The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

Implementation of the National Cultural Strategy: Draft Guidance for Scottish Local Authorities

Part 3. The role of local authorities

3.1 The importance and status of the role of local government in ensuring cultural provision

Recognising the importance of local authorities

3.1.1 Local government is of immense significance for cultural provision in Scotland. This importance can be measured in several ways - for example, total spending by the 32 local authorities on cultural provision which they deliver themselves or commission externally, the range of this cultural provision, the number of persons using it, and the number of persons employed.

3.1.2 Local authorities are not of course alone in planning, funding, advising on, co-ordinating, directly providing or commissioning cultural provision. The Scottish Executive, government agencies such as Historic Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council, sportscotland, the Scottish Museums Council, Scottish Screen, other National Lottery distributor bodies, Scottish Enterprise/Highlands & Islands Enterprise, voluntary bodies such as Voluntary Arts Scotland, the national companies, other regional and local providers of cultural services, and other statutory bodies all also have a role. There are similarities between the role of local authorities and such bodies (e.g. giving general support for cultural activities) as well as differences (e.g. many of the other bodies have specialist roles, and work at national level). (NB: The listing of bodies is illustrative rather than definitive.)

3.1.3 Nevertheless, local authorities have a uniquely wide-ranging role and one which is certainly much wider than any other type of local body whose role(s) include ensuring cultural provision.

Ensuring cultural provision

3.1.4 'Ensuring cultural provision' has several meanings including:

• preparing strategic and service plans relating to cultural provision, whether these statements of intent are the local authority's own instrument or they have been prepared and published jointly with one or more non-local authority bodies

• ensuring that such plans reflect the particular cultural needs of the authority's area, including those who have special needs arising from disability, age, language, race and religion

• creating a supportive infrastructure - for example by offering funding or other resources

• stimulating activity through economic development, planning, building control,

• providing services, whether this is done directly, or by commissioning them from voluntary or private sector bodies, or from individuals (e.g. creative artists)

• contributing to the strategies and plans of other bodies, acting in partnership.

3.1.5 There are few areas of cultural activity which local authorities do not support, either by making provision directly or by arranging for it to be delivered by external providers.

3.1.6 This guidance cannot indicate the appropriate levels of provision for any local authority, or Scottish local authorities as a whole. It is for each authority to consider how best to meet the needs of its area. There are, however, models which can assist local authorities in determining what facilities are needed (e.g. sportscotland's 'facilities planning' model, already used by some local authorities). The guidance sets out the factors that local authorities should take into account and the processes they should follow in planning cultural provision and delivering it - and, subsequently, in evaluating their performance (see community leadership (Part 4) and planning, resource management and evaluation (Part 6)). The numerous statutory and regulatory requirements in relation to education are listed in the Appendix.

3.1.7 Overall, the guidance is intended to assist local authorities to respond to existing legislation, and also to the Local Government in Scotland Bill which creates important new provisions affecting local authorities' cultural activities, specifically the introduction of:

• a duty to achieve Best Value

• a duty to initiate and facilitate community planning, and

• the power to advance community well-being in the context of community planning.

3.1.8 Local authorities have taken on a significant role in ensuring cultural provision at local level. The reasons for this include a desire to:

• promote improvement in the quality of life

• contribute to cross-cutting aims (e.g. economic development) and

• provide community leadership.

3.1.9 Cultural initiatives reflect the local authority's aims (e.g. corporate priorities, key aims etc) and are often cost-effective and imaginative ways of addressing these issues. This guidance explains how a local authority's cultural polices should support its wider policies. The Scottish Executive's National Cultural Strategy confirms this role, particularly in relation to its 'strategic objectives' and associated 'key priorities' - and that is why the Executive considers this guidance is necessary.

