MD2632 Culture and Creative Industries 2020-21

1.1 As of May 2020, London has been one of the areas in the UK hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Culture, creative industries and the night-time economy have been immediately and dramatically impacted by the pandemic; all public events have either been cancelled or postponed. Income generated by these sectors has collapsed. Hundreds of businesses have not been eligible for the Government’s funding packages. London needs this sector to survive, through COVID-19 and beyond.

1.2 The Mayor’s Culture Strategy, Culture for all Londoners, recognises that culture is central to London’s success and to the wellbeing of Londoners, particularly for young people. Access to culture is proven to improve health and wellbeing and is a key part of the Mayor’s preventative approach to reducing violent crime, seeking to tackle it at its root causes by helping young people to make positive life choices. However, these positive benefits are now at critical risk due to the pandemic.

1.3 The GLA’s Culture and Creative Industries Unit (‘Unit’) 2020-21 budgets across the areas outlined in this decision stand at £897,000. In early March, a decision was prepared for this expenditure in full; this decision was paused and therefore not approved at the outbreak of COVID-19 in London. The Unit has worked with the GLA’s Economic Development team and other teams across the GLA over the past eight weeks to understand key impacts on Londoners, the sector and its workforce. A review of programmes has been undertaken and expenditure has been prioritised accordingly to draw down a reduced budget of £328,000 on essential activity that is needed now to help protect the sector at this time of crisis.

1.4 London’s creative sector generates £52 billion a year and accounts for one in six jobs in the capital. The impact of COVID-19 has been severe. A Creative Industries Federation survey at the end of March 2020 found that 50% of creative organisations and freelancers had already lost 100% of their income, and one in seven had only enough reserves to last until the end of April 2020. Only half had reserves to last beyond June 2020.

1.5 Eligibility gaps in the economic support packages from Government and public funders such as Arts Council England mean that many freelancers and Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs - which make up 99.9% of firms operating in the culture sector) are slipping through the safety net. This impact is also being felt in key supply chains in the cultural, creative and night-time industries, that are ineligible for support such as business rates relief and grants. The nature of many grassroots and local cultural and arts organisations means they also play an important role in addressing some of London’s biggest social challenges, including isolation, and building community cohesion. Much of this work is at risk.

1.6 The Mayor is committed to ensuring that more Londoners, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can access the positive benefits that taking part in arts and culture brings, and that London retains its status as a world leading capital for culture and creativity. These goals will become even more urgent in the context of London’s recovery from COVID-19. Many of the challenges identified in the Culture Strategy will be magnified by the impacts of the pandemic, and the Mayor’s policy and programmes which seek to address these will become more vital still. These challenges include; the impact of austerity on public funding and on the ability of local authorities to support culture; stark losses of cultural infrastructure over the past ten years; a lack of representation and diversity in London’s creative workforce; international competition; the impact of Brexit; and now the huge task of recovery from COVID-19.

1.7 The priorities of the GLA’s Culture Strategy remain relevant, and are:

1. Love London - more people experiencing and creating culture on their doorstep;

2. Culture and Good Growth - supporting, saving and sustaining cultural places and spaces;

3. Creative Londoners - investing in a diverse workforce for the future; and

4. World City - a global creative powerhouse today and in the future.

1.8 Since 2016, the Unit has delivered the GLA’s most ambitious culture programme to date, with new projects creating tangible social and economic benefits for Londoners. The Mayor has launched flagship initiatives such as: Creative Enterprise Zones, London Borough of Culture and Culture Seeds. He has delivered new policy approaches to tackling cultural infrastructure challenges through the Culture at Risk office, London’s first Cultural Infrastructure Plan and the Night Czar’s work by including the Agent of Change policy in the draft new London Plan. Significantly, the Mayor’s continued support for games, film, fashion and TV through the Creative Industries investment portfolio generated £737million of orders and trade in 2018-19 alone (reported to the GLA from organisations in receipt of GLA grant funding which include; the British Fashion Council, Games London, London Design Festival and Film London). These policies and programmes could have a role to play in the capital’s recovery from COVID-19.

1.9 This decision seeks approval for receipt of grant and sponsorship income of £473,750 towards projects for 2020-21 as set out below:

1.10 An early decision is also needed on a number of funding streams for 2020-21, in order to provide resilience to the cultural, creative and night-time industries in London and help mitigate against the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision seeks approval for expenditure of up to £328,000 from the Culture and Creative Industries revenue budget for 2020-21 (from an original proposed programme budget of £897,000) as set out below:

Culture and Good Growth: Thames Estuary Production Corridor – receipt of grant funding



1.11 Approval is sought for receipt of grant funding of £350,000 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to develop the Thames Estuary Production Corridor. The GLA will manage this budget and work in partnership with the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners Board to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative production sector in the estuary and develop an action plan to provide resilience to the sector. The Thames Estuary region includes some of the most deprived areas of East London. As the city and the region recover from the economic impact of COVID-19, this investment will support vital economic development planning. Funding will be used to:

• develop the evidence base and rationale for future investment in the corridor, in order to reinforce and future-proof the existing cross-boundary partnership; and

• deliver on the potential of the corridor to be the UK’s largest concentration of creative production.

