Government appointments and announcements

Purpose of report

For discussion.

Summary

Since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, he has appointed a new team to the culture, tourism and sport posts. This paper outlines the interests and previous activity of key new figures in relation to the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board and provides an overview of relevant announcements for consideration as the Board discusses its priorities for 2019/20.

Recommendation That the Board note this information and consider how it may affect their new priorities. Action As directed by members.

Contact officer:	Anna Jennings

Position:	Adviser

Phone no:	07584 273764

Email:	anna.jennings@local.gov.uk

Government appointments and announcements

Introduction

Over the summer, a new Prime Minister, a new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and a new ministerial team have been appointed. This paper outlines the interests of the new Government and their announcements in relation to culture, tourism and sport, for the Board to consider as it plans its activity.

Boris Johnson and his team particularly emphasise culture’s role in boosting local economies and developing skills. This links well to the Board’s culture-led regeneration and tourism skills work.

The new team are interested in the creative industries and technology sector, and there is an opportunity for the Board to consider how it can contribute to this agenda. Many of the local enterprise partnership (LEP) strategies also focus on the creative industries as a key area of economic growth.

Culture and sport opportunities for young people are a common theme in the new team’s previous work, with Nicky Morgan and Munira Mirza having a background in education. Many of the Board’s areas of activity already involve children and young people, and the Board may wish to draw this out more specifically going forward.

Key appointments

Boris Johnson became Prime Minister on 23 July 2019. While he has made clear his Government’s mission is to deliver Brexit, he has made a series of high-profile spending announcements in other areas. A General Election in the next few months remains a possibility, meaning the Prime Minister – and other party leaders – are looking to develop policies which will appeal to voters. This is an opportunity for culture, tourism and sport.

Johnson began his ministerial career as shadow arts minister and has shown an interest in culture throughout his time as Mayor of London. His partner, Carrie Symonds, is also passionate about culture and has previously worked at DCMS.

He appointed Munira Mirza as the Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, which provides policy advice directly to the Prime Minister. Mirza was Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture when Johnson was Mayor of London, and has held various strategic culture roles, including Executive Director of Culture at King’s College London.

Nicky Morgan is the new Secretary of State for DCMS. The new ministerial team is as follows:

Nigel Adams: Minister of State for Sport, Media and Creative Industries

Helen Whately: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism

Matt Warman: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Digital and Broadband

Baroness Barran MBE: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Civil Society and DCMS Lords Minister.

There has been a high level of ministerial turnover in DCMS recently; for example there have been four Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism in the last 12 months. This has limited the Department’s activity.

Shadow Teams: Labour

Since October 2016, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been Tom Watson. The shadow ministerial team is as follows:

Rosena Allin-Khan - Shadow Minister for Sport

Kevin Brennan - Shadow Minister for Arts and Heritage

Liam Byrne - Shadow Minister for Digital Economy

Vicky Foxcroft - Shadow Minister for Civil Society

Baroness Barran - Shadow Spokesperson

Watson was previously Minister for Digital Engagement and Civil Service Issues at the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2009. He took a particular interest in digital affairs, and in making non-personal government data more available to the public.

The 2017 Labour party manifesto made a number of commitments to culture and sport, including: introducing a £1 billion Cultural Capital Fund to upgrade existing cultural and creative infrastructure; ending cuts to local authority budgets to support the provision of libraries, museums and galleries; and reviewing the EBacc performance measure to ‘make sure arts are not sidelined from secondary education’.

At the 2019 Labour party conference, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell set out the Labour Party’s position on Universal Basic Services. He said that a Labour Government would ensure council services are free or affordable for all. McDonnell highlighted public parks, libraries, swimming pools and leisure centres as examples of public assets which can benefit entire communities, stating “as socialists we believe that people have the right to education, health, a home in a decent safe environment and, yes, access to culture and recreation.”

Shadow Teams: Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Party Leader Jo Swinson was the party’s spokesperson for Culture Media and Sport between May 2005 and March 2006.

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (and for Education) is Layla Moran. Baroness Dee Doocey also has an interest in this area. At the London Assembly, she was involved in preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and is currently leading the party’s work on Brexit and the tourism industry.

The 2017 Liberal Democrat Manifesto committed to increased investment in education and commitment to ‘a truly rounded curriculum including the arts, sport and culture that broaden children’s learning and develop their passion for education’. The manifesto also committed to maintaining free access to national museums and galleries, protecting sports and arts funding via the National Lottery, creating creative enterprise zones and examining planning rules for live music venues with a view to protecting them from further closures.

At the 2019 Autumn party conference, Baroness Doocey put forward a policy paper ‘Open Britain’, which contained a range of proposals to support the tourism industry, including refocusing and renaming the DCMS as the Department for Tourism, Culture, Communications and Sport. The current responsibilities of the DCMS for digital, media and sport would remain the same, but the Secretary of State would take on personal responsibility for Tourism in addition to Culture.