Promoting cultural provision through leadership

3.1.10 Each local authority has two major leadership roles in relation to culture. The first is the recognition of the value of culture and the role of councillors and senior officers in advocating the benefits of culture and committing the local authority to supporting culture. It is good practice to ensure that cultural matters do not become lost or unduly marginalised among the local authority's many other duties. These cultural matters are numerous, and are set out fully below at Table A. This internal role is therefore a very challenging role.

3.1.11 Second, each local authority has an external leadership role - through actions such as partnership working, and funding the voluntary sector. An increasingly important vehicle for such partnership working is community planning (see section 4.1).

3.2 Local authorities' cultural activities - the 9 major areas

Identifying the range of authorities' cultural activities

3.2.1 Table A below identifies the breadth of contribution authorities can make to provision. Some of the activities listed do not necessarily have cultural provision as a main aim or objective, but nevertheless they all have elements which contribute to local cultural provision and Scotland's culture.

3.2.2 Table A lists 9 generic types of provision. The name used for each area of activity in column 1 has been chosen to be as 'generic' as possible (and not to resemble the title given by any particular local authority to any a) committee b) service or department with this responsibility. The description in the second column clarifies the key elements associated with the 9 activities listed.

Mapping a local authority's cultural 'coverage'

3.2.3 The table is intended to be comprehensive in listing all the cultural activities in which Scottish local authorities are active. One use of the table therefore, for an individual local authority, is to assist a mapping of how comprehensive its cultural 'coverage' is.

(*) In Col 1, the sequence of the listing is alphabetical, and does not imply any priority for each activity. The activities/services do not reflect any departmental structure.

(**) In Col 2, some of the elements may relate to more than one of the activities/type of provision.

3.2.4 It is good practice that each local authority is active in relation to each of the 9 activities.

3.2.5 Table A provides a basis for a local authority in planning its Best Value reviews in relation to cultural provision. Some of the relevant provision is delivered directly by authorities. Other aspects are arranged by means of external provision - for example, when they are commissioned by an authority from a voluntary or private sector provider or trust, from an individual (e.g. a creative artist), or are supported through grant aid or some form of 'in-kind' resource. Partnerships are discussed in Part 4 of this guidance.

3.3 The value of these activities - achieving 'cross-cutting' objectives - the 'instrumental' use of cultural provision

3.3.1 It is traditional to view cultural activities as valuable activities in their own right, because of what they confer for both participants and for users/consumers in terms of pleasure, fulfilment and self-realisation. These are of course powerful reasons for undertaking cultural provision.

3.3.2 More recently, it is increasingly recognised that culture has an additional, 'instrumental' value - that is, it can provide an important means of achieving objectives beyond the cultural activity itself.

3.3.3 A well-known example of this is the economic significance of cultural provision, and how it can be used to promote economic development of an area - including the area of a local authority. More recently, there has been growing recognition and use of cultural provision as a successful means of pursuing a number of 'cross-cutting' policies and goals, including:

• social justice/social inclusion

• community development/active citizenship

• diversity of cultural provision - supporting multi-culturalism and promoting equality of opportunity

• economic regeneration

• lifelong learning

• health benefits

• community safety

• environmental improvements

3.3.4 These contributions are summarised below in Table B.

Table B: Cultural provision's contribution to cross-cutting issues

3.3.5 It is good practice for each authority to clearly distinguish these different views of culture (i.e. that culture is valuable in its own right, as well as being instrumental in achieving further goals.) Authorities should do so both in their own work (e.g. strategic and service plans), but also in their joint work with other bodies (who may have different views on the role and purpose of cultural provision), to improve policy-making and delivery. In addition, cultural activities, projects and services will be most effective when they form part of a wider programme, rather when they are planned and delivered in isolation.

Meeting the needs of disabled people

3.3.6 Local authorities should also consider their cultural provision for disabled people - for example, arts projects can be designed specifically for disabled people but there is also a responsibility for making all arts projects accessible to them. Local authorities require to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act; and it is good practice for them to consider:

• the range of specialist provision in the local authority area

• the accessibility of mainstream provision.

