Cross artform

The German government is introducing cultural vouchers for young people early next year.

A pilot of the KulturPass, expected to cost the German government €100m, will see everyone who turns 18 in Germany next year receive a €200 voucher to spend on culture.

Recipients will be able to use the voucher over a two-year period. It will be managed through an app and website that advertises cultural offers ranging from books and records to concerts, theatre and museum visits.

Online and international platforms, including Amazon and Spotify, have been excluded from the scheme, to make sure recipients support local cultural providers.

According to the Germany Embassy in London, the scheme aims “to expose young people to the arts and provide a financial boost to the cultural sector”.

Germany’s Culture Minister Claudia Roth and Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the scheme would be extended to a wider age group if the pilot is successful.

Several European countries already administer cultural vouchers for young adults, including France, Italy and Spain.

Culture workers are staging protests today (14 November) at Arts Council England (ACE) offices in Manchester and London, demanding the reversal of funding cuts to organisations across the country.

Organised by Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, letters will be delivered to both ACE offices demanding the reversal of cuts.

Through ACE's Investment Programme for 2023-26 a total of 990 arts and culture organisations will make up the National Portfolio for the next three years receiving a total of £446m a year between them.

But as part of the government's levelling up agenda the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport instructed ACE to ensure that more of the money it invests goes outside of the capital, with funding for London being cut by 15%. There were also cuts to funding for many organisations across the country.

Those affected include the English National Opera (ENO), Oldham Coliseum, Donmar Warehouse, The Watermill Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the Gate Theatre.

Paul Fleming, Equity General Secretary, said: “Far from levelling up, these cuts are a nakedly political attack and only serve to make culture in the UK more elitist. 

"Funding has been taken away from organisations such as the ENO, the Gate Theatre and Donmar Warehouse which use union agreements, engage substantial numbers of members, and offer decent terms and conditions. 

"What’s more, the overwhelming majority of 100% cuts across the arts fall outside of London and include unjustified attacks on Oldham Coliseum and The Watermill in Newbury, to name just two, while culture funding as a whole is down 46% in real terms since 2005.

"We have told the Arts Council that any cut must not harm the workforce – if that can’t be done, it should be reversed. The arts are the lifeblood of our communities and local economies, and access to them across the UK does not exist without good, well-funded jobs and a diverse workforce.”

He said: “Oldham Coliseum Theatre is an important Greater Manchester institution, with a rich history dating back well over 100 years. We are working with Oldham Coliseum, Oldham Council and Arts Council England to see how we can get the best possible outcome for the theatre, its staff and communities the Coliseum serves.”

A new survey has been launched as part of efforts to improve conditions for creative freelancers.

The Redesigning Freelancing survey has been launched by creative industries network Creative UK working in partnership with nine combined local authorities in England.

Creative UK hopes to gather information that will help it address issues such as the economic uncertainty that comes with freelancing.

Caroline Norbury, CEO of Creative UK said that current difficulties “means we risk losing the next generation of creative freelancers – particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds”.

She added: “It is our collective responsibility to ensure more is done to protect our freelancers, integrate them with organisations in order to build better partnerships, and make sure there is a fair and equal playing field.

“This survey will help us to identify the key priorities that need action now.”

The survey can be completed here.  

Creative businesses with the potential to grow are to benefit from a new £17.5m funding pot to help expand their operations, attract additional investment and create jobs.

Companies in six English regions will receive support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) through the Create Growth Programme to "help get themselves investment ready". 

Each of the six regions - Greater Manchester; the West of England, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire; Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire; Kent, Essex and East and West Sussex; and the North East of England - have been awarded £1.275m in grant funding to develop a targeted programme of business support. 

Meanwhile, a £950,000 careers programme for the sector has launched in England, targeted in 53 priority areas across the country including Barking and Dagenham, Wolverhampton, Rotherham, Slough and Swindon.

The programme will provide specialist careers guidance for 11 to 18-year-olds and help pay for industry-led digital and in-person events, lesson plans, a dedicated careers website with careers information and resources, and training for careers advisors.

It is hoped the support will help ensure more young people from a diverse range of backgrounds can take advantage of career opportunities in the creative sectors.

Creative Industries Minister Julia Lopez said: "From product design and video games to music and film, the creative industries are a stellar UK success story.

"Today’s plans will help get more creative businesses off the ground so they can spread jobs and wealth and help more people, including those from underrepresented backgrounds, break into these world-class sectors."