LGA Governance


Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Eaton and Cockell, 7th Floor, 18 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ. View directions

Contact: John Wilesmith  Email: john.wilesmith@local.gov.uk 0207 664 3363

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Declaration of Members' Interests

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed members to the Board meeting. He reflected on the outcome of the Spending Review, noting that the national settlement for culture, tourism and sport had been better than expected, and the challenge going forward is ensure that this manifests at a local level.

 

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Tom Fitzpatrick and Faye Abbott. Cllr Richard Henry substituted for Cllr Faye Abbott.

 

There were no declarations of interest.

2.

VisitEngland - A new direction and refreshed growth strategy for the tourism industry pdf icon PDF 166 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Viscountess Penelope Cobham CBE, Chairman of VisitEngland, and James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland presented VisitEngland’s new direction and refreshed growth strategy for the tourism industry to the Board.

 

Viscountess Penelope Cobham began by praising the years of fruitful collaboration between VisitEngland and the Board. She expressed concern over Government proposals to bring VisitEngland and VisitBritain closer together, arguing that it is valuable to have a tourist board with a distinct focus on England.

 

James Berresford highlighted the benefits of the Visitor Economy to England. He pointed out that tourism in England generates £6bn per annum and creates a variety of careers, including for those who do not have high educational attainments. He noted the regional spread of the tourist trade, which touches all parts of England.

 

He then outlined VisitEnglands new direction and growth strategy. He said the central goal is to make England a competitive tourist destination in an increasingly global Visitor Economy. This will be achieved through a number of funds and activities that are planned around a national strategic framework. The previous framework was launched in 2010, and VisitEngland is now beginning to refresh this framework to cover the next five years. He drew the Boards attention to two major funds that were announced recently: the Northern Tourism Growth Fund and the UK Great Challenge Fund. He also noted that next year is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and 2016 is the Year of the Garden, so much activity is being planned around these themes.

 

He focussed on two other areas that must be addressed over the next five years in order to create sustainable growth of the tourism trade in England. First, further research into the principal motivations spurring peoples decisions to visit certain places. Second, smarter infrastructure investment, particularly in terms of ensuring that rail and road investment supports a wider strategy to grow the Visitor Economy.

 

He finished by noting that the Discover England Fund, which is £40m of funding per year for three years, came out of the Spending Review and he will share more information about this fund with the Board as it emerges.

 

Board members were interested in why London attracts more tourists than other areas and whether VisitEngland could promote a more even regional spread of tourism. They highlighted the fact that some parts of the country are hard to access by public transport as a major obstacle to growing the tourist trade in those areas. Members noted that VisitEngland has generally worked with venue destination management rather than directly with local authorities, and were keen for this to change with the implementation of the new Discover England Fund. They proposed the idea of some of VisitEnglands new funding being used to acquaint key players in the tourist trade with some of the lesser known attractions outside of London.

 

More generally, Board members argued for parity of tourism funding between England and Scotland and thought that measures  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Update on the Government's Sport Strategy and Towards a New Sport England Strategy pdf icon PDF 167 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mike Diaper, Executive Director Community Sport, Sport England, updated the Board on the new strategy being developed by Sport England. He began by noting that Sport England has a very broad definition of what is meant by sport and he emphasised that they concentrate on promoting sport for its health, economic and social cohesion benefits.

 

He mentioned that Sport England had a flat settlement in the Spending Review when and he took this to mean that they should now push this funding down to a local level.

 

He highlighted that the number of people playing sport in England has increased in recent years, but 25.2m people are inactive, and 12.8m are totally inactive, meaning that they walk for less than 30 minutes a week. He emphasised that large numbers of people move between these groups over time.

 

He noted that Sport Englands new strategy will be informed by the Governments new sport strategy, which is due to be published before Christmas. However, in general terms Sport England will be looking to bring more physical activities into their strategy that are not traditionally identified as sports. Also, Sport England will be looking to keep the EAST principles (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely) at the core of their approach. He also clarified that Sport England no longer requires partnership funds when partnering in a project.

 

Board members were keen for further information on why participation rates have dropped in a number of sports. They identified the greater use of local school facilities as a promising way to allow for more activities without prohibitive increases in councils costs. Members expressed concern over the lack of funding for grassroots sports by national federations with high profits. They also identified neighbourhood plans as a possible way to use existing funding streams to facilitate healthier lifestyles.

 

Focussing on Sport England, members asked if the application process for capital spending could be simplified so that social enterprises can apply with greater ease. They also asked for further information on the types of interventions that are most likely to succeed in boosting sports participation. Members were keen for greater local government representation in Sport Englands governing structures.

