I write in response to your article ?Fine words or hot air? (ArtsProfessional issue 46, March 24).
Our document, ?Vision for Partnership?, states publicly for the first time that Arts Council England considers local government to be our most important strategic partner. Jointly the Arts Council and local authorities invest over £600 million in the arts in this country. Local authority support is the bedrock of the arts infrastructure in England, providing art that transforms our communities and towns.
The Vision aims to highlight the importance of local government to the arts in this country and to signal how the new Arts Council England intends to work with this sector. The Vision was developed in close consultation with local government through the Local Government Association, The Chief Leisure Officers Association, the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers and local government representatives from the Arts Council England regional councils.
The document is not an action plan. We already have long term and innovative strategies for working with local government at a local and regional level. For example, we support arts development, work with arts organisations, developing cultural tourism, the creative industries and urban and rural regeneration. Arts Council regional offices are developing partnership agreements with local authorities, led by the needs of individual localities and sub-regions. These detail how the arts will be supported and promoted.
At a national level Arts Council England will look to work in partnership with local government on the four priority areas of health, the economy, vital communities, and engaging young people. Here, the agendas of Arts Council England and local government closely coincide. We will look at how we can build better policies across national government for supporting the arts in these areas as well as enhanced evidence gathering and advocacy.
The Vision for Partnership is a statement about Arts Council England?s commitment to working with local government and others to place the arts at the heart of our national life.