MD2668 Culture and Creative Industries Unit 2020-21

1.1 London was one of the areas of the UK earliest and hardest hit by COVID-19, with culture, creative industries and the night-time economy dramatically impacted. All public events have been cancelled or postponed, venues have been closed by lockdown, and income generated by these sectors has collapsed. This has led to unprecedented instability in employment prospects, particularly among young people. London’s creative sector previously generated £58 billion a year and accounted for one in six jobs in the capital. It grew five time faster than the economy at large in 2019.

1.2 The impact of the pandemic has been disproportionately severe on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) members of London’s community, highlighting unacceptable social inequalities. Furthermore, the global Black Lives Matter campaign has reinforced that inequality based on social prejudice exists, is indefensible and must be actively dismantled. The Mayor is committed to ensuring that more Londoners, particularly those from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds, can access the positive benefits that taking part in arts and culture brings; goals that are even more urgent in the context of London’s recovery from COVID-19.

1.3 The Mayor’s Culture Strategy, Culture for all Londoners, recognises that culture is central to London’s success and the welfare of Londoners. 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. The priorities of the strategy 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.

1.4 In early March 2020, proposals for expenditure of the Culture and Creative Industries Unit (‘Unit’) 2020-21 budgets were paused due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in London. The Unit worked with the GLA’s Economic Development team and other teams across the GLA to understand key impacts on Londoners, the sector and its workforce. A review of programmes and expenditure was undertaken in order to prioritise essential activity that would help protect the sector during the immediate crisis. This revised programme has now been put place, as authorised by decision MD2632.

1.5 The economic and social recovery of the capital during transition out of lockdown and beyond is dependent on investment in sustainable programmes that address the economic and social challenges caused by the pandemic. This decision seeks approval to progress forward-looking programmes that had been developed but were not included in MD2632. These programmes were deemed to be recovery priorities in the GLA’s recent 2020-21 budget reprioritisation exercise. A Diversity in the Creative Workforce programme will boost employment opportunities in culture and the creative industries for BAME members of the community, and the Thames Estuary Production Corridor programme will contribute to longer-term regeneration, giving rise to new jobs and revitalised prospects in disadvantaged east London locations. The World Cities Culture Forum and ACCESS programmes will enable London to remain engaged internationally, promoting global links and helping to retain its status as a world-leading capital for culture and creativity.



1.6 This decision seeks approval for receipt and spending of grant and sponsorship income of €57,755 (£52,000) towards projects for 2020-22:

1.7 This decision seeks approval for expenditure of £160,000 of GLA revenue budget for 2020-21:

1.8 This decision also seeks approval to spend £350,000 which was received in grant funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

Culture and Good Growth: Thames Estuary Production Corridor

1.9 Approval is sought to spend £350,000, which has been received as grant funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). This funding will enable the Culture Unit to work with externally procured consultants and the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners to commission and support feasibility research, developing the programme and strengthening the recovery of the creative economy post-COVID-19. Further detail of activity is in paragraph 1.19.

1.10 Receipt of this funding was approved under decision MD2632 with the remit 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 COVID-19 on the creative production sector in the Estuary and identify ambitious opportunities for good growth through cultural infrastructure and skills. The Thames Estuary region includes some of the most deprived areas of East London. As the city and the region recover from COVID-19, this investment will support vital economic development planning.

1. 11 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 and the South East Creative Economy Network (SECEN). At the GLA, it is jointly supported and delivered by the GLA’s Culture, Regeneration and Planning teams.

1.12 The programme is building 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 Thames Estuary Production Corridor programme supports the Culture Strategy priority, ‘Culture and Good Growth: Supporting, saving and sustaining cultural places and spaces’, recognising the importance of safeguarding existing workspaces and providing new spaces to enable the creative workforce to thrive and innovate. It also helps deliver the Mayor’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan by supporting cultural and creative production infrastructure.

1.13 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, Kent and Essex County Councils, and eleven local authority areas represented by Thames Gateway Kent Partnership and Opportunity South Essex.

1.14 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 £35 million for the economy each year.

1.15 The Culture Strategy recognises the importance of safeguarding existing workspaces and providing new spaces to enable the creative workforce to thrive and innovate. In March 2018, under cover of MD2129 and DD2189, the GLA and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, in partnership with the Royal Docks Team and the London boroughs of Bexley and Lewisham, commissioned a case for an investment report. This research, undertaken before COVID-19, showed that investment in the Thames Estuary’s creative industries could deliver over 50,000 new jobs and generate an extra £3.7 billion gross value added to the UK economy. With more than 16,000 businesses supporting over 46,000 jobs and significant headroom for growth, the sector has expanded rapidly in recent years. Over £200 million investment has already been delivered in large-scale production facilities in the estuary, notably through the Mayor’s Good Growth Fund and Creative Enterprise Zones programmes in London.