Meeting the needs of people of minority ethnic origin

3.3.7 The minority ethnic community represents 1.25% of Scotland's total population (1991 census information). Racial groups covered by the census include Black Caribbean, Black African, Black Other, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese. The minority ethnic population is largely urban, with 1 in 3 living in Glasgow. However, the population is also widely dispersed within every Scottish local authority area. A range of other groups with a distinctive cultural identity are also resident in Scotland including asylum-seekers, refugees and travelling people.

3.3.8 This diverse range of cultural traditions and identities is part of the rich mix of Scottish culture and local authorities are encouraged to develop cultural strategies to embrace this diversity and meet the needs of people from minority ethnic communities. The Scottish Arts Council's Diversity Strategy 2002-07 is also commended to authorities. It aims to respond to the needs of Scotland's minority ethnic communities and to develop opportunities for minority ethnic artists, by strengthening the infrastructure of certain arts organisations and by encouraging mainstream organisations to broaden employment and programming policies.

3.3.9 Research undertaken in 1991 to inform development of the Scottish Arts Council's Diversity Strategy involved interviews with local authorities and revealed significant variations in the approach being taken by them in relation to supporting cultural diversity in the arts. To some extent this was related to the concentration of minority ethnic people living in the area; however it was generally agreed, in discussions with local authorities and with mainstream arts bodies, that considerable potential and opportunities existed for expanding work with minority ethnic communities.

3.3.10 The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002 has far-reaching implications for public authorities and will require local authorities to ensure that they consider the implications for racial equality in everything that they do. Under the Act, authorities must have due regard to the need to promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

3.3.11 As well as considering the development of cultural activities targeted particularly towards minority ethnic communities, local authorities should consider measures to maximise access to the widest range of cultural provision for these communities.

3.3.12 A number of successful minority ethnic arts events and festivals have been developed in urban centres over recent years, demonstrating the particular role of cultural provision in promoting good relations at local level. The experience of local authorities where minority ethnic communities are most strongly represented provides a useful example for other authorities wishing to develop this activity; sharing good practice is therefore to be encouraged. It is good practice for local authorities to :

• promote and celebrate cultural diversity

• link cultural diversity with their social inclusion policies

• learn from the experiences and approaches of other authorities how best to plan to meet the needs of ethnic communities

• consider the scope for developing and expanding work with minority ethnic communities as an integral part of their role in developing and promoting Scottish culture.

3.4 Planning delivery

3.4.1 As shown above, cultural provision is embedded in almost the full range of activities in which local authorities are involved. It is a basic tenet of public management that public services have to be planned systematically, rather than delivered or externally funded/commissioned in an ad hoc manner. For cultural provision (as for other service areas in which authorities are involved), there are two major 'levels' of activity for local authorities - strategic and service.

Planning at strategic level

3.4.2 At this level, local authorities need to consider:

• their leadership role, including their role in relation to community planning (restating principles and purposes, and their strategy for promoting community well-being through cultural provision)

• the value of having an authority-wide strategy or plan for cultural provision which is comprehensive in its discussion of cultural goals and associated service provision

• arrangements to achieve the policy aims and objectives of the Scottish Executive and the local authority

• the function of partnerships

• the role of cultural provision in the authority's major partnership strategies, and in particular its community plan

• arrangements to encourage citizen and user participation.

Planning at service delivery level

3.4.3 At this level, the focus is on the local authority's direct and indirect service provision. Co-ordination of the authority's own resources to meet its particular objectives is achieved through service planning. Service provision comprises direct provision, external commissioning (including trusts) and external support (e.g. grants to external bodies).

3.4.4 At the operational level, it is good practice that the local authority should have:

• one or more service delivery plans or strategies which - individually or collectively - cover all 9 of the activity areas in Table A, above

• the plan(s) should set out, for each year it covers -

  • service objectives

  • key quantified information (including volume of service to be delivered, the expected number of service users, budget provision for each service)

  • how success is to be measured.

