Resources

We post relevant updates, guidance and information in the CLOA member’s forum. Please do check you are signed up and remember to turn on your notifications so that you receive the latest updates between our fortnightly ebulletins.

Reports

The headline findings from the Participation Survey provides nationally representative estimates of physical and digital engagement with the arts, heritage, museums & galleries, and libraries, as well as engagement with tourism, major events, live sports and digital. Total engagement (physical or digital) across the cultural sectors was higher in 2023/24 compared to the previous year, with the exception of the heritage sector which has remained the same.

Economy, Regeneration & Skills

Economic value of sport – As part of a collaboration between Sport Wales, Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sport NI, UK Sport and the DCMS a new Economic Value of Sport has been published. The study has showcased the massive contribution that sport makes to the UK economy, both directly via sport and in supporting wider industries such as construction, tourism and hospitality services. The data shows that sport related GVA has a direct impact at £53.6 bn, equivalent to 2.6% of the UK’s, whilst underpinning 878.1 thousand FTEs, corresponding to 3.5% of employment in the economy.

The annual social value of community sport and physical activity is £107.2 billion, according to research from Sport England. The value is made up of £96.7 billion in annual wellbeing value for adults, children and young people taking part and volunteering in sport and physical activity – and a further £10.5 billion in wider savings to the health and social care system a year. This relieves pressure on the NHS through the prevention of illness, reduced mental health service usage, fewer GP visits and a reduced need for informal (unpaid) care.

The Sport England MOVES tool will help you to understand the health and economic benefits of physical activity. MOVES, which has been developed alongside the Health Economics Consulting group at the University of East Anglia, can estimate the value of an existing or planned programme of physical activity and sport among a specific population group. It shows how much the risk of key diseases – like cardiovascular disease and diabetes – has been lowered for those who play sport. To find out more about how the tool works, and to use it, you will need to create an account on the Sport England website.

Cultural heritage can positively impact economic development by boosting creativity, an academic study commissioned by Historic England has found. The study compared the presence of local heritage sites and listed buildings against census and business data on industry and economic development. It concluded that cultural heritage is a determinant of economic creativity, which favours economic development.

Research into the value of gigs, concerts and festivals to local economies – A total of 19.2 million music fans travelled from UK towns and cities and overseas in 2023 to see UK shows. This growth is not just limited to London and the total employment sustained by music tourism in 2023 was 62,000.

Health & Wellbeing

The LGA has launched an Active Communities Hub which highlights good practice in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure services by councils and their partners to reduce inequalities and improve physical activity levels in the least active communities. The Hub has initially been populated with resources on supporting women and girls to be more active, other topics will follow.

Marmot Places are carrying out transformative work across the country to address health inequalities. This report highlights the innovative and collaborative work of councils and their partners, who have embraced the Marmot principles and turned them into meaningful action. It also calls for a new national health inequalities strategy to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Monetising the impact of culture and heritage on health and wellbeing – A study undertaken for the DCMS found that participation in music, and engaging with art and heritage can have a healthy impact on physical and mental health. The study indicates that consuming culture is not just good for you, but also generates £8bn a year worth of improvements in people’s quality of life and higher productivity. The study further notes that it can even help postpone the onset of dementia.

Impact of exercise on children’s mental health conditions – Sport England has published a report that shows there is “strong and consistent evidence that sport and physical activity interventions had positive effects on the diagnosed mental health problems of children and young people”.

Supporting youth in low-income neighbourhoods stay active through sport – This practical guide for councillors and officers has been developed by LGA in partnership with StreetGames to help councils looking to do more in the area of improving physical activity levels for children and young people from low incomes.

Guide for healthier communities – this LGA guide Empowering Healthy Places outlines local government powers in planning and public health. It provides a holistic framework for creating healthy neighbourhoods and summarises key powers and practices available to councils, offering practical guidance to help shape healthier communities across the country.

The National Centre for Creative Health has published Creative Health at a Glance resource and downloadable posters, designed to introduce health professionals to how creative and cultural activity can support major conditions’ contributing to ill health as recognised in the NHS Core20PLUS5 strategy. In addition, there is a section on Frailty and Falls Prevention; which is a leading cause of hospital admissions and responds to the NHS’s requirement to reduce demand in hospitals.