1.12 The Thames Estuary Production Corridor is the ambitious shared vision of East London, South Essex and North Kent to create a world-class hub of cultural and creative production along the Thames Estuary. It was launched by the Mayor of London in 2017 in partnership with the London Economic Action Partnership, the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (South East LEP) and the South East Creative Economy Network (SECEN).

1.13 The vision builds on the area’s manufacturing legacy to develop a series of large scale, state-of-the-art production centres. These will promote innovation and increase productivity, deliver local jobs and skills development and support the rapid growth of the creative economy. The programme delivers on the Mayor’s Culture Strategy and Cultural Infrastructure Plan by helping to protect and grow infrastructure for cultural production.

1.14 The Thames Estuary Production Corridor marks a strong commitment to cross-boundary collaboration with partners in the South East closely working together through the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners Board. The unique partnership includes the GLA, the Royal Docks Team, the seven East London boroughs that are part of the Thames Estuary region , the South East Creative Economy Network and South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Kent and Essex County Councils, and eleven local authority areas represented by Thames Gateway Kent Partnership and Opportunity South Essex.

1.15 The overarching programme for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor includes initiatives like the Fashion District, a hub for fashion innovation in East London which will create 10,000 jobs in fashion, and Dagenham Studios – London's largest new film studio development in the capital in 25 years, with the potential to create 780 jobs and generate £35million for the economy each year.

1.16 In March 2018, under cover of MD2129 and DD2189, the GLA and the South East LEP, in partnership with the Royal Docks Team and the London boroughs of Bexley and Lewisham, commissioned a case for investment report to provide a more detailed vision and evidence base for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor. This research showed that investment in the Thames Estuary’s creative industries could deliver over 50,000 new jobs and could generate an extra £3.7billion Gross Value Added to the UK economy.

1.17 Following a consultation with over 200 local and external partners and stakeholders as part of the research, the GLA published ‘From Vision to Action’ (2019), a report providing recommendations for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor to achieve its potential. It identified three priorities:

• building the Thames Estuary Production Corridor identity, through programme, strategic communications and developing pan-Estuary higher and further education networks;

• securing investment in large-scale clusters and smaller local projects to develop creative production capacity; and

• growing the Thames Estuary, by securing alignment in plan and policy development in collaboration with the new Thames Estuary Growth Board, central government and local partners.

1.18 The Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission report (2018) highlighted the creative and cultural industries as a high-priority sector for the estuary to diversify its economic base and identified the Thames Estuary Production Corridor as a priority project to strengthen the sector.



1.19 A detailed expenditure plan will be approved through a future Director Decision.

World City: World Cities Culture Forum - receipt of sponsorship

1.20 The World Cities Culture Forum ran a successful pilot Leadership Exchange Programme in 2017. The Unit has now secured funding for a second programme funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies as referenced in MD2451. Approval is sought for receipt of sponsorship from Bloomberg and expenditure of £123,750 to support the Leadership Exchange Programme. This programme will enable international city-to-city exchanges to share learning and progress innovations around recovery and resilience of the culture sector. The exchanges will be selected by an independent jury of international experts in culture and cities, who will review applications received from member cities of the World Cities Culture Forum to participate in this programme.



1.21 The World Cities Culture Forum is a global network of currently 40 cities, convened by the Mayor of London and chaired by Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries. Its members – senior leaders from city governments – are influential officials, advocating for culture as a vital part of urban policy, as well as being key to building a city’s quality of life, reputation and economic prosperity.

1.22 Now more than ever, this international network is a critical platform to share experiences and learn about policies and funding to support culture and creative industries and creative workers. For example, through the Forum, the GLA is learning in detail about the exit strategies of member cities across the world who are beginning to come out of COVID-19 lockdown scenarios, feeding into London's strategy and planning.

Culture Strategy: cross-cutting Culture Strategy programme



1.23 Approval is sought for expenditure of £65,000 to provide the cultural sector with the critical support it needs at a time of unprecedented uncertainty, and to inform and scope the recovery of the sector.

1.24 Under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Mayor must deliver a culture strategy covering policies related to culture, media and sport. The Culture Strategy comprises two sections; the first covering policies and programmes related to culture including media, and the second to sport. The Culture Strategy Group for London (currently known as the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board (MCLB)) is required to keep the Culture Strategy under review; this is a statutory requirement.

