Guidance on Consultation Response to “Building a Better Future”: |
27/11/2007
The consultation period has now closed
For more information on the Keep Our Arts Alive Campaign
visit:
www.keepourartsalive.com and www.artscouncil-ni.org/campaign
Introduction
In preparing for the statutory consultation on the draft Budget, we have drawn-up a number of points which are set on this page.
This Consultation is being managed by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and the Department of Finance and relates to 3 documents:
draft Programme for Government (2008-2011), including the annex;
draft Investment Strategy (2008-2018); and
draft Budget (2008-2011).
All of these documents are available at the website: www.pfgbudgetni.gov.uk
• The consultation period for “Building a Better Future” runs until 4th January 2008. It is crucial that as many people as possible respond to this consultation. It is not too late. Changes can still be made to the budget and your silence may be taken as consent.
Public Consultation Meetings
• The following points are for guidance on responding to public consultations:
- Make sure that you know what the 3 draft documents say and their implications for the arts.
- Try to attend the consultation workshops being held in Derry, Enniskillen, Belfast and Armagh. .Register to attend one of the workshops by contacting OFMDFM (see contact details below).
- Speak with people within and outside the arts sector and help to develop as broad a range of responses and comments as possible.
- Be realistic - look at the areas within the draft Programme for Government and the draft budget which might be altered.
- Identify areas where you think the arts can demonstrate impact, for example under Cultural Tourism or the Creative Industries.
- Make evidence-based comments, using facts and figures, and best of all, actual examples based
on your experience.
- Avoid using jargon and don’t assume that the reader has prior knowledge the arts.
- Keep your comments simple and explain your rationale.
- Keep your comments brief and focused.
- While it is important that we reinforce main points (the proposed settlement is inadequate and
will lead to closure of funding programmes and cancellation of projects), it is also important that a range of points are made, preferably by different people, including from those outside the arts ...... sector.
- Remember that your comments are ‘on the record’ and will be posted on the consultation
website (www.pfgbudgetni.gov.uk).
- Use the website to keep up to date with developments.
- If you have any questions or comments, contact the Arts Council for advice.
By all means do attend the consultation workshop events, but also remember to send a written
response. Written submissions will be placed on the consultation website (www.pfgbudgetni.gov.uk). Listed below are points which Arts Council feels are worth making.
• There are three documents for public consultation - the draft Programme for Government (which includes an Annex which lists the 23 cross-cutting Public Service Agreements), the draft Budget and the draft Investment Strategy. You do not have to comment on all three but you may wish to.
Draft Programme for Government (PfG)
• The emphasis in the new draft Programme for Government (PfG) is very different to the earlier one produced by the last devolved administration. The previous PfG was focused on developing a peaceful society with attention to issues such as building peace, working together, developing communities, etc. and there were a range of government initiatives to which the arts could contribute. This time the focus is narrower: with the emphasis on growing the economy. We can, however, make a strong argument for how the arts contribute to the quality of life here, to the appeal of the region to investors and tourists (there are specific Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets relating to a growth in tourism) and to the development of the creative industries (one of the key goals of the draft Programme for Government).
• You might consider how the arts contribute to the level of innovation and entrepreneurialism in Northern Ireland and how this has been a contributory factor in economic growth. The arts and the wider creative sector add substantially to the creative process of innovation and ideas generation. Research commissioned by DCAL indicates that the creative industries in Northern Ireland lag Great Britain by 2.2% or about 16,000 employees (total creative industries employees in Northern Ireland are approximately 33,500). This provides a real opportunity for additional public funding to generate real returns in the numbers of employees in the arts and creative sector. The arts form an important element of this creative sector. Regularly Funded Organisations (RFO) survey results show that Arts Council funding supports 1,555 FTE’s in the Arts sector and provides a stimulus for the media and commercially focused elements such as film production.
• Other key challenges set out in the draft Programme for Government relate closely to the arts, such the desired emphasis on creativity and cultural tourism with associated outcomes and targets. For example, the draft Programme for Government refers to “growing the creative industries sector by up to 15% by 2011” (Key Goals, page 6) and delivering improved visitor attractions and amenities including arts and culture. It refers specifically to increasing tourism and increasing the number of out-of-state visitors (under Public Service Agreement No. 5). It is worth making the point that these challenges also relate to creativity, culture, and the arts and are to some degree contingent upon the strength and confidence of our cultural and creative sectors. It is therefore likely that these targets will not be fully met without a commensurate investment in the arts.