3.4.5 There are certain practices which should inform service planning. Of these, one of the most important is Best Value (see Part 6 of this guidance).

3.5 Resources

Identifying the key resources and how to use them

3.5.1 The resources which local authorities have for cultural provision are financial, human and physical (buildings, amenities).

Managing existing financial resources

3.5.2 Local authorities invest considerable sums of money in cultural provision. Demand for cultural provision is always likely to exceed available resources. The ageing stock of facilities and the need for investment present a significant challenge. There can also be pressure on local authorities' budgets from competing priorities and other non-cultural provision. Some local authorities have found it necessary to reduce, in real terms, their spending on cultural provision generally, in areas such as the arts. Consequently, authorities need to ensure their plans and strategies relate to the resources available to achieve their goals.

3.5.3 Local authorities' main source of finance for cultural provision (as is the case for other local authority service areas) is grant from central Government. However, there is also scope for charging for many aspects of provision (e.g. shops and cafes in local authority-managed facilities).

3.5.4 The starting point for making financial provision for services must be readily available information on current 'whole authority' cultural spending on activities in Table A. In fact, this information is not readily available in many local authorities. There are several reasons for this:

• different aspects of cultural provision are managed in different 'departments' of the same authority and spending information is not brought together to provide the 'whole picture' of what the authority already spends

• in turn, information is not necessarily collected consistently (problems giving rise to this are - inconsistent identification of which activities are 'cultural'; weak/underdeveloped guidance on the financial reporting standards; and weak/under-developed reporting itself).

3.5.5 It is good practice that each local authority ensures:

• it has considered the opportunities it has for charging for services (using Table A to analyse its current and future provision) and the maximisation of other revenue streams

• it has information available on current spending on all forms of cultural provision (Table A provides one method of systematically identifying all areas)

• this information is reported in, and used to inform decisions in, its cultural plans/strategies on how it has allocated its financial resources to support its current policies (as contrasted with alternative models, such as simply projecting past budget-allocations adjusted by periodic 'cuts' and 'growth' items)

• plans and strategies achieve Best Value.

Overall, this should ensure that the local authority is not vulnerable to the criticisms that it does not know what financial resources it already has, or that it has not considered how wisely it uses existing resources .

Securing additional financial resources

3.5.6 While local authorities will continue to rely on the Scottish Executive's grant-aided expenditure for most of their core funding, they should seek other sources of finance to help achieve their goals. This is not straightforward since external finance is likely to be time-limited and may still involve the authority committing itself to additional expenditure, and may not be an addition to 'core' budgets.

The National Lottery

3.5.7 National Lottery grants can provide funding for a range of sports, arts, heritage, and community-based revenue and capital projects. They can provide a source of badly needed capital funding for facility upgrading, which otherwise would not take place. The National Lottery distributors ( ¹) are making increasing effort to assist applicants (including local authorities). At the time of writing, a UK-wide review of National Lottery underway, and this is expected to identify the scope for improvements in how this source of funding is managed. Also, the Scottish Executive is drafting guidance in consultation with Lottery distributing bodies in Scotland, to identify good practice among Scottish local authorities in maximising Lottery funding opportunities and giving assistance to local groups in drawing up Lottery bids. This good practice guidance for authorities will be published later in 2002.

Other sources of funding

3.5.8 There are other potential sources of funding:

• European grants

• awards from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts

• grants from national and local trusts may be available for certain types of project

• it is possible that local authorities might use proceeds from the landfill tax to support environmentally related projects with a cultural dimension as East Lothian and Dumfries and Galloway Councils have done.

• sponsorship, either through national schemes such as Arts and Business Sponsorship Awards or support from local firms, is always worth seeking

• the National Cultural Strategy has led to several new funding initiatives which can benefit local authorities such as cultural co-ordinator in schools pilot posts.