1.25 In March 2018, under cover of MD2259, the Mayor published the culture section of his draft Culture Strategy ‘Culture for all Londoners’. Following public consultation, the final Culture Strategy was presented to the London Assembly in December 2018 and published in that same month, under cover of MD2382.

1.26 The Culture Strategy Group has a core function, monitoring and advising the Mayor and the GLA on the opportunities and challenges facing the city’s creative and cultural industries. From an original budget for this programme of £121,000, a limited number of priority workstreams have been identified for which funding of £65,000 is sought for work that supports the recovery from COVID-19 and needs to begin now. Funds will enable the Unit to work with externally procured consultants to support the Culture Strategy Group by:

• commissioning and supporting research into the economic impact of COVID-19 on the creative sector to inform exit and recovery planning;

• supporting the final development stage of a business case for a new world-class International Centre for the Creative Industries, as a key economic project for London that will support the recovery of the creative economy post COVID-19. As this has a fixed submission deadline, this piece of work must be completed by early July 2020 and therefore cannot be delayed;

• informing the GLA’s response to COVID-19, particularly through intelligence gathering and stakeholder engagement; and

• continuing to deliver evaluation and impact monitoring of Culture Strategy objectives by undertaking impact analysis and building capacity for evaluation and monitoring.

Culture and Good Growth: Cultural Infrastructure Plan

1.27 Approval is sought for expenditure of £90,000 to deliver against the objectives of London’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan. This is in addition to £10,000 already approved through a Delegated Authority Record (DAR) to provide immediate crisis support to affordable workspaces in London via a grant to Outset Contemporary Art Fund. The Cultural Infrastructure Plan programme supports the Culture Strategy priority, ‘Culture and Good Growth: Supporting, saving and sustaining cultural places and spaces’.

1.28 The buildings and spaces where culture and creativity take place play a vital role in the capital’s economic success and make the city a place where people want to live, work and do business. London’s grassroots cultural and community spaces support social integration and help reduce social isolation. Yet, they continue to be at high risk of closure due to the pace of development, rising rents and rates, and are now at a moment of unparalleled risk due to the impact of COVID-19.

1.29 Following over a decade of decline, particularly at the grassroots, London’s cultural infrastructure has seen some signs of stabilisation in the last year following new Mayoral policies and support since 2016. GLA research shows net losses of 61% of LGBTQ+ venues, 35% of grassroots music venues since 2007 and 27% of pubs since 2001. Affordable creative workspaces lost 30% of spaces between 2014-17. Without action, the impact of COVID-19 will rapidly undo this investment and the stabilisation of these vital spaces for Londoners.

1.30 To begin to address this, on 30 April 2020, the Mayor launched a £2.3m Culture at Risk Business Support Fund to offer vital grants directly to grassroots music venues, LGBTQ+ venues, independent cinemas and creative workspace businesses which are most at risk of falling into administration and are unable to benefit from Government COVID-19 schemes.

1.31 This fund is a lifeline, offering funding direct to organisations, but is targeted at a specific section of London’s creative infrastructure – grassroots organisations left out of Government support. Cultural Infrastructure Plan activity proposed in this decision will support the GLA to achieve the best long-term outcomes from the Culture at Risk Business Support Fund but will also offer training and help to the wider sector, and continued data collection. This budget will be used to:

• assess and monitor the risks to the sector in relation to cultural infrastructure, and work with partners to find solutions;

• provide support to a broader range of individuals and organisations impacted by COVID-19 that may be at risk or experiencing specific issues. This will include seminars, workshops, training, guidance and support from a panel of expert professionals (a special assistance team) who can provide targeted one-to-one support; and

• collect and publish annual data which the Mayor has committed to collect on LGBTQ+ venues, pubs, grassroots music venues, and artists’ and creative workspace, and other relevant datasets where need is identified, which will be crucial to understanding the impact of the pandemic.

1.32 Where required, consultants will be appointed to carry out this work and appointed through a tender process in line with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.



1.33 The Mayor’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan was published on 19 March 2019 and provides a seven-point plan to protect and grow infrastructure for cultural production and consumption, which will become ever more important in the context of London’s recovery. The Plan encompasses a suite of policies and programmes to support infrastructure, from extensive data mapping to funding such as the Good Growth Fund, Creative Enterprise Zones and the Creative Land Trust, as well as support for spatial strategies such as the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

1.34 Cultural infrastructure in our city is now even at more risk due to the double hit of the pandemic and uncertainty over the future of Growth Deal funding and investment in London from central Government. It is possible that London may experience a crisis in the availability of capital funding for cultural and community buildings. Working with other major culture funders, the Unit will lead research to assess future risks and explore what can be done by working in partnership.

1.35 Further work as part of the Plan is covered under the following decisions:

• the launch of the Creative Land Trust (supported by a separate GLA budget allocation approved via MD2362);

• the launch of the Mayor’s first six Creative Enterprise Zones which will support cultural infrastructure such as affordable workspace (supported by a separate GLA budget allocation, approved via MD2196); and

• the development of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor (see paragraph 1.11 -1.19).

