MD3306 - Culture, Creative Industries and 24-Hour London 2024-25 Programme Delivery

1.1.    London contributes more than half the UK’s entire creative industries economic output. The capital’s creative industries add £52bn to the economy each year, accounting for one in five jobs in the capital – a rise of 200,000 jobs over the last five years. Culture also has a hugely important social role, supporting the health and wellbeing of Londoners. 
1.2.    Nonetheless, London’s cultural economy needs support. Culture and hospitality have been extremely hard hit in recent years. The cost-of-doing-business crisis has worsened an already difficult situation and exacerbated the impacts of widespread staff shortages, rising rents and reduced footfall. 
1.3.    The Culture, Creative Industries and 24-Hour London Unit delivers the Mayor’s statutory Culture Strategy, and the Mayor’s Vision for London as a 24-hour city. Its objectives are to:
•    continue delivery of a specialist night-time strategy support programme for boroughs, including workshops; masterclasses; and sharing of knowledge and best practice
•    increase diverse participation in London’s cultural offering
•    save and sustain critical cultural infrastructure
•    diversify the creative workforce, and support London’s talent pipeline and young people 
•    support and grow the capital’s creative economy 
•    improve the health and wellbeing of Londoners through cultural engagement 
•    make London safer and fairer at night 
•    support the 24-hour economy
•    sustain London’s position as a world-leading cultural and economic capital. 
1.4.    Initial expenditure of £561,000 for 2024-25 was previously approved under MD3229 and DD2711. These approvals covered urgent and contractually required work until the third quarter of 2024-25. This MD seeks approval for an additional £543,560 from the Culture, Creative Industries, and 24-Hour London Unit revenue budget. This amount will fund ongoing expenses for the same programmes in 2024-25 and ensure the completion of contractually required and urgent work in the third and fourth quarters of 2024-25.
1.5.    Approval is also requested for the receipt and expenditure of:
•    £29,666 grant funding from Arts Council England and London Councils for borough-engagement activity as part of the London Culture Forum programme
•    $92,544 (£70,777) grant funding from the US Embassy for the delivery of learning activities as part of the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery.

24-Hour London
2.1.    The needs of London’s night-time workers, businesses and communities are often overlooked by policymakers. Contemporary perceptions of what Londoners do and how the economy functions at night do not reflect an accurate analysis of patterns and trends within the capital’s nightlife. Further research and data are required to inform and plan for the benefits of a 24-hour city. There is a valuable opportunity to reimagine how the city's nightlife can benefit everyone who lives in, works in, or visits London.