 

Mike Diaper said he was open to local government representation on Sport Englands Board, but this is ultimately a decision for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. He advised the Board that, if they want to pursue this, they should put forward a number of candidates.

 

Action

 

Lead members to decide whether to put forward candidates to represent the LGA on Sport Englands Board.

 

 

 

 

4.

Spending Review and Early Implications for Culture, Tourism & Sport

The LGA’s ‘on the day Briefing’ will be circulated to Members on 25 September

Minutes:

The Chair invited Board members to discuss the Spending Review and its possible implications for culture, tourism and sport. He noted that the LGAs On the Day Briefing was circulated to members on 25 November 2015.

 

The Board thought that culture, tourism and sport fared comparatively well in the Spending Review. However, members noted that councils sports, leisure and cultural services are all underpinned by core services, so steep cuts to the latter could indirectly affect the former. The Board also welcomed the positive settlement for Arts Council England, which will allow for further arts-led regeneration around the country.

5.

Update on The Leadership for Libraries Taskforce - Cllr Ian Stephens, oral update

Minutes:

The Chair provided the Board with an update on the work of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce.

 

He informed members that, following their steer, he sent a letter to Ed Vaizey MP outlining the Boards views on the best direction for the Taskforces future work. The Minister welcomed and agreed with the Boards views on a number of issues.

 

The Chair noted that the Spending Review allocated a further four years of funding to the Taskforce. He invited members to discuss how the Taskforces activities might best support the work of councils over this period.

 

Iain Varah, Immediate Past Chair of the Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association (CCLOA), informed the Board that the Taskforce is primarily focussed on tackling challenges that are anticipated to arise in the next two years. He noted that there is an opportunity for the Board to improve the Taskforces knowledge of the local authority environment.

 

The Board noted the update.

6.

Heritage and Landscape - Cllr Barry Lewis, oral update

Minutes:

Cllr Barry Lewis updated the Board on the latest heritage and landscape issues facing local authorities.

 

He noted that, although the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has many advantages over previous planning legislation, its implementation might pose some risks to the preservation of built landscapes and heritage landscapes. In particular, there is a possible conflict between local authorities meeting their housing plans while at the same time preserving ancient monuments, national parks and other important landscapes that may be statutory.

 

Cllr Lewis also identified a risk in the way that new neighbourhood plans might deal with cultural heritage. He thought it crucial that local authorities get guidance from the right national bodies on such matters, for example Historic England.

 

Board members welcomed the update. They highlighted the conflict between local authorities housing plans and the need to preserve tourist attractions. The Chair notified the Board that he recently met with Quinton Carroll, Chair of the Association of Local Government Archeological Officers (ALGAO), and Board members expressed an interest in inviting him to attend a future Board meeting.

 

Decision

 

Board members agreed that Cllr Lewis should update the Board on heritage and landscape issues at each future Board meeting, as a standing item.

 

Action

 

Officers to invite Quinton Carroll to attend a future Board meeting.

 

7.

Update on CTS Annual Conference pdf icon PDF 172 KB

Minutes:

A number of Board members expressed concern that their council budget meetings clashed with the scheduled timing of the next Culture, Tourism and Sport Board meeting on the first day of the Conference.

 

Cllr David Burbage proposed a vote to move the timing of the Board meeting to the lunch break on the second day of the Conference. Cllr Stewart Golton seconded the motion.

 

The Board voted by a show of hands. The result was:

·         9 in favour of the new proposed timing for the next CTS Board meeting

·         0 against

 

Decision

 

The Board agreed to move the timing of the next CTS Board meeting from 4.30 – 6.30pm on Wednesday 24 February 2016 to 12.50 – 1.50pm on Thursday 25 February 2016.

8.

Outside Bodies pdf icon PDF 215 KB

Minutes:

The Board noted members activities on outside bodies since the last Board meeting and the forthcoming meetings in members diaries.

 

Cllr David Burbage informed the Board that the Conservative group would like to appoint one of its members to the Tourism Alliance for the 2015/16 cycle. The Chair proposed a vote on the matter.

 

The Board voted by a show of hands. The result was:

·         9 in favour of the Conservative group appointing one of their members to the Tourism Alliance

·         0 against

 

 

Decision

 

The Board agreed that the Conservative group appoint one of its members to the Tourism Alliance for the 2015/16 cycle.

 

Action

 

Lead members to agree on which specific councillors will represent the Board on the outside bodies for the 2015/16 cycle and submit this to the next Board meeting for approval.

 

9.

Minutes from the Last Meeting and Updated Work Programme pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2015 were agreed as an

accurate record.

10.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

The Chair thanked officers and members for their work.