MD2175 Suffrage Statue and 2018 Centenary Cultural Suffrage Programme

STATUE

2018 will mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act. The Act of 1918 gave some
women the vote for the first time and paved the way for the introduction of universal suffrage 10
years later, which saw women win equal voting rights to men. In May 2016 Caroline Criado-Perez launched a public campaign calling for a statue commemorating women’s suffrage in Parliament Square. The petition resulted in 85,000 signatures and the Mayor committed to supporting the proposal.

Gender equality is key to creating a more fair and equal society, something which the Mayor
has placed great importance on. There is still evidence of a clear gender equality divide, for example 9% of women who work in London hold managerial or senior official roles, compared to 15% of men, while 15% of women hold administrative roles, compared to 5% of men. The centenary of women’s suffrage will be a signature programme for the Mayor and will be complimented by projects which aim to inspire and empower women of all ages and backgrounds to breakdown the gender divide between men and women.

The Mayor (under cover of MD2045) previously approved expenditure of £25,000 to commence planning for a statue to be unveiled in 2018 to mark the 100-year anniversary of suffrage for women over 30. This expenditure contributed towards the commissioning of 12 outline proposals from artists for the Suffrage statue. The proposals were considered by a professional panel (The Commission), on behalf of the Mayor of London, which included top gallery directors, curators and cultural leaders, and was chaired by Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE

The Commission selected the Turner Prize winning artist Gillian Wearing OBE to develop her proposal for Parliament Square. The Executive Director – Resources (under cover of DD2132) approved the entry into an initial grant agreement, alongside approval for expenditure on services required to take the project to the submission of the planning application, which included consultancy support and procurement of an architectural firm to provide pre-planning application support and services.

Grant funding from Department for Communities & Local Government has been secured to cover the costs associated with the statue including the competition, production, engineering, landscaping, installation and the high-profile launch which will set the scene for the Centenary Year. The total value of the grant funding is £706,092. It is proposed that the GLA will make a capital contribution of £140,000 over and above the DCLG grant.

Key stakeholders supporting the project include: Westminster City Council, Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), English Heritage, Tate, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Contemporary Art Society and Arts Council England. A Suffrage statue commission is in place chaired by Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries Justine Simons. Members include: Tamsin Dillon, 14-18 NOW Curator; Jenny Waldman, Director 14-18NOW; Caroline Criado-Perez, OBE, Campaigner; Melanie Keen, Director, Iniva and Sally Shaw, Director Firstsite Colchester.

A wider education network will ensure an education programme around the statue, publicly accessible through London.gov and partner websites. Partners include: GEO; British Library; London School of Economics; National Portrait Gallery; Bishopsgate Institute; Cabinet Office; London Met Archives; Museum of London; Fawcett Society and Vote 100 (Parliament)

PROGRAMME

The Mayor wants to ensure that the significance of London’s people and places is told and celebrated in 2018 through a year-long cultural programme and campaign. The Culture team will allocate £125,000 to work with cultural and creative organisations including BFI, the Women’s Library at LSE, London Metropolitan Archives and other partners to deliver Culture and Heritage programmes which are central to the campaign.

The GLA has been progressing the Suffrage Statue project, approved under cover of MD2045. Since the project started, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her support for the statue and government funding from a £5 million dedicated fund for the celebration of the centenary of the act. The GLA has secured £706,092 from this fund so that work can continue on the delivery of the statue. Officers are in active contact with Transport for London and transport works are not expected to impact on the installation of the Statue on the site.

The commissioned statue by Gillian Wearing will be bronze and will complement the heritage of the iconic square. It will also pay tribute to the wider suffrage movement by including the names of the individuals (Suffragettes and Suffragists) who helped lead the campaign along the base of the statue. This statue will be both the first of a woman and the first created by a woman within the square. It will be a significant tourist attraction and will contribute to tourism in the area and will be symbol of the struggle for Women’s enfranchisement long after the Centenary Year.

The key objective of the yearlong cultural programme/campaign throughout 2018 will be to create a greater awareness to the Centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, the catalyst for Women gaining the right to cast their vote; the history of the Suffrage movement across the city and the role of women in civic society. As well as highlighting historical significance, the Centenary campaign will shine a spotlight on this today, celebrating the role of women in today’s society.

As part of the larger education programme for the Centenary we hope to reach people of all ages especially young people to educate and encourage them to take part in political decisions/civil life to make their voice heard and the importance of struggle and lengths pioneers went to, to gain enfranchisement. This activity will be supported through in-kind support within the GLA (culture and education teams); through marketing across the whole campaign and through our partners, who will deliver specific education programmes (see item 1.5). The GLA budget allocation of £125,000 will contribute towards these programme activities.