Creative Londoners: London Music Fund

1.36 Approval is sought for grant funding of £26,000 to the London Music Fund, an independent charity with the Mayor as Patron.

1.37 Music-making has a profound effect on children and young people. It helps to develop

communication, concentration, literacy, numeracy and teamwork. However, music tuition is expensive and participation in learning an instrument is out of reach of many families and young people, which the London Music Fund helps to address.

1.38 The London Music Fund is an established charity with an excellent reputation for providing support and opportunities for young people in the capital and achieving outstanding outcomes for these young people. Since it was founded in 2011, the Fund has given over £2.7m in grants to London’s boroughs via their music education hubs to support nearly 500 young Londoners, all from families with a low income, to learn musical instruments and develop their potential through four-year scholarships. 62% of scholars are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.



1.39 The London Music Fund also funds 1,500 young Londoners each year to learn and perform with top musicians in iconic venues through its Partnerships Fund. The London Music Fund recently launched Amplify London, a new partnership with YouTube Music supporting grassroots music projects for young people across the capital.

1.40 The COVID-19 emergency has already had an impact on the ability of the London Music Fund to fundraise, which is significant for a small charity. There are currently 186 active scholarships across four cohorts, and the London Music Fund has taken the difficult decision to delay awarding of any new scholarships until at least December 2020 in order to prioritise the young people they are already committed to working with.

1.41 Some of these existing scholarships, however, do not have repeat funding and are therefore at risk of not continuing due to the impacts of COVID-19 on fundraising and on the charity’s financial reserves. These young people from low-income families are some of the most at risk of being adversely affected by COVID-19, as the gap between the privileged and the less privileged will potentially widen.

1.42 In light of this, GLA funding will support the shortfall on funding for the existing scholarships. This will enable those with current scholarships to continue their tuition with their local music education hub during 2020-21. Without this funding, some of these scholarships would likely have to end in July 2020.

World City: 24 Hour London

1.43 Approval is sought for expenditure of £33,000 to procure a consultant to deliver engagement work with night-time businesses and workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support local authority teams that are responding to it. This is in addition to £10,000 already approved through a Delegated Authority Record (DAR) approval to undertake research on the immediate impact of the pandemic on the night-time economy. The economic impacts have been wide and far-reaching, as the hospitality and culture sectors have been first, and worst, hit.

1.44 The Mayor’s Vision for London as a 24 Hour City, published in July 2017, contains principles for the development of London as a 24 hour city. The Mayor’s Night Czar and the London Night Time Commission created a plan for the sustainable development of London at night. The Night Time Commission’s Think Night report included 10 recommendations to develop London at night.

1.45 The 24 Hour London team work closely with London’s boroughs, night-time industries, emergency services and other key stakeholders to gather intelligence on issues effecting London between 6pm and 6am and to offer support, advice and advocacy to help the capital work better at night. They developed a regular series of engagement events, including the Night Time Borough Champions Network, Night Surgeries, LGBTQ+ Venues Forum and the Women’s Night Safety Summit. While it has not been possible to continue all of these events during the current crisis, there is now an increased need for intelligence gathering and engagement with businesses, workers and local authorities.

1.46 Since the pandemic began, the 24 Hour London team has worked with the Economic Development team and other teams across the GLA to assist with the GLA’s emergency business impact response. It is helping to deliver the Mayor’s £2.3m Culture at Risk Business Support Fund which was approved under MD2629, and plays a key role in managing casework for the Unit’s Culture at Risk office, which has received 245 enquiries since March 2020 (compared to 350 cases in the prior 3 years). Additional capacity from within the Unit and, temporarily, from within the Good Growth Directorate, is supporting the 24 Hr London team, but additional expertise is required to run a full programme of engagement work. Virtual roundtables with local authorities and businesses to date have shown a significant demand for support from the GLA on data, communications, strategy and coordination.

1.47 Consultancy expertise will enable delivery and analysis of an urgent engagement and intelligence gathering programme with local authorities, night-time businesses and night-time workers. This will help the GLA understand the challenges London is facing and ensure that night-time businesses and night-time workers are fully considered in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes understanding the financial pressures that premises are under while they remain closed and the impact of this and of gaps in Government support on night workers, and the impacts of exiting lockdown on safety and business models. It will enable support to be targeted where most needed and support planning for recovery of the night-time economy after the pandemic. Procurement needs to happen now to enable a consultant to be in place as soon as possible to support night time industries and boroughs during the complex process of exiting lockdown.

Creative Londoners: diversity in the creative workforce

1.48 Approval is sought for expenditure of £64,000 for the salary and related costs of the Unit’s Senior Policy Officer, Diversity, as approved in Chief Officer form CO-18.