3.5.9 In summary, some of the key points of good practice for local authorities are to:

• consider how proposed projects will meet their strategic aims, and the objectives and priorities set out in relevant cultural/community plans and strategies

• establish links with Lottery distributors and consult them at an early stage to check that proposals fit grant scheme criteria

• identify how much funding will be found (this will often mean seeking partners and securing their involvement) and provide co-ordination between different sources of funding

• ensure they can find the additional funding required to match grants and sustain projects in the longer term.

3.5.10 Partnerships based on funding arrangement are discussed at para 4.6.

Charging

3.5.11 Local authorities should also consider the potential for generating additional income from charges where there are no legal restrictions preventing this. This obviously has to be balanced with the concern that no one should be deterred from use by prices that are too high, particularly those on low income. Authorities' research into what people are prepared to pay is limited and there are wide variations in pricing policies and levels of charges between authorities. It is good practice to:

• take account of existing guidance and advice (e.g. by the Accounts Commission and the Scottish Association of Directors of Leisure Services)

• carry out relevant market research in the impact of existing and/or proposed charging policies.

Staffing resources

3.5.12 In most local authorities, two-thirds of their revenue spending is accounted for by staff costs. The expertise of staff is a considerable resource, not only for authorities themselves but also in building the capacity of the voluntary sector. For those reasons alone, staff are an important asset. Because of the breadth of cultural provision in which local authorities are involved (see Table A), they must either employ a wide range of staff or rely on the personnel of external bodies.

3.5.13 Best Value requires that local authorities consider the use of staff. Here, it is good practice to consider issues such as:

• the scope for managers to develop a broad working understanding across the range of cultural provision

• the scope for using 'multi-skilled' staff

• the need for skills training

• whether staff are deployed effectively (e.g. buildings-based only, or engaged in out-reach and development work, and work to build community capacity)

• opportunities for co-ordination between different professional groups, to permit good networking between staff, and achieve corporate working, avoiding 'territorialism'.

Managing facilities

3.5.14 Together, local authorities lead in providing many of Scotland's cultural facilities. They manage:

• public libraries

• sports and leisure centres (which not only serve local communities but can also cater for national and international events)

• museums and galleries (which range from buildings which house artefacts of primarily local interest to internationally-renowned collections such the Burrell)

• theatres and arts centres (direct management or financial support)

• most of Scotland's urban and country parks.

3.5.15 In relation to planning, it is good practice for local authorities to ensure they assess the range (and standard) of facilities provided, and consider how these match the needs of their communities. This is best achieved by conducting audits of existing facility provision, and by using models like sportscotland's facilities planning model. (NB: There is no equivalent to this model for the arts, as the diversity of arts activities make it difficult to develop a model similar to the one developed by sportscotland. However, the Scottish Arts Council encourages and supports local authorities in preparing capital plans for arts facilities and has devised a national capital plan related to Lottery funding for arts facilities.) Local authorities' planning should cover both revenue and capital provision.

3.5.16 Local authorities should also consider physical access to facilities. It is good practice to manage facilities so as to improve access, by taking factors such as travel time, ease of transport, condition/attractiveness and disability access (including compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act) into account. The involvement of community groups in managing facilities should also be considered.

3.5.17 Local authorities have responsibility for an ageing stock of buildings, and the investment needed in relation to refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, and upgrading of equipment. It is good practice to develop an asset management plan (to include, for example, review of the condition of, and access to, buildings; security, fire and other risks; an analysis of decisions about risk management and investment/replacement).

3.5.18 There may be a Best Value case for considering the need for alternative service delivery arrangements (e.g. tendering of management of a facility or some aspect of service delivery such as catering or cleaning; use of a trust).

3.5.19 Facilities have been developed over time and circumstances have changed. In some cases this has led to unresolved issues, including:

• facilities in urban areas being used by residents of other local authorities

• local authority-managed facilities which are regional/national resources (e.g. art galleries, museums, sports facilities).