2.2.    Approval of: the delivery of borough night-time strategies guidance and support; grant funding to University College London’s (UCL’s) research to understand these night workers and their challenges and the establishment of the Nightlife Taskforce was granted under MD3115, MD3229 and DD2711. 
2.3.    The full investment of £58,660 into the 24-Hour London programme will enable:
•    the continued delivery of a specialist night-time strategy support programme by Publica Ltd for boroughs, including workshops; masterclasses; and sharing of knowledge and best practice. This is to ensure strategies are completed, published and implemented by March 2025 (the GLA’s contract with Publica Ltd was procured competitively and makes express provision for the supply of the services in respect of which approval for the above expenditure is sought)
•    the completion of the University College London’s (UCL’s) research and final report by the end of 2024
•    honoraria to be paid and expenses to be reimbursed for the Taskforce members and an enhanced honoraria to be paid to the chair to recognise their additional time commitment and responsibilities.
2.4.    The investment will deliver the following outcomes:
•    improved understanding of night work across the capital, enabling better policy and decision making to address the challenges night workers face
•    boroughs and their partners can access the latest 24-hour city thinking from around the world; this ensures London remains a leading global city that supports wellbeing and investment
•    greater engagement with London’s nightlife communities, businesses, GLA family organisations, boroughs and researchers that will support a strong and resilient nightlife offer.
London Culture Forum and borough engagement programme
2.5.    Local authorities are among the biggest funders of culture and the arts in the capital – even with the significant cuts that have been made since the pandemic. This strategic network is critical in enabling our successful convening and front-facing role with local authorities. As active advocates of the Mayor’s Culture Strategy, we have been able to connect our goals at a local level. Driven by the team, this forum was the engine behind the high number of boroughs applying to the London Borough of Culture competition, which was approved under the cover of MD3113.
2.6.    The London Culture Forum was established in 2013, by a group of local authority culture officers, supported by the GLA, London Councils and Arts Council England, to:
•    develop and promote local government arts and cultural provision across the capital
•    share information and good practice
•    identify areas for collaboration
•    support advocacy work for local arts and culture services
•    embed a clear role for arts and culture in the wider council agenda. 
2.7.    The London Culture Forum was previously administered by London Councils. Its advisory board comprises borough culture officers setting the agendas for full London Culture Forum meetings and overseeing the work programme. In 2023, London Councils announced that it no longer had the capacity to provide administrative support. Given the GLA’s strong relationships with local authority culture officers and the complementary work strands, the team have agreed to run the London Culture Forum and review its management in 2026.
2.8.    To aid this transition, London Councils was awarded grant funding of £20,000 from Arts Council England. London Councils and Arts Council England has agreed to transfer the grant to the GLA, alongside an additional operational budget of £9,666 (£2,000 of which has been allocated as match funding), to oversee/lead the programme.
2.9.    The full budget of £29,966 will be transferred to the London Borough of Culture budget to deliver the following outputs from April 2024 to March 2026: 
•    up to eight borough-engagement events (four per year) 
•    strategic oversight and facilitation 
•    coordination of steering group (four meetings per year) 
•    budget management and reporting back to Arts Council England, via London Councils
•    maintain regular meetings with the Culture, Creative Industries and 24-Hour London Unit, and specifically on initiatives related to London Borough of Culture, Creative Enterprise Zones and Creative Health.
Dementia Friendly Venues Charter – accreditation
2.10.    The Dementia Friendly Venue Charter programme is rolling and affects an existing pipeline of 170 organisations awaiting accreditation. The Policy and Projects Officer responsible for this programme requires a secondment extension from 1 January – 31 March 2025 to ensure the continuation of this accreditation programme. 
2.11.    The GLA’s investment of £25,400 will deliver the following objectives: 
•    support accreditation and networking for venues pursuing Dementia Friendly Venues accreditation, 170 organisations currently in the pipeline 
•    co-convene an Arts Council England funded Creative Health Strategic Network for metropolitan mayors, a community of practice for cultural strategy development.
2.12.    This investment will achieve the following outputs:
•    continue to deliver the accreditation of venues in the pipeline as part of the Mayor’s Dementia Friendly Venues Charter
•    deliver the work plan relating to the recommendations made in the Mayor’s Understanding Creative Health in London report
•    two roundtables supporting health inequalities and access to creative health for all Londoners; and continued development of Dementia Friendly Venues network
•    two network meetings and two working group meetings for the newly established national Creative Health Strategic Network for culture and health inequalities leads within mayoral led authorities.  The network is funded by Arts Council England for two years and co-convened by the GLA’s Culture, Creative Industries and 24 Hour London Unit, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and NHS Integrated Care.
Space for Culture
2.13.    Space for Culture workstreams include enabling strategic cultural space projects that support creative-sector growth and sustainability. These projects include the Mayor’s support for Creative Enterprise Zones (approved under cover of MD2196, MD2807 and MD3039), a new International Centre for Creative Industries (ICCI) (approved under cover of MD3115); ReStage (a new theatre set and prop reuse/recycling centre); film and TV production studios; and new creative and cultural production projects through the Thames Estuary Production Corridor. The Space for Culture team also supports the successful delivery of East Bank in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and the new London Museum.
2.14.    Space for Culture includes the delivery of emblematic projects seeking to increase representation of diverse culture and heritage in London’s public realm. Expenditure and programme activities for this work has already been approved under MD2814. 
2.15.    Funding has been offered from the US Embassy to support the delivery of the learning and engagement programme for the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery. The funding of $92,544 will be used to:
•    convene a peer network of educators and practitioners
•    commission learning resources
•    contribute to the cost of securing additional resources to enable the delivery of the learning programme, such as the procurement of consultants or recruitment of temporary staff.