1.49 The GLA’s Culture Strategy outlines the ambition for London to be a city in which all Londoners can make the most of their abilities. This means ensuring that Londoners from every background can pursue a career in the creative industries if they want, removing the barriers that stand in their way so that the cultural sector can be truly representative of London. This commitment also supports the Mayor’s preventative approach to crime, aiming to create positive alternative opportunities for young Londoners, particularly those which help them gain access to training and to get employment.

1.50 Many outstanding cultural organisations in London are led by and for communities with ‘protected characteristics’ as defined in the Equality Act 2010 and are at heightened risk from the impact of COVID-19. These organisations are themselves very diverse, ranging from mixed venues / arts centres such as the Africa Centre and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, theatres such as the Albany and Tara Arts, or dance, music and performing arts organisations such as Ballet Black, Chineke Foundation or Hip Hop Collective. Many of these community organisations are also small, and due to their variety they lack a single membership organisation to lobby on their behalf. Other cultural subsectors (from animation to grassroots music) have had organisations lobbying effectively for them during the COVID-19 crisis. Cultural organisations working with diverse Londoners have had no such unified voice.

1.51 To ensure that the voices of these organisations are heard, that they are engaged and represented, and their needs are taken into account, the GLA must engage directly with these cultural organisations; during the initial crisis phase of COVID-19 and throughout exit and recovery planning. This will be done through producing roundtables, events across the sector, and inclusion into programmes of work throughout the Unit.

1.52 The Senior Policy Officer, Diversity will continue a programme of stakeholder engagement and intelligence gathering in response to COVID-19. This will be used inform the overall exit and recovery programme, including supporting diverse cultural organisations and their workforces and working with them to reach London’s diverse and underrepresented communities, in line with the goals of the Mayor’s Culture Strategy priority, Creative Londoners.

Love London: Culture, Health and Wellbeing - Dementia-Friendly Charter

1.53 Approval is sought for expenditure of £50,000 to finalise, launch and pilot a new Dementia-Friendly Charter for venues working in culture, the arts, and heritage. The expenditure will fund externally procured consultants to deliver guidance and evaluation, and training provision, in order to support venues across London to better support people with dementia through the lockdown period and as part of the recovery process.

1.54 The COVID-19 crisis has exposed inequalities in the way older and vulnerable communities are supported within the community and their access to culture. This is particularly true for those with complex needs such as people living with dementia. This new Charter will enable cultural venues across London to better support people with dementia and their carers by becoming dementia-friendly. Planning is critical now for organisations to prepare for the new world of social distancing requirements, and will enable people with dementia and their carers, in time, to have safe access to arts and culture in their local communities.

1.55 In 2018, the Mayor signed The Alzheimer’s Society pledge to make London the world’s first Dementia-Friendly City. The pledge sets out ways London’s public authorities can take action to make the capital a place where “People with dementia will...feel supported, understood and included in community life; [and] be able to participate in all that London has to offer in arts, culture and leisure.” Following this, Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police, NHS and Local Authorities joined the Dementia-Friendly Executive Board which is overseen by the GLA London Health Board.

1.56 The GLA Culture and Health teams and The Alzheimer’s Society are supporting a London Arts and Culture Dementia-Friendly Network (‘Network’) chaired by the Museum of London to look at how to put this pledge into practice. The Network includes: museums, music, dance, heritage and theatre organisations, libraries and universities. It includes people with dementia and their carers, shares good and emerging practice on how venues are supporting people with dementia, and identifies areas where new interventions could have the most impact. Through the Network, the GLA and The Alzheimer’s Society have developed a draft Charter which aims to support cultural venues to become dementia-friendly. The Unit has also conducted informal consultation with Age UK and a variety of cultural venues about the potential of the Charter.



1.57 There is an opportunity to repivot elements of this work in the light of the pandemic, and as lockdown eases, to support people living with dementia and their carers who may remain in social isolation, as well supporting those who can exit to return safely to venues. The Charter is an opportunity to escalate the improvement of the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their carers, both within communities and in care homes. Working with cultural venues and The Alzheimer’s Society, this project will enable venues to consider the implications of social distancing, new safeguarding guidance, training of volunteers and staff to minimise and the risks of further waves of infection. The Charter will be piloted in 2020-21, supporting cultural venues across London to take practical steps to becoming dementia-friendly and underpinned by an evaluation to assess its impact.

1.58 Cultural venues that have engaged with the GLA to date want to continue and cultural institutions are interested in signing up to the Charter. The GLA will work with the Network to identify strategic opportunities to test the pilot. If work does not continue on the Charter now there is a risk that momentum will be lost. The Network may lose relevance and ultimately disband without the focus of the Charter at this crucial time. Delaying the Charter could be viewed by cultural venues as a down-grading of the importance of Dementia-Friendly London – at a time when this agenda needs prioritising more than ever.

