Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Cole, Dawood, and Shelton.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 12 October 2021 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrtutiny Commission held on 12 October 2021 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statement of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations, or statements of case had been received.

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment submits a report on the Council’s plans for cultural and creative industries in the city.

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Culture, introduced the item. It was noted that a Cultural and Creative Industries Plan was intended to enable to Council to bid for further funding for the Cultural and Creative sectors in the city.

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment presented the item, it was noted that:

·         An independent agency would be commissioned to help create the Plan.

·         The Plan would be developed in collaboration with the local universities and other private sector partners.

·         A decision was expected to earmark resources to the Plan from the Covid Recovery Fund, this would also assist a feasibility study into a bid for a potential third round of the Cultural Development Fund.

·         Arts Council England was interested in developing Cultural Compacts, this was also encouraged by the Government. A Cultural Compact for Leicester was one of the intended outcomes from the work.

·         It was hoped that the plan would be developed in early 2022, with the goal being to appoint the agency early in the new year.

·         Wider creative industries such as advertising and IT were growing very fast and the UK was a world leader in them. Therefore, expanding these industries in the city was important.

·         One of the aspects of the brief for the agency would be to explore what a potential future bid for the Creative Cluster program would look like, similar to others that had been funded elsewhere around the country.

·         Another round of bids for Arts Council National Portfolio Organisations was upcoming, the last round had seen a significant increase in NPOs in the city and a number of organisations in the city were hoping got secure NPO status. It was hoped that the new Plan would also assist such organisations.

In response to Member’s questions it was noted that:

·         There would be a budget of around £40,000-50,000 for hiring the agency, with the City Council’s contribution to be approximately £20,000.

·         It would be preferable to hire a local agency, however the priority would be hiring an organisation with the appropriate expertise.

AGREED

1.    That the Commission recommends that an update on the progress of the Plan be brought to the Commission is 6 months time, and thereafter when the agency has finished its report.

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment submits a presentation on the Festivals and Events Team’s Christmas Programme.

Chris Hackett, Deputy Festival and Events Manager, and Sarah Harrison, City Centre Director, presented the item, it was noted that:

·         £250,000 had been earmarked for Christmas activities in the city earlier in the year, particularly to offset the risk that COVID issues may increase cost.

·         The Christmas lights switch-on was designed to reduce crowd density by spreading the event across the city and had been received positively.

·         Green Dragon Square would be hosting numerous activities during the festive period such as Santa in the Square and Outdoor Cinema. A large number of children’s books had been secured at significant discount to giveaway to children who visited Santa.

·         The Ice Rink on Jubilee Square would be going ahead, radio advertising for the rink had been secured via a partnership deal with GEM.

·         A funfair on Humberstone Gate was ongoing.

·         The digital programme for the period had been completed.

·         Arch Creative led on the media campaign for Christmas in Leicester, including a dedicated website and a new animated video.

·         Several Bid Leicester initiatives were part of the program, including the Orton Square light installation and a TV advert.

·         An augmented reality interactive adventure was a new feature and a free downloadable app would allow users to collect points and unlock augmented reality experiences through the city. This would be delivered in collaboration with over 60 businesses.

·         Marketing for the app was staggered, it was expected that engagement would increase at the start of the focused marketing campaign.

In response to Members’ questions it was noted that:

·         The goal was for the app to be user friendly, including instructions on using the augmented reality technology.

·         Work was ongoing with schools to promote the app.

·         The TV advert would also been shown in Green Dragon Square.

·         Events staff were in constant contact with Public Health regarding event safety. All staff would be trained on Covid safety.

AGREED:

1.    That the Commission praises Festivals and Events staff for organising this exciting Christmas programme.

2.    That the Commission recommends that data and feedback from the programme be brought back to the Commission. 

The Director of Public Health submits a presentation on the current status of women’s participation in physical activity and sport in the city.

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Leisure, introduced the item. It was noted that statistically, Leicester lagged behind in terms of physical activity. It was hoped that the recommendations of the Commission in this area would help improve sports options for women in the city.

Victoria Ball, Sport and Active Recreation Manager, presented the item, it was noted that:

·         The Commission would be undertaking a review of women’s participation in physical activity and sports.

·         Women in all age groups lagged behind in terms of participation in sports in Leicester.

·         There were examples of projects and programmes from other Local Authorities in this area which could be researched.  

·         Campaigns from national organisations such as Sport England could also be researched.

·         The review could conduct focus groups with women in the community to get a local knowledge.

·         Research needed to be conducted into wider sports opportunities for women outside of Council Services.

·         The review could create a framework for local partners.

·         Public Health had a large amount of data in this area.

·         National Sporting Bodies were also conducting initiatives in this area.

·         Women were a priority in the Active Leicester strategy.

Members of the Commission made the following comments:

·         Lots of women would engage with online options for physical activity such as online yoga sessions, there were many examples of community groups doing this during lockdown.  

·         Organisations such as dance schools offered physical activity for women are should be included in the research.

·         Long established organisations in this area were having issues with volunteers getting older and not being able to recruit younger volunteers.

·         The investment the Council put into cycling could be included in the research.

·         Disability sports should be included in the research.

·         Age and cultural differences should be considered when looking at women’s choices for sports and physical activity.

AGREED:

1.    That the Commission recommends that Members’ comments and the presentation inform the proposed review into women’s physical activity and sport as evidence.

The Chair submits a draft scope for a new review into ‘Women’s Participation in Sports and Physical Activities’ for Member’s consideration.

The Chair presented the scope document. Members had no comments and were happy to approve the scope. Officers noted that amendments to the scope would be made based on Members’ comments on the previous item.

AGREED:

1.    That the Commissions approves the scope for the task group to be carried out. The scope document will be submitted to the Overview Select Committee for endorsement.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

The Chair noted that any suggestions for future items for the Commission should be emailed to herself or the Scrutiny Policy Officer.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 6.40pm.