1.1 The Mayor is statutorily required under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act) to carry out a minimum of three public consultation events, two of which are People’s Question Time (PQT) and one State of London Debate (SOLD).

1.2 Under the same Act, the Mayor has a statutory duty to promote the economic and social development and improve the environment in London. Events have a profound potential to bring economic and social benefits to London, and major events in particular can raise the city’s profile and present a positive image to the world’s media.

1.3 Community events celebrate the city’s diversity as its core asset, bringing people together in shared experiences and providing opportunities for social integration, ultimately bringing positive economic and social benefits to London. Cultural events enrich people’s lives, improving their quality of life and general well-being. Free events provide Londoners access to arts and entertainment that they may otherwise not be able to experience. They also encourage the fuller participation of all London’s communities.

1.4 Major events stimulate London’s economy, by being a catalyst for economic regeneration and creating publicity to increase the attractiveness of London to new visitors and investors – as well as to Londoners. They also generate significant numbers of jobs – one in six jobs in London is in the cultural sector. And they provide a platform to showcase London on an international stage and attract visitors to our vibrant city.

1.5 The core events programme responds to the Mayor’s manifesto pledge to “Continue to back major cultural festivals to celebrate London’s religious and racial diversity.” It also links to A City for all Londoners, as the programme supports making London a fairer and more tolerant city open and accessible to all, and one in which we can all live and prosper free from prejudice; and enabling all Londoners to benefit from the city’s fantastic arts. Furthermore, in the draft Culture Strategy it states, “The Mayor will continue to fund festivals and events with an emphasis on more community involvement, increasing quality, raising profile and increasing volunteering”. The events delivered as part of the programme help deliver against these strategic aims by celebrating our diversity as a city, and encouraging people to be proud of the enormous range of different communities that call London their home.

Community engagement activity

1.6 To ensure that the community events programme engages with and reflects London’s communities, the Community Engagement Team will run a complimentary programme of work.

1.7 During 2017/18, the Community Engagement Team started to adapt their approach to developing events to ensure more community involvement, which has included:

o The community engagement team advising on specific community engagement questions to be included into the research brief for market research at the community events.

o Community Engagement representatives now sitting on relevant internal steering groups to review event proposals to advise on community involvement.

o External advisory groups with balanced community representation being rolled out for major culturally specific events including St. Patrick’s Day, Eid, Vaisakhi and Africa on the Square.

1.8 This planned review is now entering its second phase, gathering insights into how far the events programme is reaching different communities in London and to understand how the events are relevant and what communities they are engaging with. This will be done through:

o An engagement programme, including surveys, focus groups and idea generation workshops, led by the Community Engagement Team between April and October 2018, to feed into a set of recommendations for revisions to the events programme, which will be tabled in December 2018.

o The Community Engagement Team being more closely involved in the planning process for each event assessing the level of community involvement, liaising with key community groups and ensuring broader engagement through complementary activities in communities across London to ensure maximum impact within London’s communities.

o Applying an asset-based approach to reviewing the programme, identifying existing strengths and building on these. For example, St. Patrick’s Day was identified as a good model in which the Events Team have done strong community engagement over the past two years, developing activities that complement the one-day parade and showcase, to create a 33-borough engagement programme run over several weeks involving schools, community organisations and cultural groups across the capital.

o Identifying communities the GLA does not have a relationship with and where stronger connections can start to be developed through events.

1.9 The timeline for this community engagement activity is as follows:

1.10 Volunteering provides added benefits of education or increased skills by working on different parts of the event. We will continue to work with the Team London Ambassadors programme to give volunteers the opportunity to help to deliver the Mayor’s events programme.

1.11 Events within the core programme, as highlighted in the table below, engage with London’s diverse communities and faith groups.

Events programme

1.12 The gross cost of the 2018-19 Events for London core programme is £1,592,000, with a net cost to the GLA of £1,217,000 and estimated third-party income of £375,000.

1.13 The dynamic nature of planning for events, and the at times limited control on external factors (such as the impact on security and crowd management measures based on the rising security threat), means that budgets for each GLA delivered event are indicated as a baseline. A revised and realistic approach to event sponsorship will take place this year to support the event budget. It intended that any over/underspends on individual projects will be contained within the overall events programme budget.

1.14 The proposed 2017/18 events programme is outlined in table 1.

Table 1

GLA delivered events

1.15 The GLA Events for London Team produces and delivers a number of cultural events linked to national celebrations such as St Patrick’s and St George’s Day, as well as religious festivals such as Diwali and Vaisakhi. In addition to the annual programme the team delivers ad-hoc responsive events – such as Vigils in response to the 2017 London terror attacks, and the #LondonIsOpen campaign screening of ‘The Salesman’, which resulted in world-wide coverage of London during the Oscars. In 2018/19 there is a budget allocation to account for small events that are delivered in a responsive or ad-hoc nature.

