Cultural Services | LocalGov


£270m boost for museums and galleries branded ‘sticking plaster’ 21/02/2025 The announcement of £270m for museums and galleries is welcome but still just a ‘sticking plaster’ to cover a lack of funding, council chiefs say.
Call for new cultural powers for mayors 05/11/2024 Mayors in England should be handed significant new powers and responsibilities over the creative, cultural and heritage life of their regions, according to a new report.
Brum consults on £2.3m library cuts 05/04/2024 Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council has launched a consultation on how it will cut £2.3m from its library budget.
Local government launches cultural services alliance 01/03/2024 Organisations representing local government have joined forces to form a new National Alliance for Cultural Services.
Culture spend down by £500m 01/02/2024 Analysis has uncovered an almost £500m reduction in councils’ spending on libraries, culture, heritage and tourism since the onset of austerity.
Dorset awards half a million to local culture 12/01/2024 Cultural services across Dorset are set to benefit from £486,000 over the next three years.
£450k to kick-start library transformation 30/11/2023 A Manchester library has been awarded £453,964 to transform its Grade II Listed building and preserve its historic collections.
Council digs up ‘remarkable’ evidence of pre-Christian royal practice 27/11/2023 A local authority’s community archaeology project has found ‘rare and remarkable evidence’ of the practice of pre-Christian beliefs at a royal site.
Weymouth council to reconsider funfair cancellation 28/02/2023 Weymouth Town Council has announced it will reconsider a decision to cancel funfair bookings for this year.
Four places shortlisted to be UK City of Culture 2025 21/03/2022 Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough are the four locations shortlisted to be UK City of Culture 2025.
Museums and galleries to receive £48m boost 14/03/2022 Cultural venues across the country are set to receive £48m of funding to help improve access to the arts, the Government has announced.
New commission launched to show value of cultural services 07/03/2022 A new commission to promote the role of arts and culture in England's recovery from the pandemic has been launched by the Local Government Association (LGA).
Over 100 places to receive targeted arts funding 24/02/2022 Over 100 places that have been previously overlooked or neglected will be prioritised for arts funding.
Council reverses decision to scrap all arts funding 14/02/2022 The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has decided against plans to cut arts funding by 100% following a public consultation.
Council spending on the arts has halved since 2010 04/02/2022 Local authority expenditure on cultural services has fallen by 50% across England since 2009-2010, according to new research.
Cultural sector to get £30m winter boost 22/12/2021 Theatres, museums and other organisations in the cultural sector will be able to draw on an extra £30m to help them through winter, Government says.
Council spending on museums falls by more than a quarter in past decade 27/10/2021 Local authority spending on museums and galleries has fallen by 27% in the past decade, new analysis has found.
Only half the Culture Recovery Fund paid out, NAO finds 12/03/2021 Only half of the money from the Government’s arts recovery fund has been paid out so far, a spending watchdog has warned.
BUDGET 2021: Sunak's lifeline for workers and business 03/03/2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget is expected to provide a lifeline for workers as the furlough scheme is extended to September while the universal credit £20 uplift could also be prolonged for six months.
New research to show value of heritage and culture 21/01/2021 The culture and heritage sectors will be able to make a stronger case for investment following a new approach by the Government.
Council chiefs call for culture funding to support people during lockdown 11/11/2020 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to invest more in culture, sport and leisure activities as a new report reveals councils spend over £2bn a year on these areas.
Latest round of funding for heritage sites announced 09/11/2020 The major share of a £1.57bn fund dedicated to supporting the recovery of cultural assets has been awarded outside of London, according to the Government.
Council chiefs call on Government to help local creative industries 05/08/2020 New guidance has been published to help over-stretched councils support their local creative industries recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Protecting art in a crisis 27/07/2020 Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy outline how local authorities can play an important part in enabling arts and culture to flourish in their areas.
Planning changes to protect theatres and music venues 13/07/2020 New planning rules to protect theatres, concert halls and live music performance venues from being demolished or redeveloped will come into effect next week.
Government unveils £1.57bn rescue package for arts and culture 06/07/2020 The Government has announced a £1.57bn funding package to help cultural and heritage organisations survive the coronavirus crisis.
