MD2259 Publication of Culture for all Londoners

1.1. Pursuant to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the GLA Act 1999”), the Culture Strategy Group for London (known as the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board (“MCLB”)) is required to keep the culture strategy under review and may submit proposed revisions of it to the Mayor, following a consultation with designated competent bodies.



1.2. The Mayor has received proposed revisions on the culture section of the culture strategy from the MCLB (see letter at appendix A), and further to the Mayor’s amendments, this Mayoral Decision seeks his approval to publish for public consultation a document entitled “Culture for all Londoners” which forms part of the of the Mayor’s Culture Strategy. It also records his noting of the Integrated Impact Assessment for public consultation. Consultation will take place between 23th March and 19th June 2018.

1.3. An earlier MD (MD2129) provided approval for expenditure of £121,000 to support research, development, consultation and delivery of the strategy.

1.4. The GLA Act 1999 outlines a single strategy covering policies related to culture, media and sport (section 376 (1)). Over the past 10 years, and in particular since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the culture section and sports section of the strategy have been developed and published separately from each other. Together, these elements constitute the statutory strategy. This Mayoral Decision refers solely to the proposed policies in relation to culture and to the document Culture for all Londoners.

1.5. Further changes to the design and appearance of the draft document Culture for all Londoners will be approved by the Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries.

2.1 Culture for All Londoners sets out the Mayor’s vision for culture in the capital, and how that can be realised. It is a call to action to everyone with a stake in the future of London’s creative industries and cultural offer.

2.2 The Culture Strategy is being developed alongside the following strategies;

• London Environment Strategy

• London Plan

• Mayor’s Transport Strategy

• Housing Strategy

• Economic Development Strategy

• Health Inequalities Strategy

• Diversity and Inclusion Vision

• Social Integration Strategy

2.3 As part of the preparation of Culture for all Londoners, an Impact Assessment has been undertaken to review cultural policy options and assess the impact of proposed policies. The Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) combines these assessments and enables all of the Mayoral strategies to work from the same baseline information. The IIA incorporates a community safety impact assessment (CSIA), equality impact assessment (EqIA) and health inequality impact assessment (HIA) and due regard to sustainable development. The IIA report will be published alongside Culture for all Londoners for consultation.

3.1. In preparing and publishing his strategies the Mayor must comply with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires the Mayor to have ‘due regard’ to the need to (i) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; (ii) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and (iii) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being ‘relevant’ protected characteristics). The duty may involve, in particular, removing or minimising any disadvantage suffered by those who have a relevant protected characteristic, taking steps to meet the needs of such people, and encouraging them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low, including tackling prejudice and promoting understanding. Compliance with the Act may involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without the characteristic.

3.3. The lIA, which assesses the likely equalities impact of Culture for all Londoners, will be reviewed as appropriate in the light of the responses to the consultation before the final draft strategy is submitted for approval following consultation.

4.1 A key risk is that Culture for all Londoners does not address the needs of the cultural and creative industries in London, or the needs of Londoners in accessing and creating culture. Consultation on the draft will help identify those areas that need clarification or detail ahead of final publication.

4.2 Links to other Mayoral strategies set out in section 2 above.

4.3 The Integrated Impact assessment is attached at Appendix B. In addition, the Mayor in preparing or revising this strategy must have regard to:

(a) the principal purposes of the Authority (promoting economic development and wealth creation, social development and improvement of the environment in Greater London);

Addressed across all priority chapters; Love London, Culture and Good Growth, Creative Londoner and World City

(b) the effect which the proposed strategy or revision would have on:

(i) the health of persons in Greater London;

Addressed in chapters Love London and Culture and Good Growth

(ii) health inequalities between persons living in Greater London;

Addressed in chapter; Love London and Creative Londoner

(iii) the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom;

Address in chapter; Culture and Good Growth and World City

(iv) climate change, and the consequences of climate change.

Addressed in chapter; Culture and Good Growth

4.4 The Mayor must also have regard to:

(a) the need to ensure that the strategy is consistent with national policies, with the EU obligations of the United Kingdom and with such other international obligations of the United Kingdom as the Secretary of State may notify to the Mayor for the purposes of this paragraph;

The Secretary of State has not notified the Mayor of any such polices.

