Weeknotes 32

A fairly tumultuous couple of weeks so I'm combining this week and last in terms of updates. They are inevitably linked by the violent disorder that ocurred acrosss the country, and more positively by the communities rallying to support each other through a difficult period and to challenge extremist activity.

Highlights

Yesterday we convened a briefing webinar on responding to the disorder for colleagues leading culture and leisure services. Over 131 people joined us to hear a very powerful presentation from Cllr Jane Ashworth, Leader of Stoke on Trent Council, about what happened in the City, how everyone responded, and the very significant role that culture, sport and heritage services will play in supporting the community in the future. Delegates also heard from Hitesh Patel of Sport for Development Coalition and Jamie Scudamore of Belong: the cohesion and integration network. Both highlighted the work that is being done by locally trusted organisations in this space, and the value of preventative work by culture and sport services.

Tackling disinformation was also discussed, with Isobel Hunter MBE identifying the role that libraries can play as one of the most trusted public institutions. However, there was a feeling from delegates that more support is needed on how to engage with those who joined in the disorder and to support integration/inclusion, alongside the importance of supporting those who have been made to feel at risk. We will take that forward with DCMS and other associations, including Sharon Heal of the Museums Association, and Julie Russell of CLOA who helped co-chair the session. Finally, we shared an initial list of resources to keep services and people safe, as well as some guidance on activities that can support cohesion. This list, and the presentation from Cllr Ashworth, will appear on the past event presentations page next week.

You can find the statements on the violent disorder* from the LGA, CLOA, and Museums Association below:

• LGA
• CLOA
• Museums Association

*We have been using 'violent disorder' to describe the situation as there are legal and financial definitions and consequences that derive from the use of the word 'riots'.

Positive progress

1. I met with Bernard Hay and Emily H. of the Creative Indsutries Policy and Evidence Centre to discuss the centre's work and future publications plan. I have personally found their recent State of the Nation report on workforce, broken down by council area, to be extremely useful in shaping my thinking around the economic growth mission.
2. Continuing a very good week for evidence, Moving Communities has published the latest impact report on usage of leisure centres. It is extremely positive to read that visits from users in the most deprived 20% of areas has increased by 9% (100 000 people). Social value has also increased by almost ￡50 million compared to the previous year.
3. Samantha Ramanah and Isobel Parkes work on our call for evidence on supporting women and girls to be active is nearing conclusion and I'm excited that we'll be able to share it with you all soon.

Things you might like to know

• I met with Hannah Waterson of the National Centre for Creative Health to discuss their latest report on the evidence for the impact of creative activity, and co-producing a briefing for councils on it. There are already lots of really good resources on their website, so do look at it if you're considering how your cultural and creative work can improve local health outcomes.
• I met Gregory Forrest, who is the new DCMS lead on libraries superintendence and data - both very important issues for local government.
• The infographics on cultural funding, and the complexity facing councils, that we launched two weeks ago have done stunningly well on the LGA's linkedin page and are pretty much the most popular thing on there, beaten only by the video of Angela Rayner's first visit. We'll be considering if there are opportunities for more visual communication of our issues and opportunities in the future.
• The LGA's rescheduled annual conference will now take place on 22-24 October, and you can see the programme here. We will be running one session on the transition of leisure towards a preventative active wellbeing services, and one on supporting the creative industries.

I know it has been a trying few weeks and many people are dealing with very difficult circumstances. I hope everyone is able to find an opportunity to relax and recharge in a safe environment over the weekend.