Leadership

The North East has been chosen as the location for a government pilot programme aimed at developing tourism.

NewcastleGateshead Initiative will lead the pilot in partnership with Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham, working across seven local authority areas.

The Destination Development Partnership (DDP) will receive £2.25m to “help successfully develop and market the region as a must-visit destination while attracting further private investment and driving growth”.

This is expected to include the creation of cultural events.

The DDP pilot follows an independent review into Destination Management Organisations published earlier this year, in which the government committed to streamlining tourism boards. 

If the pilot is successful, the government expects to roll the partnership model out to other regions across England.

“We are looking at what more we can do to streamline the way the region’s tourism bodies work together, improve the region’s offer and the way it markets itself,” Tourism Minister Stuart Andrew said.

With £2.25 million in funding, we hope the North East can be a pioneer for other areas in unlocking its potential and putting its best foot forward.
 

A series of online roundtable discussions will be held over the coming year as part of a new Creative Health Review designed to highlight the potential for creative health to tackle pressing issues in health and social care.

The National Centre for Creative Health and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing, which are holding the review jointly, hope the findings will aid policymakers in addressing problems including health inequalities and the additional challenges posed by the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The roundtables, which will be open to a public audience, will present “evidence and examples of the powerful influence creative health can have on our health and wellbeing, and how it can be used across key policy areas”.

The information shared will be compiled by 16 commissioners tasked with developing a set of recommendations designed to guide policymakers in informing and encouraging the development of a cross-governmental strategy on creative health.

Themes earmarked for exploration during the series of roundtables include mental health and wellbeing across the life course, health inequalities, social care, end-of-life care, education and training, cost-effectiveness, evidencing value for money and funding models, and leadership and strategy.
 

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, more than 50 arts organisations of which she was the patron are poised to enter a quiet competition to secure a royal replacement.

Institutions across the sector will be hoping to acquire a member of the immediate royal family as patron, ensuring that any new regal connection is internationally recognised. 

“Institutions are very keen to secure the right patron,” Tim Marlow, Chief Executive of the Design Museum and former Artistic Director at the Royal Academy of Arts, told the Guardian.

“It matters hugely and creates many more funding opportunities, both nationally and abroad.”

The Queen handed on several of her patronages six years ago, when she turned 90, but many more need to be reallocated after her death. 

Arts institutions waiting to hear about a new patron include Art Fund, RADA, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Academy, Royal Philharmonic Society, Help Musicians UK, Royal Northern College of Music and the London Symphony Orchestra, of which the Queen became patron when she ascended the throne in 1952.

A spokesperson for the orchestra said the Queen’s patronage had been “immensely helpful in our relationships with our overseas promoters and audiences”.

King Charles III is expected to continue as patron of organisations including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, but will not be able to take on all his late mother’s roles.

People in Worcester have been invited to give their views on a five-year arts and culture strategy.

A draft strategy put together by Worcester City Council sets out plans to secure and invest funding for the sector and work in partnership with local organisations. The authority is seeking feedback to ensure the blueprint represents the area's "wide variety" of activities.

The council hopes to increase Worcester’s influence within the wider region as a "dynamic, innovative, and distinctive place" and "encourage and empower the sector to deliver ambitious creative projects in and around the city".

It also wants to develop and nurture creative networks in the city and wider region, "bringing together partners to facilitate ideas and developing a community of engaged and active collaborators".

The online consultation closes at 5pm on 30 September.

Specialist consultants have been lined up to help develop a five-year cultural strategy for a new unitary council being established in Somerset next year.

Somerset’s five councils – Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset district councils, and Somerset County Council – have worked in partnership with Arts Council England to recruit cultural consultants, The Fifth Sector.

Since its foundation in 2011, The Fifth Sector has delivered more than 100 strategic and cultural projects, including cultural strategies and creative investment frameworks for Derby, Liverpool, Manchester, Rushmoor, South Yorkshire and Tees Valley.

Key aims and objectives of the strategy include ensuring that a cultural identity for arts and culture in Somerset is at the heart of the new authority’s strategic plans.

It is also intended that the piece of work will raise awareness and promote the role that culture and creativity can play in enriching communities and improving the quality of life, health, wellbeing and the local economy for Somerset residents.

Federica Smith Roberts, Somerset County Council’s Lead Member for Communities, said: “The Somerset Cultural Strategy will define how, as an organisation, the new Somerset Council will deliver cultural activities to better the lives of residents and enhance our communities.

“I am delighted that work will commence through The Fifth Sector now to create a strategy ready for adoption when the new Council comes into effect in April 2023. 

"Arts and culture are important to help improve the quality of life, health, wellbeing and the local economy for Somerset residents, local businesses and visitors and I look forward to bringing the strategy in front of fellow councillors in 2023.”

Boris Johnson is preparing to offer Nadine Dorries a peerage in the Prime Minister’s Resignation Honours, according to The Times.

If Dorries were to accept a place in the House of Lords, she would have to stand down as an MP, triggering a by-election in her Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.

The Times reports Dorries has told colleagues she intends to stand down in October, but a source close to the Culture Secretary said they were “unaware that a list had been finalised” and declined to comment further.
 
Johnson’s rumoured Resignation Honours list has caused controversy, with several senior Tories calling for him to be blocked from appointing new peers. 

An online petition calling for the Parliament and the Honours Committee to deny Johnson a Resignation Honours List currently has around 63,000 signatures.