• You may also wish to comment more generally on the draft Programme for Government, the challenges it identifies and its emphases. There are, for example, challenging targets to be met improving health, education, and economic development (the arts contribute in each of these areas). But you may also think that there are wider issues relating to the benefits for society, the quality of life and tackling the problems arising from years of community division, where arts interventions have proven to be particularly effective in the past.
Draft Investment Strategy
• The Draft 10-year Investment Strategy looks somewhat more hopeful for DCAL. The arts capital line (currently £10.6m.) while set to rise in 2008/09, reduces thereafter and on average remains static over the three-year period at £10.8m. On a positive note, specific mention is made within the budget to the investment allocated to the new Metropolitan Arts Centre (formerly OMAC), the Lyric and the Crescent Arts Centre. These three projects, of course, have been the subject of earlier Ministerial announcements.
Draft Budget
• The critical document is the draft Budget (2008-2011). While the DCAL revenue allocation within the draft Budget shows an overall average increase of 2.9% for the period to 2010-11, the arts line is very disappointing, rising from £15.7m. (current year) to £17.3m by 2010/11. Taking into account year-on-year variations this represents a poor outtrun since DCAL’s arts line also funds government support for Arts & Business, Screen Northern Ireland, Creative Learning Centres, international arts, as well as grant-in-aid to the Arts Council (the latter represents about 2/3rds. of the total, i.e. £10.5m. in the current year).
• It remains too early for DCAL to give a definitive statement of what grant-in-aid to the Arts Council will finally be, nevertheless we have been told by DCAL to anticipate that there will only be a modest increase in the Arts Council grant-in-aid, a total of £4.25m. for the entire CSR three-year horizon. The key point is that this is significantly less than the pitch by the sector (as set out in the document “A Time for the Arts”) and therefore will result in a serious shortfall. And, while the position remains fluid from year-to-year, provisional figures for each of the three years appear to be as follows: 2008/09 – increasing from the current based line of c.£10.5m. by £500,000 (2008/09 baseline = £11m.); 2009/10 increasing over the current baseline by £750,000, (2009/10 baseline = £11.25m.) with the largest increase shown in the planning figure for 2010/11, namely a £3m. uplift over the 2007/08 baseline (2010/11 baseline = £13.5m.). The proposals contained in the Draft Budget 2008-11 show that the greatest uplift in DCAL’s arts line is scheduled to occur in the last of the three years, i.e. 2010/11. Based on the immediate pressures that have been identified within the sector (arising from successive years of flat-line funding and loss of Lottery income), there is a compelling case to implement the largest uplift without delay i.e. with effect from year one of the CSR period.
• It should be stressed that sums may also be ring-fenced within the allocation to the Arts Council for special projects (in line with current practice). It has been suggested that projects such as the Creativity Seed Fund (should it be re-established) and the Creative Youth Partnerships programme (CYP) may lay claim on DCAL’s Arts line. These are important points to be clarified and you may wish to concentrate your questions in these areas.
• One further point about the DCAL Budget: the activities under the heading “Cultural Policy” (shown as £7.4m. in the current year) largely represents spending on Ulster Scots Academy, Irish Language Broadcasting and other aspects of the Department’s Culture and Linguistic Diversity programme (as referred in the accompany DFP text) and not anything further. It is unlikely that any of this money will find its way directly to artists or arts organisations.
• As with all the spending departments, DCAL has substantial efficiency savings to achieve. The draft Budget describes cash releasing efficiency targets of £3.6 million, £7.0 million and £10.4 million respectively over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The Arts Council has yet to receive an indication on how this will impact on the arts line in general, or the Arts Council in particular. However, overall the picture is not particularly bright for the arts in general.