The GLA is also leading a Centenary cultural programme group which is currently developing the specific activities which will take place throughout the year. This group consists of art organisations and institutions including Museum of London, British Fashion Council, 1418Now, The Photographers Gallery and Southbank Centre to showcase the best of the Suffrage movement. Specific outcomes of the wider programme will include events, workshops and educational projects in inner and outer London.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor of London must have ‘due Regard’ of the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

The wider programmes of activities undertaken by the Culture and Creative Industries team take equality into account in all aspects of developing and delivering projects. The Suffrage statue project in particular celebrates the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, recognising and celebrating the campaign by prominent women for gender equality and equal rights. The statue will link to a nationwide campaign which highlights gender equality and the role women have played in the leadership and politics of the country. The statue, through the portraits represented on the plinth, reflects the diversity of the people supporting the movement across a range of racial and socio-economic backgrounds and the communication of this will be a key component of the education activity.

This activity will sit alongside the Mayor’s commitment to closing the gender pay gap and breaking the glass ceiling; challenging the under-representation of women in senior roles; and to make gender equality a focus of Skills for Londoners, creating targeted opportunities for girls to excel in STEM skills in particular.

The commissioning of the statue marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act
1918 and women’s suffrage in particular. It will link specifically to the Mayor’s Culture Strategy as a
deliverable to encourage awareness of London’s public art, architecture and urban design by
creating high-quality and memorable visual artwork.

The statue will join other sculptures of high profile and celebrated figures of both cultural and
historical importance which includes Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi among others, and
celebrates individuals who have had a significant cultural impact on the UK.

The delivery of the statue is being overseen by a joint programme board co-chaired by DCLG (on behalf of Sajid Javid) and Deputy Mayor, Justine Simons, OBE. A project delivery group implements the actual project and includes representatives from GLA facilities (management of the Square); GLA Culture (project lead), GLA communications; Government Equalities Office; DCLG; DCLG communications; Fawcett Society; Campaign groups; 1418NOW; artistic production team (Contemporary Art Society) and other members as required. The project management team includes experienced professionals who have previously delivered statues in Parliament Square.

Parliament Square is managed by the GLA but owned by the Crown. Maintenance of the statue will rest with the GLA and a maintenance fee in perpetuity has been included in the budget for the statue. A maintenance schedule is likely to be a condition of planning.

A calculation of a commuted maintenance fund was requested from David Ball Restoration, as the
current Statue and Monument Maintenance Contractor for the Square. The calculation is based on the frequency of maintenance for other statues on Parliament Square Garden. Additionally inflation in these calculations has been set at 3%. Based on 30 years the figure is £75,000 excluding VAT. This figure allows for regular inspections, cleaning and re-waxing of the statue.

Permission is being sought for both the receipt and expenditure of a grant from DCLG which amounts to £706,092 and for the receipt and expenditure of other external funding.

The GLA will provide £140,000 from its capital budget for the Statue. There is existing budget provision for this expenditure.

The GLA will also provide £125,000 from its Culture budget for the Programme across the financial years 2017/18 and 2018/19. There is existing budget provision for this expenditure.

The foregoing sections of this report indicate that:

- The decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the statutory powers of the GLA to do such things as may be considered to further, and or be facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the promotion of social development in Greater London; and

- In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

(a) pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;
(b) consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and
(c) consult with appropriate bodies.

In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

The GLA may seek sponsorship (for example, from commercial partners) when exercising its general powers under its power to charge third parties for discretionary services under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 provided that the charges levied do not exceed the costs of provision.

Officers should ensure that:

- The GLA can comply and is content with any terms of the funding to be provided by the Department for Communities & Local Government and/or any other party (including commercial partners);

- A legally binding commitment to the provision of such funding from the Department for Communities & Local Government and/or any other party (including commercial partners) is in place prior to placing any reliance upon such funding;

- All necessary consents and permissions are obtained to enable the delivery of the project, as quickly as possible to mitigate risks of incurring wasted expenditure;

- To the extent that expenditure will amount to the provision of grant funding as a contribution to its project costs, such funding is disbursed in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and funding agreement(s) are put in place between and executed by the GLA and recipients before any commitment to the provide funding is made; and

- To the extent that such expenditure is to be incurred on the procurement of works, services or supplies, such works, services or supplies are procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the GLA and contractors before the commencement of the same.