In such cases, it is helpful for the local authority to have information on the identity of users. It may also be desirable for authorities to form partnerships to address these issues, and to consider the possibility of inter-authority charging and support.

3.6 Options for service provision

3.6.1 Local authorities can arrange not only to plan cultural provision but to deliver it directly. This part of the guidance discusses the alternatives to direct provision, without recommending either the need for change from direct provision or any particular alternative model. The most suitable solution will depend on the circumstances of each case.

Trusts

3.6.2 Trusts are most frequent in relation to leisure and sport services, but also include theatres, museums and other types of provision. Examples of established and newly formed trusts for such services include West Lothian Leisure, Edinburgh Leisure, and North Ayrshire Trust. Realising the benefits from forming a trust requires careful planning.

3.6.3 It is good practice for local authorities to consider the following matters, both for existing and proposed new trusts:

• how do the trust's activities relate to the authority's corporate goals?

• which tangible benefits would be created (e.g. in relation to the quality and affordability of services, their availability to communities, etc)?

• related to this, what are the financial implications?

• is the breadth and scope of the trust's activities appropriate?

• is there a detailed service level agreement?

• do the governance arrangements comply with existing guidance (including the Scottish Executive guidance that no more than 25% of the board should be elected members of the local authority)?

Commercial arrangements/commissioning

3.6.4 Local authorities can commission an external body to provide services on behalf of the authority on a commercial basis. To ensure good practice when establishing these arrangements, authorities:

• must ensure any arrangement is not at odds with local government legislation or regulations relating to local government finance

• should take account of guidance by the Accounts Commission and CoSLA

• should consider the capacity of the private sector to provide the service

• should establish a service level agreement.

Private-public partnerships

3.6.5 Public-private partnerships specific to cultural provision (e.g. a swimming pool) or which include a 'cultural' element are relatively few. Such partnerships need not always relate to major capital projects, as some relate to service delivery rather than asset creation. Fitness facilities/suites, swimming pools and games halls are the main examples of the private sector providing a service on behalf of a local authority. Such service delivery arrangements can impact on other services in the authority's area.

3.6.6 For general reference, wherever private-public partnerships are developed, the local authority should:

• follow existing guidance relating to such partnerships

• manage the partnership to avoid risks which may arise (e.g. failure to deliver the agreed service; expected cost savings not being achieved; differing expectations between the local authority and its partner(s) on mutual responsibilities such as level of investment).

3.6.7 It is also good practice that, in relation to any project which wholly or in part relates to cultural provision, the local authority:

• ensures that the project supports its corporate policies for cultural provision

• ensures that, where an asset is created

• this facility is one which will be required over time

• the funding arrangement is desirable

• the commercial arrangement does not result in unhelpful restrictions on user groups or activities, and preferably the authority's social inclusion goals are supported

• reports the provision that results in its relevant cultural plan(s)/strategy(ies).

3.7 The roles of councillors and officers in cultural provision

3.7.1 This guidance is addressed to local authorities, and, like other Scottish Executive guidance, is intended by the Executive to be considered by both councillors and officers. To assist that process, it may be of value to consider the different roles of each. In different ways, both 'manage' public service provision, in which the needs of service users should be paramount.

Getting the roles right -

Councillors

3.7.2 The role of councillors - in cultural and in any other area of local authority activities - is to agree strategic direction, take decisions on major issues for the authority and allocate resources in support of strategic goals, based on officer advice. These strategic decisions should take account of national policy and the policy goals of the authority's partners. For cultural provision, as for other activities, councillors require a clear overview of the options available and information on the resources available.