2.16.    Collectively, London’s dynamic range of cultural and community-led spaces give the city its character and authenticity as a global creative capital. Space for Culture programmes create, protect and sustain cultural and community spaces; and ensure appropriate conditions for artists and creatives to put down roots and thrive in London. 
2.17.    The objectives of this investment in the Space for Culture programme are to:
•    innovate approaches to Good Growth, ensuring community-serving spaces contribute to social integration and are part of the cultural ecosystem
•    support communities in understanding and influencing the management and ownership of cultural spaces
•    increase sustainable cultural infrastructure in key areas, working with the planning system
•    ensure new cultural premises have strategic significance and support diverse communities
•    pilot policy and programme interventions with stakeholders, including zero-carbon and circular-economy practices
•    convene stakeholders to secure investment in spaces for London’s creative industries, in collaboration with the City of London Corporation.
2.18.    GLA investment of £482,777 revenue will achieve the following outputs:
•    new sustainable cultural and creative workspaces including:
-    3,000sqm creative industries workspace and event space at Smithfield (final payment approved under MD3115)
-    ongoing delivery of nine sustainability capital projects (approved under MD3039) and launch of Creative Enterprise Zones Capital Fund round 2. Over 70,000sqm of affordable workspace through the Mayor’s Creative Enterprise Zones programme
-    feasibility studies and partnerships for strategic cultural space projects, including ICCI and ReStage
•    support for cultural and community spaces at risk:
-    legal support, property valuations, landlord negotiations, business planning, and referrals
-    training and capacity building for local partners, cultural organisations, and creative workers
-    Space Register grants and support for two to four cultural organisations securing new spaces
-    Creative Enterprise Zones Exchange Forum events and needs assessments for legacy planning
-    updated online tools and guidance for at-risk cultural and community organisations.
•    business development support for creative entrepreneurs:
-    London Made Me Retail Training and Pop-Up Shop Programme 2024
-    fashion residency programme at Studio Smithfield with free studio space, mentoring, and business support.
•    resources and research:
-    on the value, creation and protection of culture or community spaces, aimed at regional and local policy, planning, culture and regeneration professionals and communities in the next London Plan and Cultural Infrastructure Map
-    networking and advocacy opportunities to influence policy and funding decisions, with a web-based resource bank.
2.19.    This will achieve the following outcomes: 
•    ensure cultural spaces meet the needs of all Londoners and are integrated into development
•    support cultural spaces and the creative sector to become more climate resilient and reduce carbon impact
•    use local approaches to creative economy growth to benefit all Londoners
•    enable artists and creative workers to establish roots and thrive
•    strengthen the identity, cultural heritage, social cohesion, and resilience of diverse neighbourhoods
•    equip communities and organisations with the skills to advocate for, develop, and sustain cultural or community spaces.
2.20.    The expenditure for Space for Culture programme delivery is shown in the table below.

Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board and Culture Strategy
2.21.    The Mayor is required by law to create a culture strategy and appoint the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board (MCLB) to advise on its development and implementation. The Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board supports the Mayor and the Culture, Creative Industries, and 24-Hour London Unit by providing evidence-based advice and helping to set priorities.
2.22.    This investment of £47,500 will deliver the following objectives: 
•    ensure that the Mayor’s statutory duties are met, including keeping the Culture Strategy under review, with the support of the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board
•    ensure policy and strategy are underpinned by up-to-date research and advice on sectors, issues or challenges
•    maximise opportunities, such as collaborative or partnership working, that benefit culture, 24-hour London and the creative industries, informing policy, programme development and advocacy. 
2.23.    The investment will deliver the following outputs: 
•    support the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board with meetings, events, and initiatives, including allowances for freelance or unwaged members (approved under MD2946 and funded in 2024-25)
•    implement an advocacy engagement programme to enable members to champion the Mayor’s Culture Strategy at industry events
•    conduct research on the needs of London’s culture and creative industries, and 24-hour London, focusing on how London’s growth can benefit the UK. This includes publishing and disseminating research and policy work.
2.24.    The investment will deliver the following outcomes: 
•    develop cultural strategy and policy based on current research and evidence
•    communicate new research and policy to stakeholders, including the cultural sector, boroughs, and national government
•    expand the network of advocates for culture, 24-hour London, and the creative industries, and share the Mayor’s Culture Strategy and funded programmes
•    identify opportunities for policy and programme interventions in partnership with local authorities, funders, and industry associations to benefit businesses and the workforce.
2.25.    The expenditure for Mayor’s Culture Strategy is shown in the table below.

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; and 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 this decision form will enable the continued creation of opportunities for Londoners, providing social and economic benefits in the capital. The programmes and projects seek to ensure that all Londoners – regardless of whether or not they have a protected characteristic – can enjoy, experience and benefit from being creative and taking part in London’s cultural offering. 
3.3.    The 24-Hour London programme addresses inequalities in night-time work and business, ensuring underrepresented communities have a voice. This includes ethnically diverse groups, younger and older people, LGBTQ+ and sex-positive communities, disabled individuals, and those from less privileged backgrounds. Their insights will inform plans and policies to improve access to London’s nightlife.
3.4.    Space for Culture programmes aim to ensure that cultural or community space is created, protected and sustained in a way that reflects the identities, and meets the diverse needs, of all Londoners; and fosters cohesion. 40 per cent of businesses supported through the Creative Enterprise Zones programme will be diverse-led. In 2024-25, 80 per cent of in-depth casework support is focused on spaces led by women, Black, ethnic minority, deaf and disabled, or LGBTQ+ Londoners.
 

4.1.    In addition to supporting the Mayor’s missions and foundations, the programmes and policies outlined in this decision link to the following Mayoral strategies: 
•    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.
•    A Vision for London as a 24-Hour City, the Mayor’s strategy for nightlife in London. 
•    Inclusive London, the Mayor’s EDI 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, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, or whether they are pregnant or on maternity leave. 
•    The Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy and Health in All Policies approach, which support Londoners to feel comfortable talking about mental health; reduce stigma; and empower people to improve the health and wellbeing of themselves and their community. 
•    The Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy, which aims to improve social integration in London. This means giving people 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. 
•    The London Plan, which contains 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, evidence for which is provided by research outlined in this Decision. 
•    The Cultural Infrastructure Plan, which sets out how London can support and grow cultural spaces in London for generations to come.
Risks
4.2.    The risks and mitigations are detailed in the table below:

Subsidy control
4.3.    In MD3229, officers set out why they did not consider that the original grant funding proposed to UCL constituted a subsidy for the purposes of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Officers have considered whether the provision of the further funding to UCL proposed might be deemed to be subsidy and confirm (for the same reasons set out in MD3229) that it will not.
4.4.    ReStage is a strategic project to bring forward new infrastructure that the city needs to reduce its carbon footprint and enable theatres to meet Green Book standards. To progress this, the GLA has provided grants to the National Theatre from March 2022 to inform the research and development of the project. Since 2022, the GLA awarded the National Theatre £159,000 which was used to commission consultants. As a part of this development process, ReStage CIC was formed. ReStage CIC has been awarded £15,000 by the GLA to date.
4.5.    This does not constitute a subsidy control issue, because ReStage is the only organisation of its kind and would not exist without the GLA’s support. There are no organisations that are offering a circular economy reuse centre for London's theatre sets, as it is not commercially viable. Sussex University Innovation Centre and Avison Young were approached to compete within this market. 
4.6.    There are companies offering some, but not all services provided by ReStage storage, however they do not operate at the scale required to supply London theatres. The Space for Culture team continues to speak regularly with these organisations to take advantage of any partnership opportunities that might arise.
4.7.    All other grant activities, outlined in this MD, do not meet the criteria for subsidy control. This is as they are subject to open calls, involving an application process. 
Conflicts of interest
4.8.    There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.
 

