Agenda and minutes

None.

Members are asked to consider any pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the agenda.

None.

To be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Peter Buckley, Cabinet Member for Communities and Cultural Services, County Councillor Ash Sutcliffe, Lead Member for Cultural Services and Skills, Andy Walker, Head of Service Business Growth, Steve Lloyd, Head of Cultural Services, and Heather Fox, Cultural Development Manager, to the meeting.

A presentation was provided on REMADE: Cultural Investment Strategy for Lancashire and covered how the strategy would facilitate the remaking and recognition of culture to deliver Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s vision for Lancashire through its main priority areas, desired outcomes, and economic growth dimension.

A report and presentation were also provided to the committee detailing the role of culture and its impact and presented the draft Cultural Strategy Services Strategy 2024 – 28 which expanded on these themes. The report highlighted the reviews to the existing strategy and a refresh to inform the direction of the service for the next four years to deliver better outcomes for the people of Lancashire.

The committee thanked the officers for the detailed report and presentations, copies of which are attached to the minutes.

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

·  The committee requested more detail surrounding the profiles of the eighteen existing National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) within Lancashire, and how the county council has previously been successful in attracting funding, so that the number of NPOs continue to grow at a successful rate, and further support could be given to organisations approaching the end of their four-year funding cycle. The members were informed how the portfolio status gave organisations more security than one off funding applications and work was being done to improve organisational development and delivery to increase organisations interested in bidding, including collaborative training between NPOs to enable groups to reach higher levels of national funding.

·  The committee requested further insight into the relationship between the location of NPOs within Lancashire and where funding was coming from.

·  The committee raised the issue of many local cultural assets and events occurring within the county which were often not picked up at a wider level, it was felt it was important to tap into local knowledge of cultural events, and councillors could support this by sharing local knowledge.

·  A concern was raised regarding individual organisations not having the upfront capital to pay for consultancy surrounding sponsorship opportunities that in turn could drastically increase their outreach and fundraising. It was therefore queried whether the council could provide a package support to help cover the cost of events and leverage sponsorships in.

·  The committee queried the role of the third sector when engaging with local communities, cultural diversity and fostering inclusion. As a result, it was encouraged that funding strategies poured effort into bottom-up engagement with communities and building the capacity of voluntary and third-sector organisations to facilitate wider outreach across Lancashire. In response to the queries, members were informed that while it was a work in progress, efforts were ongoing to reach grassroot-level activities and uncover organisations in localities.

·  The committee discussed the need for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

County Councillor Peter Buckley, Cabinet Member for Communities and Cultural Services, County Councillor Ash Sutcliffe, Lead Member for Cultural Services and Skills, Steve Lloyd, Head of Cultural Services, and Heather Fox, Cultural Development Manager, presented a report to the committee.

The report provided an insight into Crowdfund Lancashire which was the crowdfunding platform that administered the Lancashire Culture & Sport Fund. Crowdfund Lancashire and the Lancashire Culture and Support Fund empowered Lancashire communities to shape the culture and sport offer where they live, giving community groups autonomy to fund and deliver projects that are of need in their locality.

The committee thanked the officers for the detailed report. A copy of the presentation can be found in the minutes.

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

·  The committee raised concerns surrounding engaging with young people who were excluded from education and other services. In response to the concerns, members were informed that oversight in this area connected various departments, including Children Family Well-Being and Education Improvement.

·  Following on from discussions surrounding young people out of education, officers also highlighted work that was being done to increase overall engagement with young people, in response to current research that younger generations were the least connected and were the most likely to suffer social isolation. As such, research and outreach efforts were ongoing to involve more young people with community facilities and social spaces such as libraries.

·  The committee discussed how the wider benefits of culture, not just its intrinsic and standalone value, should be emphasised. The Sports Fund was praised for its contributions in steering young people away from antisocial behaviour and as such, the committee recommended that more funding should be assigned to these projects.

·  The committee wanted to know how groups within their local areas could find out about funding available to them, as many would be unaware such programmes exist. In response to the question, members were informed that the relationship between Active Lancashire and Arts Lancashire had grown significantly, enabling communication across different organisations, heightened awareness of funding available, and council involvement through letters of endorsement.

·  The committee raised concerns over noticeable reduced funding for Youth Clubs in certain districts. The officers advised that this was not part of Cultural Services, but Children and Family Services; it was noted that communications with this department would take place and an update reported to the committee.

·  The committee raised a query surrounding the total amount of funding the fund had to allocate. In response, members were informed that the pledge of funding was allocated in the February 2022 budget and consequently was not a one-off initiative, but an effort to build up involvement in communities. The committee was asked by officers to consider a recommendation in the report that the maximum matched funding be lowered from £20,000 to £15,000 to increase the scheme's flexibility and outreach potential. Committee members agreed to support this recommendation.

·  Regarding the officer’s other recommendations, concerns were raised by the committee as to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The committee considered the work programme for the 2023/24 municipal year.

The committee requested that regarding the update for recommendations to Council Estate, Use and Occupancy of Council Buildings and Asset Disposal, a request be made for property asset disposals to be detailed further so that members could see where exactly land had been disposed of was located.

Resolved: That the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny work programme for 2023/24, be noted.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the minutes, the chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the chief executive should be given advance warning of any member's intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There were no items of urgent business.

The next meeting of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 21 March 2024 at 10.30 am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston.

The next meeting of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 21 March 2024 at 10:30am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston.