Briefings and responses

Councils are committed to supporting the growth of the creative industries and have a key role to play in providing the local conditions for new creative clusters to flourish.

In order to contribute most effectively, councils need earlier involvement in decisions at a national strategic level, and local government should also have representation on longer-term bodies like the Tourism Industry Council.

This review is timely and much needed in light of the challenges posed to the visitor economy by the pandemic, which has exacerbated pre-existing weaknesses as well as creating significant new issues.

Throughout the pandemic, councils have provided a lifeline to struggling hospitality businesses by distributing more than £11 billion to 880,000 small businesses in 2020. As the government implements the road map to re-opening, councils will continue helping businesses to re-open safely.

We welcome the Government’s roadmap and evidenced-based approach to reopening, and on behalf of councils we are keen to work with national government and public health experts to ensure public gyms and leisure facilities can reopen safely and as soon as possible.

While the Government’s £1.57 billion support package for the arts and culture sector was welcome, the sector is still facing significant financial difficulties. Councils face significant additional cost pressures as a result of COVID-19 and this will directly impact council’s ability to fund discretionary services in the culture sector, at a time when the sector is in urgent need of investment.

As we face the biggest public health crisis in living memory, physical activity and sport have a critical role in building individual resilience to the immediate challenge of COVID-19, but also in tackling the loneliness and obesity epidemics that pose a longer-term threat to our nation’s health. 

The Government made £3.2 billion worth of emergency funding available to councils to address the immediate pressures of the COVID-19 crisis. However, this funding was predominantly targeted towards direct frontline issues such homelessness and supporting the vulnerable. The culture, tourism and support sector still face’s significant funding challenges, despite the Government’s £1.57 billion support package for the cultural sector.

The visitor economy sector has taken one of the biggest financial hits due to COVID-19. Gaps in support packages alongside the absence of the seasonal boost the industry usually sees over the summer means the impact of the pandemic will be felt in the weeks and months to come, with many at risk of closure.

The sector has taken one of the biggest financial hits due to the COVID-19 crisis. Gaps in support packages alongside the absence of the seasonal boost the industry usually sees over the summer means the impact will be felt in the weeks and months to come, even as social distancing measures are eased.