3.7.3 What is distinctive about cultural provision is that these apparently simple requirements are not easily met. This is because, in contrast to many other areas of provision, 'culture' does not have the 'hard edges' which make it easily identifiable. As Table A indicates, cultural provision is diverse in content, and often delivered through other service areas, not through any single route or method. In addition, as is widely acknowledged in local government, central government and other bodies (e.g. the Scottish Arts Council), information on cultural provision - such as spending, volume of service delivered, service users and their identity, and, in particular, the impact of cultural provision - is scarce. Moreover, partly reflecting this but a problem in its own right, planning of cultural provision has until recently been under-developed, or has developed for individual aspects rather than on the basis of a co-ordinated holistic approach.

3.7.4 Without a clear definition of what constitutes cultural provision, and in the absence of good routine information and integrated planning in support of provision, councillors are less able to take informed strategic decisions for this area. Councillors should therefore arrange to receive the information they require in order to make these decisions - for which, ultimately, the responsibility rests with them. Mechanisms for this include:

• appointment of senior and other officers who can provide relevant advice to elected members (e.g. 'for information' reports - but not necessarily reports to committee)

• ensuring that the local authority's strategic direction is articulated in the form of strategies and plans.

3.7.5 Councillors also contribute through CoSLA, to the national consideration of cultural policy and provision. These roles (sometimes shared with officers) include

• influencing national policy and originating suggestions about its future development

• providing leadership in the development of cultural provision across Scottish local government (e.g. helping promulgate best practice)

• acting in a representative role on cultural bodies (e.g. the Scottish Arts Council, the Scottish Museums Council) - a role which brings not only accountability but also helps the development of culture itself.

3.7.6 To carry out these local and national roles, councillors need to have a clear understanding of the role of cultural provision (especially those who have convener responsibilities). It is good practice for each authority to consider its arrangements for the following:

• briefings (from officers, and from relevant external organisations)

• training (including induction training)

• access to up-to-date information

• attendance at conferences.

Officers

3.7.7 A wide range of staff contribute to cultural provision, and they have a key role in providing councillors with access to a wide range of professional expertise and experience. Officers should provide three different types of expertise to elected members - policy/strategy, managerial (to implement and evaluate strategies) and professional/technical advice.

3.7.8 It is possible that different staff might be involved in these roles, and a number of different professions may be involved; and the most senior officer may not personally possess the full breadth of professional expertise. Therefore, the range of relevant cultural advice may be drawn from across an authority's areas of activity (see Table A). In addition, because local authorities increasingly need to develop an authority-wide view of culture, co-ordination of the sum of this advice is necessary. Overall, a range of officers should be available to provide and/or procure the broad advice required, based on professional expertise and knowledge acquired through training and work experience - and members need to feel confident in the quality of this guidance.

3.7.9 It is good practice for local authorities to consider how effectively the roles of developing and implementing strategy for cultural provision are delivered. In doing so, authorities should take account of the extent to which their existing management structures facilitate or hinder performance (see Table C, below).

3.8 The significance of political decision-making structures and management structures

3.8.1 As well as considering the role of councillors and officers, local authorities should also consider the significance of their political decision-making and management structures for cultural provision.

Understanding the significance of political structures

3.8.2 The political structures are those which apply to decision-making by councillors within each local authority. Until recently, all authorities have had a 'traditional' committee structure with decisions relating to cultural provision frequently made within a number of committees, rather than a single committee for cultural issues. This stemmed from the fact of authorities having a separate committee for many of the services/functions listed in Table A, with strategic and resource issues also considered at committees for "finance" and "policy and resources" (to use the most widely used titles for such committees).

3.8.3 Since the publication of the 'McIntosh report', and with the encouragement of the Leadership Advisory Panel, Scottish local authorities have been reviewing their decision-making arrangements. Other factors, such as financial pressures, and the desire to improve 'joined-up' decision-making have also prompted structural change in political decision-making arrangements.

