Agenda and draft minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they might have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in respect of business on the agenda.  No additional interests were declared.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Monday 19 December 2016. Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the Task Group. To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting (contact details at the foot of the agenda).

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting. Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present. It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_f

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60809.pdf

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report provides the Task Group with all the information gathered to date in support of the scrutiny review into the Impact of the Arts and Culture Sectors on the Economy of York.

Mary Weastell - Chief Executive and Charlie Croft – Assistant Director Communities and Equalities will be in attendance.

The Chief Executive of City of York Council and the Assistant Director Communities and Equalities had been invited to the meeting to contribute to the review.  They raised the following issues:

·        Traditionally the Council had had a defined leisure and culture function with a dedicated team delivering these services. This was no longer the case and its role was now as a participant and collaborator – influencing and linking into the networks that were in place.

·        The opportunities offered by Make it York and its role in developing a cultural strategy for the city.  This should include identifying core priorities for the city and how these should be presented to bodies such as the Arts Council.

·        The emergence of a Cultural Leaders Group as a vibrant collective of the cultural sector.

Members questioned officers about the Cultural Leaders Group, and whether it was difficult for the group to take a strategic role because they were competitors.  Officers explained that the cultural sector in York was, as in other cities, quite competitive.  Developments had, however, been made in areas such as the sharing of data.  It may not be realistic for the Cultural Leaders Group alone to set a shared vision - the Council also had a role to play, for example its professional advisors sat on Make it York for that purpose.

Members stated that they were interested in identifying the Council’s role within the sector, even if this role was no longer as a grant giver.  The Chief Executive stated the importance of the Council providing a strategic steer for the city.  It had signed up to the York Economic Strategy, of which this was a part.  The Council could influence and needed to be clear about the priorities for the city.  The difficulties in measuring the benefits and outcomes of this sector were, however, acknowledged. 

Members were informed of the partnership review that had been instigated, which would include consideration of the client role. The Chief Executive explained the role of Make it York and the need to evolve the Council’s service level agreement with this body.  Productive discussions were taking place on this issue.

Members asked officers whether they believed that Make it York was the best mechanism for driving inward investment. The Chief Executive stated that a number of regeneration projects were planned, including York Central, where inward investment would be crucial.  There were different models of inward investment throughout the country.  The focus of Make it York was attracting tourism – it was more about supporting local businesses.   Anchor tenants needed to be found for York Central but it was not the responsibility of Make it York to achieve this, although they would contribute to elements of the delivery.  There may be a need to consider different models as projects moved forward.

The Chief Executive stated that she had also been having discussions as to whether the city could do more to maximise the benefits of working on a regional basis to promote tourism.  This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.