5.1.    Approval is requested for:
•    expenditure of up to £644,003 in 2024-25 from the Culture, Creative Industries and 24-Hour London revenue budget on delivery of the activities set out at sections 1 and 2 of this Decision
•    the receipt and expenditure (included in the total above) of up to:
-    £29,666 grant funding (from Arts Council England and London Councils) into the London Borough of Culture budget, for borough-engagement activity as part of the London Culture Forum programme
-    $92,544 grant funding (from the US Embassy) into the Diversity in the Public Realm Budget, for the delivery of learning activities as part of the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery 
•    delegation of authority to the Executive Director, Good Growth, to seek and accept grant funding or sponsorship from external funders; and approve the expenditure of any secured sponsorship and third-party funding for the programme activities set out in this decision, without the need for a further decision form. 
5.2.    The split of the GLA funded expenditure is shown below by programme. All expenditure is revenue. This expenditure is budgeted for within the Culture and Creative Industries Unit’s approved 2024-25 budget and is affordable within the budget set. All expenditure will be incurred by the end of the 2024-25 financial year. This decision builds on decisions MD3229 and DD2711 which approved expenditure in the Unit for the first part of the year following the Mayoral election.

5.3.    The grant funding of £29,666 from Arts Council England and London Councils is to provide support for the London Culture Forum up to the end of March 2026.  The bulk of the grant is to be paid to the GLA up front with the remainder following in 2025-26 and therefore any underspend on the grant in 2024-25 will need to be ringfenced for use in the following year.
5.4.    The grant funding from the US Embassy is for the delivery of learning activities as part of the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery. The allocated funding of $92,544 is equivalent to approximately £70,777 based on a current exchange rate of £1 to US$1.31 as at 10 October 2024. This is subject to currency fluctuations, and therefore expenditure will need to be closely monitored to ensure it remains within the funding envelope.
5.5.    All relevant budget adjustments will be made.
 

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the Authority’s general powers; falling within the Authority’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation and social development 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:
•    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 
•    consult with appropriate bodies. In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) 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. 
6.2.    If the Mayor makes the decisions sought, officers must ensure that to the extent that expenditure concerns:
•    the award of grant funding, it is distributed fairly, transparently, in manner that affords value for money and in accordance with the requirements of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and grant-funding agreements are put in place (or varied as applicable) between, and executed by, the GLA and recipients before any commitment to fund is made (additionally, the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requires that applicable grant funding comply with its subsidy control principles or otherwise fall within the scope of an exemption under the Subsidy Control Act 2022; officers have set out at paragraphs 4.3 to 4.6 (inclusive), above, how the relevant proposed grants comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022
•    the purchase of services, they are procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and contracts are put in place between and executed by the GLA and contractors before commencement of such services
•    the variation of contacts for services, they are varied in accordance with their terms before making any commitment to vary
•    staffing matters, all GLA HR and related governance protocols are followed and that secondment agreements are put in place and executed/extended validly before any commitment to secondments
•    in any event, no reliance is placed upon third party funding, e.g., London Councils/Arts Council England and US Embassy funding until legally binding commitments for the provision of such sums are secured from such funders.
6.3.    It should be noted that this decision relates only to the approval of budget – although there is reference to paying taskforce members honoraria and reimbursing them for expenses, and also paying an enhanced honoraria to the chair. Any honoraria proposed should be paid in line with the GLA’s normal policies and procedures. Any expenses should be reimbursed in line with the GLA’s normal policies and procedures.   

7.1.    The project will be delivered according to the following timetable: