Dear Colleague,

This month the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, helping businesses keep energy costs low over the next 12 months. The LGA responded to this, and although we are pleased to see that libraries and museums will be eligible for this support, we remain concerned that leisure centres and swimming pools will not be equally protected.

We joined sector partners in making a joint-statement about the severe impact this omission will have and coordinated a letter from local government bodies to the Chancellor and Secretaries of State for Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) requesting urgent support for the sector. I encourage every council to write to their local MPs about the pressure on local facilities.

There has been significant change and challenge for culture, tourism and sport services over the last three years. The LGA’s Annual Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference will be an opportunity to reflect on these changes, and we encourage you to book your ticket through our events website. The conference will be on Wednesday 15 March and will be a hybrid event, with the option to attend virtually or at the LGA offices in London.

You will have the opportunity to hear from councils who are taking innovative approaches, from experts on the challenges facing the sector, and how we can best harness the power of culture, tourism and sport to support our communities and places.

Do get in touch with the team if you would like to discuss any of our work at cts@local.gov.uk. 

Sport and Recreation Alliance Research: community sport and recreation clubs are under severe financial pressure 

New evidence produced by the Sport and Recreation Alliance shows that community sport and recreation clubs are under severe financial pressure and are struggling to cope with the dual impact of steeply rising energy costs and the recovery from COVID-19. Access to facilities and public spaces is the main concern for over three quarters of clubs – with closures and service restrictions already happening across the country, this is an urgent priority for clubs who depend on them to provide activity. 

What Works Centre for Wellbeing Research: Evaluating what works for place-based arts and culture

The What Works Centre for Wellbeing worked with The Institute of Cultural Capital Liverpool to assess the wellbeing impacts of place-based arts & culture interventions, looking at: the wellbeing impacts of place-based arts and culture interventions, drivers & mechanisms of success, the value of using place-based heritage assets, and the role of inequalities. It was funded by Spirit of 2012 and University of Warwick/Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). 

Highlights from the Future Parks Accelerator Conference 

Over 1,400 people attended the Naturally Thriving: Rethinking Urban Green Space conference in October. Speakers and delegates came together to share how high-quality, accessible green infrastructure can help cities meet the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to health inequalities. All sessions from the conference were recorded and are now available to watch on the Future Parks Accelerator website.

Creative Health Review

The National Centre for Creative Health and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing recently launched a new Creative Health Review. The review aims to highlight the potential for creative health to help tackle pressing issues in health and social care and more widely, including health inequalities and the additional challenges we face as we recover from Covid-19. The Review will gather evidence of the benefits of creative health in relation to major current challenges and show examples of where this is already working in practice. It also welcomes public input via a call for contributions. A series of themed roundtables over the next year will present the most up-to-date evidence and showcase examples of creative health approaches and activities with demonstrable benefits to health. The next set of upcoming roundtables include Social Care on Thursday 26 January, and End of Life Care and Bereavement on Tuesday 7 February. 

Report: Safety issues around weirs and paddleboarding 

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has written a report to share findings from their investigation into a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of four lives at Haverfordwest Town Weir on 30 October 2021. This report identifies a number of safety issues surrounding the organisation and leadership of the trip and the governance of stand up paddleboarding in the UK. The report also found that the hazards posed to river users by the weir had not been assessed, no specific risk mitigation measures were in place and the warning signage was inadequate. Further, at the commencement of the MAIB’s investigation there was doubt as to which local authority held responsibility for the weir. Weirs have the potential to pose significant dangers to anyone attempting to cross them, with the hazard varying from benign to highly dangerous depending upon the height of the river on either side of the weir and the rate of flow. Please can you share with your teams responsible for leisure activities and water safety. 

LGA statement on PAC report on participation in grassroots sports 

Responding to a Public Accounts Committee report on participation in grassroots sport, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “The future of leisure facilities is under threat and this report highlights the need for an asset strategy that will preserve the future of these key council services. The public leisure sector has a critical role to play in helping our communities recover from the pandemic, both physically and mentally, retrain and upskill, and tackle issues like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, reducing the burden on the NHS and social care. You can view the full response on the LGA website.