Boris Johnson as Mayor of London

As Mayor of London, Boris Johnson saw culture a key part of making London a ‘great city’, setting ambitious, global-facing plans. His 2014 cultural strategy took a broad view of culture, including the creative industries. Its priorities were:

Maintaining London’s position as a world city for culture

Widening the reach to cultural excellence

Education and skills

Infrastructure, environment and the public realm.

Johnson oversaw a number of high-profile projects, including the ‘Boris bikes’ hire scheme (developed under Livingston) and the Emirates air line. His Garden Bridge and estuary airport schemes received a lot of media attention, but were not completed.

Johnson helped with the delivery of the 2012 Olympic Games, particularly focusing on how it could regenerate East London. This included development of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the helter-skelter and the stadium conversion. He launched ‘Olympicopolis’, a programme for cultural and educational legacy which included the development of V&A East, as well the Sports Legacy programme which aimed to increase sports participation and maximise the social impact of sport.

Johnson was interested in the role of culture in revitalising communities, and how culture could improve residents’ skills, connect communities and improve the public realm. Projects demonstrating this included the relocation of the Museum of London and the regeneration at Battersea. Projects to promote art in public places included ‘art on the underground’ and a guide to culture on the high street. He also published planning guidance which aimed to protect arts venues and called for more artists’ studios and cultural spaces to retain London’s cultural diversity.

Munira Mirza led a number of projects which linked culture with education and skills, including the creative employment programme, scholarships and festivals to encourage young people to learn musical instruments, and events volunteering opportunities to develop employment skills.

Mirza also initiated the London Night Time Commission, which provided recommendations to boost the city economy 6pm-6am, and designated Creative Enterprise Zones, areas of London where artists and creative businesses could find permanent affordable space to work and grow and where local people would be helped to learn creative sector skills and find new jobs. Mirza has stated she sees culture as an engine for economic growth.

Nicky Morgan’s areas of interest

Nicky Morgan has previously worked as the Secretary of State for Education and the Minister for Women and Equalities. She is Chair of the APPG on Heritage Rail, and has championed heritage rail as important to domestic tourism, local economies and skills development (particularly for young volunteers).

During her time as Secretary of State for Education, Morgan initiated a number of projects to broaden access and opportunities in the arts, including over £400 million investment in cultural education projects, curriculum changes to make arts GCSEs more rigorous, and a consultation on new design and technology qualifications to prepare for careers in the creative sector and engineering.

Morgan has argued that access to cultural education is a matter of social justice, and should be available for every young person. She is interested in character development to prepare young people for the work place, and announced funding to build grit and resilience – including through rugby players working with schools.

Morgan’s other areas of interest include grassroots sports clubs, young people’s mental health and gender equality.

Culture, tourism and sport announcements

Shortly after becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced £3.6 billion funding for 100 towns to ‘level up’ regions across the country. This money will help councils to improve local infrastructure, building stronger communities and economies.

Nicky Morgan announced the 69 high streets which will benefit from the Future High Streets Fund and the Heritage High Streets Fund, initiatives created under Theresa May’s government.

As part of the Tourism Sector Deal, the Government have also launched a broadband competition for events venues, allocating a total of £250,000 to international conference venues to improve connectivity. DCMS have announced funding to improve 5G and mobile connectivity in rural areas.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2019/july/prime-minister-statement-on-priorities-for-government/

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/cultural_metropolis_2014.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36170239

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-east/news/2015/nov/boris-johnson-announces-multi-million-pound-boost-delivery-olympicopolis-project

https://www.london.gov.uk/md1543-mayor%E2%80%99s-sports-legacy-programme-%E2%80%93-phase-iii

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/cultural-places-and-creative-spaces/culture-high-street

https://www.artlyst.com/features/opinion-boris-johnson-calls-for-new-artists-studios-and-cultural-spaces/

https://ccskills.org.uk/whats-new/blog/boriss-message-for-londons-employers

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/24-hour-london/think-night#acc-i-55976

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/culture-and-good-growth/creative-enterprise-zones

https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/culturecity/culture-is-the-engine-for-our-economic-growth-says-munira-mirza-a3934301.html

https://www.goleicestershire.com/news/nicky-morgan-drives-steam-train-to-promo.aspx

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/childrens-music-and-arts-initiatives-receive-109-million-boost

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-arts-underpin-our-understanding-of-britishness

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nicky-morgan-launches-rugby-character-drive-with-saracens-fc

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/newly-expanded-grassroots-sport-relief-to-help-local-sports-clubs

https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/lga-responds-prime-ministers-funding-towns-announcement

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/95-million-to-revive-historic-high-streets

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/broadband-competition-for-event-venues

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/30m-to-spark-rollout-of-next-generation-5g-in-rural-areas-and-help-countryside-capitalise-on-tech-revolution