Arts council announces £160m of ‘emergency funding’ 25/03/2020 Council chiefs have welcomed the announcement of a multi-million-pound injection of funding to support the arts sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
Winners announced for Hearts For The Arts Awards 2020 14/02/2020 A Windrush festival and a theatre company helping those affected by addiction are among the winners of this year's Hearts for the Arts awards.
Whitehall announces £250m of culture spending 14/10/2019 The Government has announced £250m of funding for cultural projects, libraries, museums and the creative industries after a decade of cuts.
Council services ‘declining’ due to £5bn funding gap, MPs say 21/08/2019 MPs have accused the Government of being ‘derelict in its duty’ by failing to set out a funding settlement that would ease the pressure on frontline services.
Council approves plans for 10ft Thatcher statue 06/02/2019 Councillors in Lincolnshire have given the go ahead for a bronze statue of Margaret Thatcher to be placed in Grantham, home town of the late prime minister.
Popular council services could be swallowed by £8bn funding black hole 01/02/2019 Many popular council services could disappear by 2025 due to a £8bn funding black hole, council leaders have warned today.
Council spending on cultural services slashed by £400m 28/01/2019 Council spending on cultural resources such as museums, libraries, and the arts has been reduced by almost £400m over the last eight years of austerity, new research has revealed.
Five areas to share £20m cultural development fund 18/01/2019 The five areas to receive £20m of funding to invest in culture have been unveiled by the Government.
Cambridge CC to bring cultural services back in-house 24/12/2018 Cambridge CC has announced it will return to providing cultural services directly after Cambridge Live struggles to meet financial targets.
Manchester to double its contribution to arts venue 06/11/2018 Manchester City Council is set to more than double its contribution to delivering a new arts venue after the cost of project rose by nearly £20m.
Government announces £15m in cultural regeneration funds 23/03/2018 The tourism minister today committed to giving Blackpool, Bradford and the Lake District £15m in cultural regeneration funds for the North.
Waltham named first London Borough of Culture 27/02/2018 Waltham Forest will be awarded over £1m as it is named the first ever London Borough of Culture.
Coventry named UK City of Culture 2021 08/12/2017 Coventry has been chosen to be the UK's City of Culture for 2021.
£15m fund to support culture and tech projects in the North 05/12/2017 Eleven towns and cities from across Northern England have bid for a share of a new £15m fund to support major culture and tech capital projects.
Online hub created for councils to share innovative ways to invest in culture 17/08/2017 Financially-squeezed councils can now access a specialised online hub designed to help them share innovative ways to invest in culture.
London to become 'leading 24-hour global city’, mayor says 26/07/2017 London is set to become a 'leading 24-hour global city' under plans unveiled by mayor Sadiq Khan.
Mayor launches London Borough of Culture competition 03/07/2017 London’s boroughs will be able to apply for over £1m of funding in order to develop their cultural activities and stage ‘world-class’ cultural events.
Newcastle-Gateshead to host 2018 Great Exhibition 11/10/2016 Newcastle-Gateshead has been chosen to host the 2018 Great Exhibition of the North.
Arts and culture funding to be shifted away from the capital 05/10/2016 Funding for arts and culture outside of London will be increased by 4% by 2022, Arts Council England has announced.
Hull announces £100m investment into cultural infrastructure 23/09/2016 Hull has launched ‘ambitious’ plans to invest £100m in cultural infrastructure in order to capitalise on its tenure as the UK City of Culture 2017.
New programme will give 600 youths access to the arts, Whitehall claims 10/08/2016 A new programme promoting cultural engagement within disadvantaged communities will provide 600 young people increased access to the arts, the Government claims.
Museums receive over £12m amid cuts in arts funding 03/08/2016 Museums across the country are to receive millions in funding to transform them into ‘sustainable and resilient businesses’, at a time when investment in the arts is decreasing.
150-year-old Welsh museum under threat from cuts 08/01/2016 The future of Wales’ oldest museum is in question as council is forced to cut funding to cultural services in their bid to save £90m.