British Museum: National Open Call to Partners

The British Museum is inviting cultural and third sector organisations from all over the UK to pair together and apply to become a Key Partner for the year 2023-2024 (application booklet available on the British Museum website). The deadline for applications is Monday 6 February 2023 at 5:00pm. For more information on the application and the programme, join one of the application webinars on Thursday 26 January 2023, 12:30pm–13:30pm or Tuesday 31 January 2023, 17:00pm–18:00pm.

Sport England’s Active Design Guidance: Consultation Draft – begins Monday 16 January

Valuable input from a range of organisations and individuals throughout the summer have helped shape a new draft version of the Active Design guidance, which is being developed in partnership with Active Travel England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The guidance plays a key role in supporting Sport England’s Uniting the Movement Strategy, specifically, the delivery of ‘Active Environments’, which is one of the five ‘Big Issues’ the strategy identifies as offering the greatest potential for preventing and tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity. To help shape the final version of the guidance Sport England would really appreciate your feedback on the draft document. To help with the consultation process, Sport England have prepared a short survey which closes on 10 February 2023. If you think any of your colleagues would also like to share their views on Active Design, please do share the link. Additionally, if you have any further feedback, please don’t hesitate to email planningforsport@sportengland.org.

Spirit of 2012 Report 

Following their 2022 inquiry, Spirit of 2012 has published a report into maximising the long-term impact of events. Events of all sizes can make a vital contribution to civic pride, wellbeing, cohesion and the economy. But securing a sustained impact is often challenging and can get overlooked amongst the pressures and excitement of the event itself. The report sets out a series of recommendations for policy makers, funders and commissioners about how events can better contribute to thriving, more connected and happier communities. It also calls for a new City of Sport competition, modelled on the City of Culture, with a focus on health and wellbeing. If you’re interested in taking part in a scoping exercise about this proposal, please contact Gaetano.Iannetta@spiritof2012.org.uk. 

Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS): Museums given support 

To support museums with rising energy costs throughout the winter months, Arts Council England (ACE) has agreed with DCMS to suspend the minimum temperature requirement for collections covered by the Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS) between December-March. This means museums can reduce their temperature over time to below 16C, which is the normal minimum required. Full details are set out on ACE’s GIS pages.

£3.6 million social prescribing funding for mental health support 

The National Academy of Social Prescribing has been awarded more than £3.6 million of government funding to advance its work on social prescribing and build on its previous successes such as the Thriving Communities Fund, to support wellbeing, including impacts of loneliness. 

Making health services work for deprived populations in the North East 

The North East is home to over two and a half million people; over a third of which live in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of England. This short film demonstrates how important local exercise and leisure facilities are to integrated care systems (ICS). It showcases how the ICS is working effectively in partnership with local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary and community sector to narrow healthcare inequalities and improve access, experience and outcomes for people with long term health conditions through exercise. 

LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference 2023 (Hybrid)

Wednesday 15 March 2023, London 

Book your place onto the LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference 2023. Confirmed speakers include Baroness Grey-Thompson, President, Local Government Association, Alison McKenzie-Folan, Chief Executive, Wigan Council, Cllr Abi Brown, Leader, Stoke-on-Trent Council, Deirdre Wells OBE, Chief Executive, Visit Herts and Visit Kent amongst many others. 

The conference will look at the huge contribution culture, tourism and sport can make to delivering on local and national priorities. There is also an opportunity to meet the national funders, including Arts Council England and Sport England, and to go on a walking tour of the impressively renovated London Coliseum. 

Implementing the review of Destination Management Organisations

Thursday 9 February 2023, 2.00pm – 3.30pm 

The Government has accepted many of the proposals from the Independent Review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), which will fundamentally change the way in which DMOs work and how councils engage with them. This session with VisitBritain will set out what the changes are, likely timescales, and how councils can expect to work differently with DMOs. These changes will help DMOs to engage with the economic recovery post-pandemic and with levelling up objectives. It will also provide councils with access to greater expertise and insight into their local visitor economies.