World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme

2.1 The objectives of this investment are to:

• benefit London’s culture and creative sector and creative workers by learning from international cities’ responses to COVID-19; and

• benefit Londoners by learning from other cities on best practice and embedding these findings into GLA work.



2.2 External sponsorship from Bloomberg Philanthropies will support the delivery of a series of city to city exchanges as part of the Leadership Exchange Programme.

2.3 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• well informed policy-making at the GLA, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, across policy teams including Culture, International, Economic Development and Communities and Social Policy, developed through accessing learning and evidence from international case studies; and

• showcasing London’s best practice to other cities to help inform policy internationally.

Culture Strategy: cross-cutting Culture Strategy Programme

2.4 The objectives of this investment are to:

• support the delivery of the GLA’s Culture Strategy and cross-policy delivery of other mayoral strategies;

• provide an informed, sensitive and versatile response to the impact of COVID-19 on London and Londoners and support the culture and creative industries to recover;

• evidence the impact of the GLA’s Culture Strategy to inform future policy making, and embed evaluation and monitoring expertise across the Unit;

• deliver new research and development work in response to the advice of the Cultural Strategy Group for London; and

• engage with diverse stakeholders and influencers to achieve the GLA Culture Strategy, raise its visibility and increase impact.

2.5 GLA investment of £65,000 will deliver the following outputs:

• economic impact data on the effect of COVID-19 on culture, creative industries and the night-time economy recovery;

• the second stage of a contract with the National Development Team for Inclusion to create an evaluation framework the GLA’s Culture Strategy, and delivery of a learning and development programme to build a Unit evaluation and monitoring expertise; and

• a high-level business case for a new world-class International Centre for the Creative Industries, as a key economic project for London.

2.6 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• the GLA holds evidence to contribute to COVID-19 recovery, helping to retain and reinforce London’s international status as a global centre for culture; and

• increased engagement with a broader range of stakeholders on the work of the Mayor and the GLA’s Culture Strategy, leveraging new collaborations to deliver activity and to support diverse communities.

Culture and Good Growth: Cultural Infrastructure Plan

2.7 The objectives of this investment are to protect and grow cultural infrastructure in London, particularly in the context of the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, by supporting local authorities, developers and cultural organisations with the data, guidance and training they need.

2.8 GLA investment of £90,000 will deliver against the Cultural Infrastructure Plan, resulting in the following outputs:

• updated data sets for the GLA’s Cultural Infrastructure Map and the London Datastore, keeping it live and accurate so that risks to cultural infrastructure can be monitored and boroughs and developers can use it to ensure an understanding of the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on cultural infrastructure. Audits will be undertaken for grassroots music venues, LGBTQ+ venues, creative workspace and pubs, working with partners including the Theatres Trust, Music Venues Trust and CAMRA and other teams across the GLA;

• supporting the Culture at Risk Office through a training and advice service providing targeted support to individuals and organisations who are at risk due to the impact of COVID-19, as well as other pressures. This will include seminars, workshops, training, guidance and access to a panel of expert professionals (a special assistance team) who can provide targeted one-to-one support covering areas such as business planning, landlord negotiation and premises management; and

• commissioned research and information reports to support the recovery of the sector including supply chain data and workspace policies as well as specialist support for artist studio providers.

2.9 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• greater awareness amongst boroughs and developers of where London’s cultural infrastructure is located and how it has been affected. This will enable local authorities to plan better for the growth and protection of relevant cultural infrastructure and will ensure that developers are more aware of existing venues and cultural provision so that they can plan appropriate new provision. This is intended to reduce the overall risk to cultural infrastructure, evidenced through tracking cultural infrastructure figures across London; and

• stakeholders will become better equipped to operate cultural premises and manage associated risks.

Creative Londoners: London Music Fund

2.10 The objective of the £26,000 funding is to provide grant funding to the London Music Fund, enabling young Londoners on the scholarships programme to continue to learn a musical instrument and develop their musical talent. Specifically, it will provide funding for young people from low income families.

2.11 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• access to music tuition and special projects for 26 young Londoners for one year, enabling their development of musical and social skills through participation in instrumental tuition, projects and performances, improving their life chances.

2.12 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• weekly instrumental lessons plus access to weekend music tuition and special projects for 26 young Londoners for one year.

World City: 24 Hour London

2.13 The objective of this investment is to expand and improve the 24 Hour London evidence base, ensuring the GLA is able to respond effectively to the issues raised by boroughs and night-time businesses as they come out of COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ and head into a recovery phase.

2.14 The investment of £33,000 will enable the following outputs, undertaken by an externally procured consultant:

• creation and delivery of a programme of engagement with London’s boroughs, night-time businesses, police, night-workers, unions and communities; and

• intelligence regarding London’s high streets and town centres that can feed into a strategic and needs-based recovery plan for London at night based on direct evidence.



2.15 The investment will deliver the following outcomes:

• increased awareness of the Mayor’s work in supporting London at night during the COVID-19 pandemic;

• better support for local authorities on how they can assist night-time businesses;

• night-time businesses are better supported by the GLA; and

• evidence based plans for exit of the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ and recovery of London at night.

Creative Londoners: diversity in the creative workforce

2.16 The objective of this investment is for the salary and related costs of the Unit’s Senior Policy Officer, Diversity, as approved in Chief Officer form CO-18 and ensure that the Unit’s response to COVID-19, and its broader work, engages with diverse Londoners and responds to their concerns and needs.

2.17 Funding of £64,000 for the role of Senior Policy Officer, Diversity, will deliver the following outputs:

• roundtables with diverse community organisations and evidence gathering to assess the impact of COVID-19; and

• a medium term programme of additional stakeholder engagement to ensure that the needs of diverse cultural organisations feed into pandemic exit and recovery planning.

2.18 The investment will deliver the following outcomes:

• enable the GLA to support diverse cultural organisations based on clear evidence of need; and

• enable the voices of diverse organisations to be heard in relation to COVID-19 impacts and represented in exit and recovery planning, ensuring they feel fully engaged and that GLA policies are representative.

Love London: Dementia-Friendly Charter

2.19 The objectives of this investment are to:

• create a network of dementia-friendly venues across culture, heritage and the arts which can support some of London’s most vulnerable older people in the context of COVID-19 recovery;

• contribute to capacity building within cultural venues to improve their offer for people with dementia and their carers;

• create more Dementia Friends and Champions across London;

• pilot and share recommendations on different practical approaches to becoming dementia-friendly; and

• help the sector advocate for more funding to support accessibility e.g. to the health sector or other funders.



2.20 GLA investment of £50,000 will deliver the following outputs:

• a new Charter delivered in collaboration with The Alzheimer’s Society and the London Arts and Culture Dementia-Friendly Network;

• guidance on how organisations can achieve the Charter;

• a programme of support for at least one cultural venue in every borough to help them work towards achieving the Charter; and

• evaluation of the above.



2.21 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• at least 30 venues signing up to the Charter in its first 18 months, delivering improvements in their offer for people with dementia and their carers;

• at least 20 Dementia Champions (people who can train other people to become Dementia Friends) supported or created and at least 60 new Dementia Friends recruited. The creation of new champions and friends will help cultural organisations improve the way they deliver services for people with dementia through increased institutional awareness of their needs; and

• a strengthened evidence base for the value of investing in accessibility.

3.1 Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor of London must have ‘due regard’ to 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’ as defined in the Equality act 2010 and those who do not.

3.2 The proposed programmes outlined in the main body of this report are to enable the continued creation of opportunities for Londoners, creating positive social and economic impact in the capital, as well as to ensure maximum support to those particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19. The programmes and projects seek to ensure that all Londoners regardless of whether they have protected characteristics or not and are able to enjoy, experience and benefit from being part of London’s cultural offering. Nevertheless, projects such as the Dementia-Friendly Charter and the Diversity programme are targeted specifically at Londoners with protected characteristics.

3.3 The Unit will ensure that all organisations who are in receipt of GLA grant funding or who are contracted by the GLA have equality policies in place at their organisations and are committed to proactively applying the principles of the Equality Act 2010, and to regularly refresh their equality and diversity policies and practices.

3.4 The activities set out in the main body of this report provide opportunities for organisations from a range of cultural and business sectors to engage with each other in order to work collaboratively and actively fosters closer working relationships.

3.5 The London Music Fund specifically provides opportunities for young people from low-income backgrounds to realise and fulfil their potential through musical education, increasing their confidence and skills, and provides them with an equal opportunity to nurture their musical talents and pursue musical aspirations.

3.6 The Dementia-Friendly Charter will support some of London’s most vulnerable people, and their carers, and share best practice to support other cultural venues.

3.7 The Cultural Infrastructure Plan and 24 Hour London work helps to protect creative and community spaces, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This can include spaces which vulnerable and marginalised communities are using, for example cultural venues such as libraries, LGBTQ+ venues and community centres. Cultural venues provide accessible opportunities for Londoners from all backgrounds to enjoy, connect, and participate with others in their communities.

3.8 The programmes and policies outlined in this decision deliver on the Mayor’s Culture Strategy. The Culture Strategy underwent an Integrated Impact Assessment (‘IIA’) during drafting, and a further review following consultation feedback. The IIA comprised an Equality Impact Assessment, Health Impact Assessment and Community Safety Impact Assessment and due regard for sustainable development in the capital. 89% of those who answered the consultation questions agreed with the IIA conclusion that the draft Culture Strategy contributes positively to every IIA objective in some way.