(b) the need to ensure that the strategy is consistent with other Mayoral strategies;

Set out in chapter; Context and Scope of the Strategy

(c) the resources available for implementation of the strategy; and

Addressed through GLA budgetary process

(d) the desirability of promoting and encouraging the use of the River Thames safely, in particular for the provision of passenger transport services and for the transportation of freight”.

Addressed in chapter; Culture and Good Growth

5.1 Approval is being sought for the expenditure of up to £30,000 for the Culture Strategy The breakdown of which is as follows:

5.2 The proposed expenditure will be funded from the 2018/19 Culture and Creative Industries Unit budget and subsequently managed within the same unit.

6.1 The Mayor has a duty under section 376 (2) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the GLA Act”) to prepare and publish a document to be known as the culture strategy. Paragraph 1.4 explains that the Mayor is preparing and intends to publish a culture strategy, and that it will be in two sections – the culture section (which is the subject of this Mayoral Decision) and the sports section.

6.2 Under section 376 (5) the policies that may be contained in the culture strategy include:

(a) the arts, tourism and sport;

(b) ancient monuments and sites;

(c) buildings and other structures which are of historical or architectural interest or which otherwise form part of the heritage of Greater London;

(d) museums and galleries

(e) library services

(f) archives

(g) treasure, and antiquities of a movable nature

(h) broadcasting, film production and other media of communications

6.3 Under section 376 (4) the Cultural Strategy Group for London (known as the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board (“MCLB”)) shall keep the culture strategy under review and may submit proposed revisions of it to the Mayor. Under section 376 (4A) the MCLB must consult with designated consultative bodies (set out under section 376 (10)). The letter at Appendix A is from the MCLB to the Mayor enclosing their proposed revisions and demonstrating that a consultation has taken place, and that it is specific to the culture section of the overall Culture Strategy

6.4 The Mayor also has a general duty under section 41 (2) of the GLA Act to keep his strategies under review and shall make such revisions as he considers necessary. Section 41 sets out various requirements with which the Mayor has to comply in preparing the strategy. The Mayor must have regard to “(a) the principal purposes of the Authority; (b) the effect which the proposed strategy or revision would have on …(i) the health of persons in Greater London; (ia) health inequalities between persons living in Greater London; (ii) the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; (iii) climate change, and the consequences of climate change”. The Mayor must also have regard to: “(a) the need to ensure that the strategy is consistent with national policies , with the EU obligations of the United Kingdom and with such other international obligations of the United Kingdom as the Secretary of State may notify to the Mayor for the purposes of this paragraph; (b) the need to ensure that the strategy is consistent with [other Mayoral strategies]; (c) the resources available for implementation of the strategy; and (d) the desirability of promoting and encouraging the use of the River Thames safely, in particular for the provision of passenger transport services and for the transportation of freight.” Paragraph 4 sets out how the Mayor has had regard to these legal duties in his Culture for all Londoners document.

6.5 Under section 42 of the GLA Act, the Mayor is required to consult the London Assembly, the functional bodies of the GLA (such as Transport for London and Mayoral Development Corporations), each London borough and the City of London, and any other body or person whom he considers it appropriate to consult.

6.6 As noted in section 3 above, the Mayor must comply with the public-sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which is described at section 3. The interim Integrated Impact Assessment includes consideration of the effects of the strategy on people with protected characteristics.

6.7 The content of Culture for all Londoners, and the publication of it and the interim Integrated Impact Assessment for a three-month consultation period, as proposed in this decision, indicate that the matters referred to above have been substantially taken into account.

6.8. Under section 42B of the GLA Act, the Mayor must lay a copy of the (final) draft strategy before the Assembly before publishing it in final form. If, within 21 days of the laying of the copy, the Assembly by a motion agreed to by at least a two thirds majority of those voting rejects that draft strategy, the Mayor must not publish it; otherwise he may.

6.9 Any services and supplies that are required must be procured by Transport for London Commercial who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code. Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder(s) and the GLA before the commencement of the services and supplies.

Appendix A Letter from the MCLB to the Mayor of London

Appendix B Consultation draft Culture Strategy – Culture for all Londoners

Appendix C The Integrated Impact Assessment