1.16 The Greater London Authority is statutorily required under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act) to carry out public consultation meetings. These are in the form of People’s Question Time events and the annual State of London Debate.

People’s Question Time

1.17 These events take place in a variety of locations across London providing the opportunity for the public to meet and ask questions to the Mayor and the London Assembly. It offers the Mayor and London Assembly the opportunity to deliver and discuss with the London Community their plans, priorities and policies for London.



State of London Debate

1.18 SOLD links to the publication of the Mayor’s annual report. It is a flagship Mayoral engagement and consultation event for all Londoners and provides an opportunity for direct engagement with members of the community to debate and provide feedback on the Mayor’s strategies and priorities for London. The event allows facilitation of a Q&A session allowing members of the audience to question the Mayor directly on issues of concern. Issues raised at the event can then be fed back directly into policy development.

1.19 As can be seen from Table 1 above, certain events are events of third parties for which the GLA provides grant funding. Recipients are required to go through stringent checks, both financial and legal, and to complete grant funding forms, being clear on the events aims and objectives, how this fits in with the Mayor’s objectives and culturally enhances the capital.

1.20 The GLA events officers work closely with the recipients of GLA funding to ensure successful delivery of funded events. Clear milestones and key performance indicators are set within the funding agreements and it is only at the time the milestones are met that funding is released. These milestones ensure the safety of GLA funding and cover any risk involved in supporting these events.

1.21 The GLA’s financial support for the grant funded events indicated within the table 1 above is a relatively small contribution to the full cost of these events. Supporting these events enables Mayoral profile and highlights the Mayor’s support to the communities involved in the delivery. As such a return should be considered excellent value for money.

Non-event activity

Access development

1.22 We are committed to continuing and enhancing best practice at GLA delivered events in terms of access, ensuring our events are open and accessible to all. These will include elements such as having BSL interpreters at our events, fully equipped portable ‘Changing Places’ disabled toilets, hearing loop provision and improved signage. We are also progressing our aim to achieve Attitude is Everything’s Bronze Awards for Access at our core delivered events.

Evaluation and reporting

1.23 Market research will be conducted at ten key events, and as mentioned previously there will be a strong focus on understanding the community engagement this year. The results of this year’s questions can help mould the future community focus for each event and each individual event can be used to benchmark against other events, as well as determine where refinement on questions or analysis is made. Additionally, feedback and results from particular events can help shape the delivery or make improvements to subsequent events. We will use 2018/19 to engage with a range of communities through workshops and discussion groups to identify if, and how, the community focused events are delivering an impact for that community. If not, identifying what might need to change.

1.24 This engagement will enable the GLA to make an informed decision on the value and impact of these events and prepare the ground for any necessary changes in 2019/20. Additionally, feedback and results from individual events will help shape the delivery or make improvements to subsequent events.

Sponsorship and other income

1.25 For the events delivered by the GLA, sponsorship, other income and concessions (if relevant and appropriate e.g. food and drink stalls/ tents on Trafalgar square) will be sought. All external income sought will be done so in accordance with the GLA Sponsorship Policy. Income received is usually specific to the individual event and provided on the basis that the additional money will fund additional activity above the core event activity. Should income not meet budgeted targets, the events will be delivered within the budgeted GLA funding available and income secured. Additional funds secured through sponsorship will be allocated to enhancing the event to appropriately reflect the increased budget. In the event that funds secured exceed the need and capacity of the event(s) in question, the core GLA contribution to the event will be reduced, or the funding reallocated to other events within the core programme that may not have reached their income targets.

1.26 In addition to cash income, the GLA Commercial Partnerships team will also seek benefit in kind to assist in the enhancement and publicity of events.

Commissioned outcomes

2.1 Attendance at events stimulates additional spending. We aim to generate additional spend in the local economy of up to £25m. This figure is based on research conducted at GLA events, it should be noted that the true level of additionality of extra spending is difficult to determine precisely as the sample size of attendees at each event is relatively small.

2.2 Events also contribute to visitor satisfaction and promote London as a leading global city encouraging investment and tourism.

2.3 Through our events, we actively promote Mayoral priorities directly to key community groups or audiences, and to captive audiences. This is measured through the attendance at events and market research at the event on recall, and through digital traffic and click through rates on the GLA website.