3.8.4 It is too early to summarise precisely the recent changes, but in general the trend so far has been for authorities to reduce the number of committees, or to move to 'executive' or 'cabinet' models. Nevertheless, with the exception of executive/cabinet arrangements, it still appears to be the case that cultural issues are considered in a wide number of fora. It does not seem that this trend has been complemented by the establishment of culture committees.

3.8.5 It is possible to see the absence of a decision-making forum in each local authority focused specifically on cultural provision as a deficiency in decision-making or alternatively as reflecting the difficulty in establishing a forum to cover all the diverse aspects of cultural provision. It can also be seen positively, permitting cultural matters to be considered and determined within a range of fora in the local authority.

3.8.6 This guidance does not prescribe the appropriate solution for authorities. It is important for each local authority to consider the effectiveness of its current arrangements. These should aim to avoid having cultural issues considered by so many different fora that this frustrates the authority's ability to formulate its strategic policy and practice. It is also important for the decision-making fora of a local authority not to marginalise cultural issues, even if this effect is unintentional.

Understanding the significance of management structures

3.8.7 This analysis for political fora is mirrored in relation to management structures - or 'departments', as they have traditionally been termed. As political and management structures within local authorities have for many years often been designed to resemble each other, this mirroring is not surprising. Re-structuring pressures have been felt on service departments, and, in comparison to the position in the mid-1990s, most local authorities now have fewer but larger departments. But here also, most authorities have still no single departmental 'home' for cultural provision.

3.8.8 It is also found that arrangements - both political and managerial - for cultural provision vary enormously from one Scottish local authority to another. This has held true for many years, and, despite significant changes across Scotland in recent years, it remains true.

3.8.9 In itself, nothing discussed above is problematic. The Scottish Executive cannot offer advice to any local authority on the political or management structure it has adopted, or propose which structure it should adopt. However, in the context of this guidance it is possible to make some observations about the features and qualities of different models for decision-making relating to cultural provision.

3.8.10 The Executive starts from the premise that there is no 'single best' model for a management structure. The strengths of one model may be the weaknesses of another, and vice versa. These are set out in Table C, below. The analysis may assist local authorities on an individual basis, when each is considering the effectiveness of its own current structure for delivering cultural provision, and reviewing its performance. It may also prove helpful to a local authority which wishes to change structure and is seeking an assessment of the options available.

3.8.11 In reading Table C, it should be emphasised that:

• the listing of 'pros' and 'cons' in the first two columns should not be interpreted as definitive

• the number of local authorities in the final two columns is estimated and is illustrative rather than definitive

• it was not possible to assess the position for two local authorities (for which reason, the total number of authorities in the third column totals 30).

Table C: Management structures - possible strengths and weaknesses

Model 1: Most cultural provision is managerially part of the department/service containing school education

Model 2: Most cultural provision is managerially part of the department/service containing community services (i.e. are outwith the school education department)

Model 3: Most cultural provision is managerially part of another department/service group (i.e. a group not based on education or community services)

Model 4: Most cultural provision is managerially a single 'cultural' department/service and there is a dedicated director'

Model 5: Most cultural provision is managerially part of two or more major departments/service blocks (e.g. 'education' 'leisure & recreation', 'community services', 'childrens services')

Footnotes to Table C:

• The analysis is based on the larger cultural activities listed in Table A - arts, sport, cultural activity within learning, libraries, and community recreation.

• A small number of local authorities are believed to have 'community service departments' which include commercial services and even education.

3.8.12 Table C reflects the considerable re-structuring of local authorities since 1995. It illustrates the main trends, as they have affected cultural provision. Overall, this re-structuring activity, which continues at the time of writing, has tended to result in local authorities which have a smaller number of large departments.

3.8.13 The guidance above has outlined the different options available to local authorities in deciding their political and management structures. It is good practice to:

• review these options

• aim for the structures which best achieve a coherent and effective approach to planning, managing and delivering the range of cultural provision - using Table C and the local authority's own analysis of 'pros' and 'cons'.

« Previous | Contents | Next »