009/10 charitable giving indicators report which contains statistics on the total amount of charitable giving received by DCMS-funded cultural institutions, and presents charitable giving as a ratio of grant-in-aid.
More information here.
Impact of Cuts on UK Museums – MA
The Museums Association has published a report to provide a ‘clear and comprehensive picture of the overall health of the sector’, following funding decisions in the Government’s October 2010 Spending Review. The report contains results of survey responses from 161 individuals working in local, national, independent, military and university institutions across the UK. It concludes that one fifth of all UK museums have been cut by over 25 per cent and of these museums:
- Over 60 per cent of them have cut back their public events
- Half of them have reduced opening hours
- Over 85 per cent have cut staff
The survey also reports findings for UK museums as a whole, concluding:
- 22 per cent of museums are reducing their opening hours
- 30 per cent are cutting education staff
- 46 per cent of survey respondents expect the quality of service in their museum to decrease over the coming year
- 41 per cent say knowledge and expertise are being lost at their museum
Read the report here.
Culture and Volunteering – GLA
The Mayor’s Office in association with the London Cultural Strategy Group and the London Cultural Quarters have commissioned a sector wide audit of cultural volunteering in London and published a guide which highlights current work through case studies and aims to share good practice through ‘top tips’ and a ‘checklist’ of recommended measures when establishing a volunteering programme or project.
The guide is available on the GLA website with the checklist on p56.
EBac – Education Select Committee
Following a period of written and oral evidence gathering, the Commons Education Committee has published its report on the introduction of the EBac in schools. The report criticizes the absence of a ‘proper consultation with key stakeholders and the wider public’ on the EBac as well as its ‘retrospective’ application to the 2010 league tables; concluding that the Government should have waited until after the National Curriculum Review for its introduction.
Whilst endorsing the Government’s ambition to improve academic attainment of disadvantaged students in the report, the Committee questions the link between the prescribed study of certain academic subjects and improved attainment, identifying the choice of EBac subjects as ‘one of the most controversial aspects of its creation’.
In welcome recognition of the importance of balanced education the Committee also comments that ‘academic subjects are not the only path to a successful future, and all young people, regardless of background, must continue to have opportunities to study the subjects in which they are likely to be most successful…’.
The Crafts Council submitted evidence to the EBac in which we expressed our view about its apparent weighting of value and negative implications for the provision of cultural and practical learning in schools.
Read the report here.
Design in the School Curriculum – RSA
The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) has published two essays examining the question What’s wrong with DT? In the first essay John Miller analyzes why DT has ‘failed to break the bounds of its pre-National Curriculum antecedents in Art, Craft & Design and Home Economics’. The second essay by Ian McGimpsey reviews academic literature on DT arguing that design has been ‘preoccupied in over-justifying its place on the curriculum to the detriment of the subject itself’.
Read the essays here.
The Crafts Council continues to advocate balanced education in schools and in particular for the inclusion of craft as a statutory National Curriculum subject to Key Stage 3 as the best means to harness its significant developmental and learning benefits.
Measuring Well-Being – ONS
In 2010 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) launched a programme of work to measure national well-being. The first phase was a ‘national debate’ on well-being which ended on 15 April 2011. In July the ONS published a report summarising key findings from the debate and outlining the next steps in measuring well-being. Findings show that health, relationships, work and the environment are perceived to be the most important factors in well-being. Results also indicate that how we spend our time plays a particularly significant role in well-being and participation in cultural or creative activities was identified as one of the most beneficial factors. Data will inform national and international policy on well-being and be used to engage with a number of sectors working in the field.
Read the report here.
The Crafts Council’s recent briefing note on Craft and Wellbeing provides a wealth of evidence to demonstrate well-being benefits in the specific case of craft practice.
Valuing Social Impacts – Treasury Green Book
The Treasury has published a Green Book addressing the valuation of non-market goods such as ‘community stability, educational success and environmental assets’. The publication evaluates three analytical tools for measuring the value of non-market goods to asses how they can be considered in decision making. Techniques include the Stated Preference and Revealed Preference methods, which elicit people’s ‘Willingness to Pay’ for an outcome and the newer ‘subjective well-being’ approach which attempts to measure people’s experiences rather than preferences.
Read the Green Book here.
Draft National Planning Policy Framework – DCLG
The DCLG has opened a consultation on a Draft National Planning Policy Framework which aims to streamline the planning system and, according to the foreword by Greg Clark, allow ‘people and communities back into planning’.
Consultation questions cover issues such as promoting the vitality and viability of town centres and raising the quality of life and the environment in rural areas. The Crafts Council will submit evidence to the consultation before the 17 October deadline highlighting the current and potential role of culture, and in particular craft, in enhancing local economies and identities.
Read the draft and how to respond here.
In Parliament
Parliament is in recess until 5 September when it will reconvene briefly before the Party Conference season. Conferences are being held in major cities with the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Labour Party Conference in Liverpool and Liberal Democrats Conference in Birmingham. We will cover relevant news from the conferences in our September and October briefs.
