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Local government

As the biggest public investors in art and culture in England, the success and sustainability of the arts and cultural sector depends on effective partnerships with local authorities and mayoral combined authorities. Up and down the country, the commitment and investment of local councils in culture is vital to our vision and to the successful realisation of the ambitions set out in Let’s Create.

Communication is the basis of any successful partnership and our area teams are in regular communication with local authority members and officers. We also regularly convene key local government representative organisations to maintain an open exchange of information and ideas.

We work closely with the Local Government Association (LGA) with whom we’ve had a Shared Statement of Purpose since 2016. This Statement was revised in March 2023 and continues to serve as a set of principles by which we will seek to work with local government, to support the delivery of Let’s Create.

In partnership with the LGA we deliver an annual programme of leadership training and peer challenges for cultural portfolio holders and cultural services teams in local authorities. Read more about new rounds of leadership essentials.

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National government

We work closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and other government departments to keep them up to date with our plans. We have close working relationships with our partner Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) - National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Sport England, National Lottery Community Fund, BFI, Visit Britain. 

We are currently working with DCMS, ALBs, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to influence and support the delivery of government programmes that contribute to levelling up including Stronger Towns Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the UK Levelling Up Fund. We work collaboratively to provide tailored support for each programme, provide expert advice to government to help support the assessment of applications to these funds, and support delivery of work after funds are awarded.

We work with our ALB partners at an area level to discuss how we can most effectively work in places. Where opportunities exist we develop collaborations with ALBs that are to the benefit of that place, and have the support of local partners. We will continue to work with Historic England to help deliver the cultural programme element of High Streets Heritage Action Zones

In 2019 we worked with DCMS to establish Cultural Compacts in 20 places across England. Compacts are place-based partnerships designed to support the local cultural sector and enhance its contribution to development, with a special emphasis on cross-sector engagement beyond the cultural sector and local authority. Read more about Cultural Compacts.

Between 2021 and 2024 we will build on the success of the first Compacts and further support the development of delivery capacity in places by supporting the creation of more Cultural Compacts and establishing a peer learning network. 

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