1.16 Following a consultation with over 200 local and external partners and stakeholders as part of the research, the GLA and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership published the summary report ‘From Vision to Action’ (2019) and the full ‘Case for Investment’ report (2020), providing the strategy for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor to achieve its potential. The report 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

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

1.17 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. Following the Government’s response to the Thames Estuary Growth Commission in March 2019, a Thames Estuary Growth Board was established to oversee and drive economic growth plans in the area.

1.18 In July 2020, the Thames Estuary Growth Board announced its support of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor in its first action plan, ‘The Green Blue’.

1.19 The Thames Estuary Production Corridor will contribute to longer-term growth through forward-thinking investment in culture and the creative industries, helping create thousands of jobs in a time of need, building world-class cultural infrastructure and developing local skills opportunities that will be crucial to delivering sustainable and equitable growth.

1.20 Working in partnership with the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners Board, the budget will be managed by the GLA and used to support and strengthen the recovery of the creative economy post COVID-19. It will enable the Unit to work with externally procured consultants and the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Partners and be used to:

• commission and support feasibility research to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the creative production sector in the Estuary, identifying space requirements for creative production sectors and innovative opportunities for clustering and co-location between creative businesses and other sectors;

• collate data on creative production sector needs and sub-sector supply chain analysis, with wider application relevant across the UK to identify high growth sub-sectors and support the resilience of the whole sector after COVID-19;

• produce between one and three local culture and creative industries masterplans, viability and feasibility studies for flagship projects in the South East;

• identify new sites for cultural and creative production to develop a projects pipeline across high streets, industrial locations and regeneration and growth areas, producing a detailed map of the potential supply of suitable sites across the Thames Estuary;

• manage the procurement of research-focussed commissions, including those highlighted above;

• coordinate existing branding initiatives, including the Creative Estuary branding, and linking this to the overall Thames Estuary Strategic Communications Campaign;

• facilitate embedding creative production in developments coherently across the Estuary; and

• appoint additional fixed term staffing and/or consultants to deliver the programme until March 2022. Any new GLA posts will be approved via the Chief Officer and Establishment Control Meeting.

1.21 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.

Creative Londoners: diversity in the creative workforce

1.22 Approval is sought for the expenditure of £120,000 to develop pilot projects which will help to improve diversity in London’s creative workforce.

1.23 The Culture Strategy outlines the ambition for London to be a city in which all Londoners can make the most of their abilities. Improving diversity in the creative workforce was already a central goal of the Strategy, with urgency increasing in the context of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and structural racism on BAME Londoners. The programme of work set out in the Culture Strategy aims to ensure that Londoners from every background can pursue a career in the creative industries, 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 finding employment.



1.24 A pilot project has been developed with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) and Film London, to support unemployed Londoners, especially those from a BAME background, which will also include freelancers. It will test the effectiveness of creating new employment pathways between Jobcentres in the Government’s Ethnic Minority Employment Challenge Areas of London and creative employers. These geographic areas also map against current Creative Enterprise Zones and London Boroughs of Culture, alongside areas of low cultural participation. The pilot aims to work with the screen sectors first, with the potential to scale with employers from other creative sectors. The pilot will also explore other ways of engaging unemployed Londoners, for example online training, mentoring or employee matchmaking with employers. Finally, the project will work with employers themselves and will explore ways to improve working conditions for freelancers.



1.25 The Unit will also pilot a diversity leadership accelerator programme, aimed at chief executive officers across cultural and creative industries. Each CEO will ‘accelerate’ one aspect of workforce diversity in their organisation over a 12-month intensive period, supported by a programme of training and learning. The accelerator pilot project will demonstrate to employers, across the culture and creative industries sector, how to diversify their workforce by sharing what is learnt from it. This programme will test effective ways of removing barriers and addressing the needs of institutions in light of COVID-19 and in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. These institutions can empower and encourage other employers to start making a change within organisations.

1.26 The two programmes will pilot different approaches to ensuring workforce diversity, with the accelerator focusing on the crucial organisational leadership needed to make a step change.

1.27 The GLA funding will be used to procure, in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code, programme design and delivery, research costs, training and events in order to deliver the above activities.

World City: World Cities Culture Forum

1.28 Approval is sought for expenditure of £40,000 to progress the work of the World Cities Culture Forum, building the evidence needed to make the most of culture’s social and economic impact in global cities.

1.29 The World Cities Culture Forum (the Forum) is a global network, currently formed of 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 and a key driver to building a city’s quality of life, reputation and economic prosperity.

1.30 Since the start of March, the Forum has been convening regular meetings with its members to share learnings around COVID-19 responses and how to support culture and creative industries. As a global network, the Forum has been able to share perspectives from cities at different stages of COVID-19 response. This has benefitted Londoners as we have been able to share these learnings across several other forums including with London Boroughs, at industry roundtables and with London’s Transition and Recovery Boards.

1.31 The Forum’s goal is to achieve impact through knowledge-sharing. The Forum has benefited Londoners by uncovering policy ideas which have since been implemented for London. For example, in February 2019, the Mayor launched the new Creative Land Trust, an independent trust which will help to address a steep projected decline in affordable studio space in London, projected at 24% loss by 2023 without intervention (figures prior to COVID-19). Its business model was informed by that of CAST (the Community Arts Stabilization Trust) in San Francisco. San Francisco is a member of the Forum and it was through this network that the idea for the Creative Land Trust was formed.

1.32 The Forum holds an annual summit which is hosted and funded on a rotating basis by member cities. Each year, a gathering of deputy mayors and cultural officials comes together to share ideas and knowledge about culture’s role in public policy in a world city context. The summit is a chance to share successes, learn, and build the evidence needed to make the most of culture’s social and economic impact. London has hosted the summit twice (2012 and 2015).

1.33 In March 2021, Milan will be the host city for the summit; a postponement from October 2020 due to COVID-19. The summit will focus on 'Resiliency of Culture’ in World Cities, looking at the role of and opportunities for city governments to support the future creative workforce, new partnership models, improve environmental sustainability within culture, and build equal access to cultural participation. It will include in-depth panels and breakout sessions so that cities can learn collaboratively and help break down the challenges. Contingency plans are being developed to deliver the summit should it not be possible to host it physically.

1.34 In 2020-21, the Forum will continue to deliver policy research strands on cultural infrastructure in major cities, culture and climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. The Forum will also deliver an online event in October 2020, bringing together cultural leaders from across the network to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on culture, share innovations and reflect on what has been learnt, over the course of one day. A Mayoral panel is proposed as part of this event, providing the opportunity for the Mayor to show London’s leadership and continue to build international relationships in the context of both COVID-19 and Brexit.

1.35 In 2020-21, the Forum will also review options for future governance of the Forum going forward, to ensure a sustainable and viable future.

1.36 The GLA budget covers a concessionary agreement with BOP Consulting (external consultants) who manage and administer the Forum on behalf of the GLA. The expenditure and entry into the concessionary agreement was previously approved by ADD2294 and covers the period until March 2021. BOP is responsible for managing and developing the programme and its associated policy research strands, collecting membership fees and sponsorship to support programme strands.

1.37 The GLA budget will also cover research costs, deliver expert advice regarding governance models in relation to future delivery of the Forum and attendance at events and costs to deliver the above activities.

World City: ACCESS – an action learning network

1.38 Approval is sought to take receipt of and spend up to €57,755 (£52,000) in grant funding from EU URBACT III as a participant in the ACCESS project. Of this figure, it is estimated that €20,000 will be drawn down in 2020-21 and €37,755 in 2021-22. This equates to 70% of London’s total programme budget for the project, with the GLA contributing the remaining 30% through staff in-kind costs.

1.39 Supported by research funding from the EU URBACT III programme, a new cultural network of eight European capital cities has been established, called ’ACCESS’. The cities are London, Amsterdam,

Lisbon, Dublin, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn and Vilnius. Together they are working to improve cultural equity and access to culture in their cities through action planning and learning from each other’s work. London’s participation is being led by the GLA’s Culture and Creative Industries Unit with the Communities and Social Policy Unit. Amsterdam City Council is the lead partner for the ACCESS network and will be responsible for receipt of the full funding from the EU and distributing funding onward to members of the network.

1.40 Each city in ACCESS, including London, is forming a ‘local action group’. In London this will comprise GLA and non-GLA individuals and organisations, including community representation. The focus of London’s activity will be increasing the involvement of communities in designing and delivering new culture policy and projects. This will support the Unit to help deliver London’s recovery goals for community co-creation of policy.

1.41 The action group will also help to improve understanding of the social impact of culture through delivery of small-scale action projects which test new ways of working. Two specific programmes will be used as test cases. The current expectation is for one to be London Borough of Culture, working with title award holders Lewisham and Croydon, and the other to be a programme in a new policy area emerging through recovery planning. The funding supports the delivery of up to two small scale action projects, co-ordination of quarterly local action group meetings and 5 transnational meetings of participating cities.

1.42 Recent guidance from both central Government and URBACT central office confirmed that London’s participation will not be affected by Brexit. The UK left the European Union (EU) on 31January 2020 with negotiations about the UK’s future relationship with the EU ongoing. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK continues to participate in programmes funded under the current 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework until their closure. The GLA has received guarantees that the programme will continue to be funded after the transition period.

Culture and Good Growth: Thames Estuary Production Corridor

2.1 The objectives of this investment are to protect and grow cultural infrastructure in London and the South East, particularly in the context of the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, by supporting local authorities, developers and cultural organisations with the data, economic development planning, guidance and spatial strategy they need.

2.2 GLA investment of £350,000, received in grant funding from MHCLG, will deliver the following outputs:

• stakeholder engagement to ensure the needs of creative production businesses in the supply chain feed into COVID-19 exit and recovery planning;

• commissioned research and data reports to gather intelligence and evidence to support the recovery of the South East’s creative production sector with a strategic and needs-based action plan;

• one to three local culture and creative industries masterplans, viability and feasibility studies for flagship projects in the South East; and

• a detailed map of the potential supply of suitable pipeline sites across the Thames Estuary.



2.3 This will achieve the following outcomes:

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

• deliver on the potential of the corridor to be the UK’s largest concentration of creative production, supporting the resilience of the sector as it recovers from COVID-19;

• enable the GLA to support the creative economy based on clear evidence of need;

• increased awareness of the Mayor’s work in supporting the creative economy after COVID-19 in East London and the South East; and

• greater awareness amongst boroughs and developers of where London’s cultural infrastructure is located and how it has been affected by COVID-19. 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.

Creative Londoners: diversity in the creative workforce

2.4 The objectives of this investment are to:

• ensure that Mayoral policy and action in this area is supported by robust evidence built through piloting and testing activity, ensuring that inequality and diversity are prioritised in light of both COVID-19 and the issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement;

• identify, pilot and test specific policy and programme interventions which the Mayor can make in partnership with relevant stakeholders;

• establish programmes of work that will have the greatest impact in helping London’s creative workforce become more diverse; and

• identify new links across wider GLA policy on workforce diversity, joining up initiatives where relevant.

2.5 GLA investment of £120,000 will deliver the following outputs:

• a pilot leadership accelerator programme for up to ten Chief Executives in the culture sector and the creative industries to improve diversity in their organisations;

• a pilot project with Jobcentres, BECTU and Film London to support unemployed Londoners, especially BAME Londoners, helping with access to roles within culture and the creative industries; and

• further outputs, to be established using the results of the pilot programmes. This may include further pilot activity, research, stakeholder engagement and training events, or materials to support cultural organisations.

2.6 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• increased number of employers in the industry taking active steps to recruit a more diverse pool of employees and talent;

• increased awareness of culture and creative industries as a career opportunity, particularly from individuals from BAME backgrounds; and

• increased diversity in the workforce, particularly in relation to BAME employment, evidenced amongst test policy interventions.

World City: World Cities Culture Forum

2.7 The objectives of this investment are to:

• help London maintain its global position at the top of global city leader boards (for example, number one in the 2019 Global Cities Index) as a leading city of culture, and continue its leadership of an international network;

• benefit Londoners by learning from other cities about best practice and response to COVID-19 and embedding these findings into GLA work; and

• support the future sustainability of the World Cities Culture Forum.



2.8 GLA investment of £40,000 will support the delivery of the following outputs:

• COVID-19 response webinars, with member cities presenting specific challenges and approaches to support culture and creative industries in recovery;

• an October online ‘Global Conversation’ event, hosted by Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, with a proposed Mayoral panel discussion about the impact of COVID-19 on culture and world cities;

• a summit in Milan in March 2021, with over 25 cities taking part, resulting in shared best practice and tangible examples to inform London’s cultural policy;

• webinars for member cities on how to preserve and support creative spaces in world cities, which will support and inform the work of the GLA Culture and Creative Industries Unit, and discussions on how to embed climate action and diversity and inclusion in cultural policy;

• a governance transition plan for the World Cities Culture Forum, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Forum;

• a new on-line platform for cities to share policies and programme updates, helping London understand its global position and promote its leadership role; and

• additional external funding, which may include grants or sponsorship, paid directly to the GLA for projects to be delivered on behalf of World Cities Culture Forum. Additional approval will be sought for any future external funding.