4.1 The programmes and policies outlined in this decision link to the following Mayoral strategies and priorities:

• A City for All Londoners, wherein culture is seen as the golden thread, key to our future success, both for integrating and strengthening communities and supporting more liveable and successful places;

• Culture for all Londoners, the Mayor's landmark strategy for culture, which outlines an ambitious vision to ensure all Londoners can engage with and contribute to the capital’s rich cultural offering on their doorsteps;

• The Mayor’s vision for Healthy Streets, which are more welcoming to people and encourage them to make active and sustainable travel choices, for example by contributing to the healthy streets’ aspiration of ‘things to see and do’;

• The Mayor’s Vision for London as 24 Hour City (diversifying London’s night-time offer and making it more safe, welcoming and accessible for a wider range of people); the Mayor’s Police And Crime Plan (Women’s Night Safety Summit); the new London Plan (strategic policies for supporting London’s night-time economy and its diverse range of arts, cultural, and entertainment enterprises and the cultural, social and economic benefits they offer to its residents, workers and visitors);

• Inclusive London, The Mayor’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, which sets out that a successful city needs to work well for all residents. Everyone should be able to share in its prosperity, culture and community life regardless of age, social class, disability, race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, or whether they are pregnant or on maternity leave; and

• The Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy which aims to improve social integration in London. This means enabling people to have more opportunities to connect with each other positively and meaningfully and supporting Londoners to play an active part in their communities and the decisions that affect them. It involves reducing barriers and inequalities, so that Londoners can relate to each other as equals.

4.2 In terms of both social and economic development, these programmes will help the GLA work with businesses and individuals to improve productivity and growth in the context of recovery from COVID-19.

Impact assessments and consultations

4.3 The GLA’s Cultural Strategy Group for London (known as the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board) is a statutory group and is comprised of leaders from across the creative and cultural industries. They shape the Mayor’s Culture Strategy and act as the voice of the industry.

4.4 During 2018-19, the Mayor’s Culture Strategy was subject to a 12-week consultation with stakeholders and the public. The Unit delivered events and roadshows to consult with a wide range of community organisations, agencies and groups about key issues raised in the draft strategy and plans to address them. Nearly 100 organisations provided written feedback. In addition, a public consultation programme was delivered via Talk London which elicited over 1600 responses on the priorities of the strategy.

4.5 The Culture Strategy also underwent an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) during the initial drafting, and a further review following consultation feedback. The IIA comprised an Equality Impact Assessment, Health Impact Assessment and Community Safety Impact Assessment and due regard for sustainable development in the capital. Independent analysis found that one policy had a neutral impact while all others had a positive impact. Following consultation feedback and revisions to the policies, the status of all areas is positive. Some of the key positive findings from the strategy consultation included that:

• arts and culture have a positive influence on health and wellbeing. This link should be promoted and better facilitated; and

• participation in culture supports social cohesion, inclusion and sense of identity, and creates vibrant places and communities.

Risks

4.6 Risks and issues related to this decision are set out below:

5.1 Approval is being sought for expenditure of up to £451,750 upon workstreams for the 2020-21 financial-year as detailed above.

5.2 £328,000 of this expenditure will be funded from the GLA’s Culture and Creative Industries budget as approved as part of the Authority’s 2020-21 budget setting process. The balance of £123,750 will be funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, specifically for the World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme. A summary of expenditure is detailed below:

5.3 In addition to the proposed expenditure noted above, the GLA will be receiving grant income of £350,000 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop the Thames Estuary Production Corridor. GLA officers will work in partnership with the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners Board to develop an action plan to utilise these funds in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once fully scoped out, approval of the detailed expenditure plans will be delegated to the Executive Director of Good Growth (for which approval is also being sought via this Mayoral decision).

6.1 Paragraphs 1 to 2 of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conductive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment 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:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;

• 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

• consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2 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 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.

6.3 Any services required must be procured by Transport for London Commercial who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in line 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.

6.4 Officers must ensure any grant funding being provided to third parties as set out in Section 2 are distributed fairly, transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equalities and in a manner which affords value for money and in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code. Officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place and executed by the GLA and the recipient before any commitment to fund is made.

6.5 Officers must ensure that a funding agreement is put in place and executed by the GLA and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop the Thames Estuary Production Corridor before any reliance is placed on the grant funding.

6.6 Officers must ensure that the sponsorship from Bloomberg Philanthropies to deliver the World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme is sought in accordance with the sponsorship policy and an appropriate sponsorship agreement is put in between and executed by the GLA and Bloomberg Philanthropies before any reliance is placed on the sponsorship income and/benefits in kind.

6.7 Officers must ensure that they comply fully with all applicable GLA HR/Head of Paid Service protocols in respect of any staffing proposals, in particular the need to gain all necessary approvals for the creation of new posts.