• On a related point, you may wish to comment on the targets which have been set for DCAL. Public Service Agreement No. 9 refers to promoting access to culture, arts and leisure. The only arts-related action will be measured by targeting a 2% increase in the proportion of the NI population attending/participating in the arts. We all want to see more people enjoying the arts, but is this a realistic target? The re-direction of Lottery funds to meet the cost of the London Olympics has been a major cause for concern to the sector as has the declining value of DCAL funding arsing from successive years of standstill funding. Without sufficient funding the Arts Council may not be able to realise some areas identified in its five year strategy, existing clients will face uncertainty and new clients and projects will not be funded. This will have a serious impact on the positive contribution of the arts to the social and economic development of the region and will undermine the achievement of DCAL’s Public Service Agreement targets for attendance and participation. For example, following the last two rounds of National Lottery funding applications, requests from arts organizations totalled over £10 million against available funds of just under £3 million. The closure of funding programmes and cancellation of projects which will inevitably follow the draft Budget, will erode capacity within the sector
• Arts funding in Northern Ireland has lagged behind the rest of the UK and Ireland in terms of investment in the arts. The per capita spend on the arts in Northern Ireland has been historically and significantly lower than neighbouring regions including the Republic of Ireland and Scotland (i.e. in 2006/07 Northern Ireland received £6.14 per capita, Scotland £12.01 and the Republic of Ireland £12.46). In the document “A Time for the Arts”, the Arts Council argued strongly for an increase in line with the other regions: an argument that was supported by the Assembly in the Private Members’ Motion of 9 October, 2007. Self-evidently this has not happened.
• Finally, not only are the arts important in their own right and deserve to be properly funded but there are also the associated social and economic benefits. The Arts support and enhance many of the Government’s priorities in areas such as Education, Health and Community Development as well as contributing towards a competitive economy through creativity and innovation. They also shape perceptions of Northern Ireland: they have brought the region international acclaim. The Arts Council has a clear strategy for the coming five years but the objectives of that strategy can only be delivered with substantially increased public funding. Taking into account existing and forecast pressures within the arts funding system and the need to compensate for the reduction of Lottery income, the arts need an increase in government spending to the level of £11.55 per head of population, an extra £26 million over three years of the spending review.
Comments on the draft Budget (2008-11) can be submitted by writing to the following address:
Melanie McGinnis
Economic Policy Unit
OFMDFM
Rm E5.22
Castle Buildings
Stormont
Belfast BT4 3SR
Telephone: (028) 9052 0093
Fax: (028) 9052 2552
E-mail:pfgbudget@nics.gov.uk
Web: www.pfgbudgetni.gov.uk/
The Consultation Workshops: What to Expect
• You should register with OFMDFM before attending one of the Consultation Workshops. Anyone wishing to attend any of these events should contact the Economic Policy Unit in OFMDFM: By Telephone: 028 9052 0093; By Fax: 028 9052 2552 or By Email: pfgbudget@nics.gov.uk
• The Consultation Workshops are being held on the following dates:
......Thursday 29 November, Guildhall, Londonderry
......Monday 3 December, The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen
......Wednesday 5 December, Spires Conference Centre, Belfast
......Tuesday 11 December, Southern Education and Library Board Headquarters, Armagh.
• All events will begin at 7pm and run until approximately 9.00pm.
• There will be tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival. The proceedings will begin with a brief presentation on the draft Programme for Government, draft Budget and draft Investment Strategy.
• The purpose of these meetings is to listen to the views of the attendees. They will be asked what they think the priorities for the draft programme of government, draft budget and draft investment strategy should be and what they think of the draft proposals in all three documents.
• There is an agenda providing a running-order for the events. However, this may be amended depending on the numbers who attend and will always include break- out sessions.
• Comments will be written on flip chart paper; hand written notes may also be included in the consultation report on each workshop.
• There is no particular advice on how responses should be made. If attendees feel strongly about a certain issue they should try to ensure that it is recorded on a flip chart during the break-out session by the government official who will be present recording issues raised during the sessions for Ministerial consideration.
• It helps to explain why you feel strongly about a certain area i.e. why should a certain area have a greater priority than another and therefore receive more funding.
You can keep up to date by visiting www.keepourartsalive.com (a dedicated website run by the Arts Council) and also the Arts Council's 'Campaigning for the Arts' webpage: www.artscouncil-ni.org/campaign