2.9 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• support for the Mayor’s London is Open campaign by promoting London’s reputation globally as an international leader and collaborator, helping to keep London at the top of global city leader boards at a key time for international relations;

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

• better informed policy making at the GLA across policy teams, particularly in light of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter, including International and Communities and Social Policy teams, developed through accessing learnings and evidence from international case studies; and

• a more sustainable long-term future for the Forum.

World City: ACCESS – an action learning network

2.10 The objectives of this investment are to:

• collaborate with other European cities to find new policy solutions for Londoners; and

• improve cultural equity and access to culture through action planning and learning from each other’s work.

2.11 External funding of up to €57,755 from the EU will:

• establish a local action group for the duration of the project to inform and develop GLA and city-wide understanding of the social impact on culture;

• deliver a series of learning workshops with stakeholders from two Love London policy areas within the Culture Strategy;

• explore the creation of a social impact methodology/framework to help understand the longitudinal impact of Culture and Creative Industries Unit funding;

• create an action plan for the development of new policy and programmes for the Unit through co-design with Londoners;

• develop two simple ‘how to’ toolkits for co-design of policy-making and measuring social impact, to be shared with other cultural strategy makers and the cultural sector; and

• attend virtually or in person, five transnational meetings with seven other European cities in the network.

2.12 This will achieve the following outcomes:

• a new methodology for engaging Londoners in the development and design of culture programmes and strategy; and

• input into a new framework for measuring social impact for the Unit’s programmes.

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 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. The programmes and projects seek to ensure that all Londoners regardless of whether they have protected characteristics or not and are able to enjoy and experience London’s cultural offering.

3.3 The Culture and Creative Industries 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 refreshing 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 foster closer working between a diverse range of both organisations and individuals.

3.5 The Diversity in the Creative Workforce programme in particular seeks to address social imbalance by ensuring more opportunities for BAME community members to gain access to employment in the cultural and creative industry sectors.

3.6 The World Cities Culture Forum and ACCESS action learning network both include discussions on access to culture for all citizens and will share examples of good practice. Through the ACCESS network, an integrated action plan will be developed with a focus on increasing the involvement of communities in designing and delivering new culture policy and projects.



3.7 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. 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.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

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 their 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, the programmes will help the GLA work with businesses and individuals to improve productivity and growth, particularly in the context of COVID-19 recovery. The aim is that all Londoners progress and reach their full potential and that London’s businesses can access the skills they need to succeed.

Impact assessments and consultations

4.3 The GLA and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, in partnership with the Royal Docks Team and the London boroughs of Bexley and Lewisham, commissioned the Thames Estuary Production Corridor Case for Investment (published July 2020). This report identifies the Thames Estuary Production Corridor as a priority project to strengthen the culture and creative industries sector (see paragraphs 1.14-1.17) and included consultation with more than 200 local and external partners and stakeholders.

4.4 The Cultural Strategy Group for London (known as the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board) comprises leaders from across the creative and cultural industries appointed by the Mayor to develop strategic policy with regard to culture, media, sport, arts, heritage and tourism. The group shapes the Mayor’s Culture Strategy (referenced at 1.15 and 1.23) and acts as the voice of the industry.

4.5 During 2018-19 the Mayor’s Culture Strategy was subject to a 12-week consultation with stakeholders and the public. The Culture and Creative Industries Unit delivered events and roadshows to consult 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.

4.6 The Culture Strategy also underwent an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) during 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

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

5.1 Approval is being sought for expenditure of up to £510,000 upon workstreams for the 2020-21 financial year as detailed above.

5.2 £160,000 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 and £350,000 from the receipt of Thames Estuary Production Corridor grant, which the GLA has received in full.

5.3 In addition to the proposed expenditure noted above, the GLA will be receiving and subsequently spending grant and sponsorship income of €57,755 (£52,000) from EU URBACT III towards projects for 2020-22.

6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the GLA’s exercise of its general powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation in 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:

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

6.1.2 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

6.1.3 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 and foster good relations 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 (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 Section 1 of this report indicates that the GLA intends to procure services. Section 9 of the GLA Contracts & Funding Code requires the GLA to engage with TfL Procurement, develop a procurement strategy with TfL Commercial (if valued over £100,000) and seek a call-off from a suitable framework where possible or, if not, undertake a formal tender process to procure such services in relation to all contracts for services with a value above £150,000 before the commencement of the services.