Additional benefits

2.4 The additional benefits of the programme are:

o increased positive global reputation of London

o positive profile for London, encouraging economic investment

o education and increased awareness of other communities in London encouraging social integration and cohesion

o increased skills through volunteering opportunities.



2.5 While difficult to measure, there are a number of further benefits that we are actively trying to foster through staging the events in our programme, including:

o increased sense of community through volunteering opportunities and social interaction at events

o encouraging a sense of pride in Londoners for the city they live

o enjoyment and satisfaction to support the well-being of Londoners and improving their health and wellbeing and quality of life. In particular where Londoner’s disposable income is limited and free events offer access to arts and entertainment which they may otherwise not be able to experience.

3.1 The events programme is planned to be inclusive and aimed at all Londoners, culturally and socially, achieved through the programme content, the broad and targeted approach to marketing channels, and access facilities at the event. While many of the events within the programme engage directly with specific community stakeholder groups in their planning and highlight the contribution of specific communities (e.g. St Patrick’s Day – Irish community; Eid - Muslim community; Liberty – Deaf and disabled community; Diwali – Hindu community), the events are about bringing different communities together, sharing cultures and supporting social integration.

Key risks and issues

Table 2

4.2.1 The programme directly links to:

o Manifesto Commitment: Access to the Arts – Continue to back major cultural festivals to celebrate London’s religious and racial diversity.

o A City for all Londoners: Making London a fairer and more tolerant city open and accessible to all, and one in which we can all live and prosper free from prejudice. Enabling all Londoners to benefit from the city’s fantastic arts and culture.

o Draft Culture Strategy: The Mayor will continue to fund festivals and events with an emphasis on more community involvement, increasing quality, raising profile and increasing volunteering.

4.3 Impact assessments and consultation

4.3.1 The impact assessment of the events will be on an event-by-event basis through the multi-agency planning process (Licensing Operational Safety Planning Groups), including Westminster City Council (or other local authority impacted), Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London, London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade and other key stakeholders to the specific event. This is an essential part of the Premise Licence process. Key agencies will be consulted as part of this multi-agency process.

4.3.2 Neighbours on Trafalgar Square are consulted regularly and through established quarterly planning meetings.

4.3.3 Where events involve specific communities, these communities are engaged though a stakeholder group which advises on the event. Public correspondence, via the GLA Public Liaison Unit, and market research at events is also considered for future planning of events where negative comments and improvement suggestions are made and may be reasonably implemented.

4.4 Procurement

4.4.1 Events delivered by the GLA will be procured under the Events Framework for event production services. Events receiving funding will be on the basis of funding agreements, with pre-determined milestones to receive the funding. All events will be managed by an events officer from within the Events for London team.

5.1 The total estimated gross cost of the 2018-19 Events for London Programme is £1,592,000 and the net cost to the GLA is £1,217,000, with the balance of £375,000 being funded via third party income in the form of sponsorship income, grant contributions and stall revenue. The proposed market research expenditure of up to £60,000 will be contained within the Intelligence Unit’s budget for 2018-19.

5.2 With regards to the GLA net cost to the Events Programme, a budget provision of £1,217,000 has been included in the 2018-19 budget to fund the portfolio of events. Depending on the delivery of each event, there may be some budget realignments and reallocation required across projects, which will take place in-year as required.

5.3 In-line with previous years, the Events Team has budgeted for income totalling £375,000 to enhance and supplement some of the events proposed. If the income target is not met, projects will be reduced to the funding available and the income secured. Any income secured over and above the income target will be used to enhance the specific event(s) and where appropriate if there is a significant amount of extra income secured, the GLA will look to reduce the GLA contribution where enhancements to events are not required.

Power to approve the requested decisions

6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor fall within the statutory powers of the Authority to promote and/or to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the social development and economic development and wealth creation within Greater London and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’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.

6.2 In taking the decisions requested of him, 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.

Allocation of sponsorship income

6.3 The officers are advised only to commit to expenditure of the tranches of sponsor’s funding, of which the GLA is in receipt pursuant to the terms of an executed sponsorship agreement.

Grants in support of events

6.4 A tranche of the 2018-19 events budget will be allocated to the grant funding of a number of events including Totally Thames and Chinese New Year (see Table 1 at paragraph 1.11 for full list). To this end, the officers are reminded of the requirements of paragraph 4.1 and section 12 of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; in particular, the desirability that funding be distributed following a transparent and competitive application process.

Procurement

6.5 The officers are reminded that the requirements of the Contracts and Funding Code apply to all of the procurements, which are carried out in furtherance of the 2018-19 events programme.

Table 3