The wellbeing created by day-to-day encounters with local heritage is worth £29 billion annually nationwide, according to a new Historic England report. The Heritage Capital and Wellbeing report suggests that on average, a person’s life satisfaction improves to the value of £515 a year, just by living near local heritage sites such as a small civic museum or village church. Furthermore, the very presence of nearby historic places benefits residents’ quality of life, even if people do not participate in heritage activities. The billions in annual economic gain has been calculated using guidance from the Treasury on measuring and quantifying in economic terms the effect of policies on people’s lives.

Whatworkswellbeing legacy resources – Since 2014, Whatworkswellbeing commissioned, delivered and supported a wide range of activities to explore wellbeing through the lens of place and community. Although they are now closed the following resources will remain available that demonstrate how holding events, arts or cultural places, and participating in physical activity could influence wellbeing. Their reviews explored:

Heritage – Gathered what is known about the community wellbeing impacts of historic places and assets.
Sport and dance – Investigated how taking part affects the subjective wellbeing of young people.
Arts and culture interventions – Examined place-based interventions, such as targeted museum-based interventions with a volunteering or social prescribing component for people with low wellbeing. Evidence was also found about cultural participation through mega-events. Mega-events include occasions such as the Olympics, Eurovision or the Coronation.
They also lead a review to better understand the pathways that link creativity and wellbeing.

The role of culture and leisure in improving health and wellbeing – In recognition of the vital role culture and leisure play in improving the health and wellbeing of local communities, CLOA have published a guidance document to help commissioners and providers of culture and leisure services in England to understand and engage more effectively and collaboratively with this key agenda. The guidance aims to improve understanding about the structures, frameworks and outcomes relating to public health. We have also developed a self-assessment to enable you identify what stage you are at and to help you plan your approach – (download here) The role of culture & leisure in improving health & well-being – self-assessment for practitioners.

The role of Culture and Sport in supporting Adult Social Care – revised. Adult Social Care is facing some major challenges with reducing resources and increasing life expectancy. By 2026 there will be 1.7 million more adults who need support to help them live with conditions that seriously reduce the quality of their life. Culture and sport can play an important role in supporting adult social care to deliver better outcomes for people. To help increase understanding of the opportunities for the sector to contribute through the strategic commissioning process and to bring the guidance up to date by reflecting the latest policy and legislation, this well-received publication has been revised.

Placemaking & Community Cohesion

Increased community involvement in arts and creativity can play an important role in promoting social cohesion, according to the findings of a report from the think tank British Future. Creating Connections reports that 72% of respondents agreed that “arts events can bring people of different backgrounds in Britain together”. Additionally, 47% of those who participated in creative arts activities last year reported that it helped them meet people from different backgrounds.

A High Street Renaissance – commissioned by Arts Council England brings together previously published information and new polling, as well as case studies from across the country. The report states that almost three quarters of people believe cultural spaces make their local area a better place to live and points to a body of evidence that demonstrates the role culture and creativity plays in; attracting footfall to the high street, generating spend, creating civic pride and the post-pandemic high street. The new polling data also suggests that half of adults would like to see more cultural experiences on their high streets. These examples provide an important indicator for the vital role of culture to our post-pandemic highstreets.

People and Places – the story of doing it differently Sport England has published the Local Delivery Pilots story, which highlights the challenges and milestones of implementing a new place-based way of working across 12 local communities. The full narrative shows what has been learnt about how to use a systemic approach to tackle inactivity, and the conditions, principles and practical considerations needed to influence positive change at every level.

There’s a wealth of research on everything from the impact of cultural mega-events to exploring questions around place and wellbeing, gentrification and regeneration. The Centre for Cultural Value has shared the key findings from the current evidence base in their research digest, Culture and Placemaking.

Local Government Association and CLOA have produced a publication that highlights how councils are using culture to create a sense of shared identity and purpose in their areas, and to tackle their big issues of the day. People, culture, place: the role of culture in placemaking contains 10 case studies where officer and political leadership have combined to develop innovative practice using cultural activities to bring about positive changes to their places. Together, they show how the arts and culture can be used to improve a wide range of measurable outcomes, from education and wellbeing to economic growth and community cohesion.

Improving culture, arts and sporting opportunities through planning – CLOA have been working with The Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) and other partners to develop a non-statutory planning guide in response to the new planning framework to better help illustrate these positive planning outcomes. In recent years culture, arts and sport have been widely used to drive regeneration, build cohesive communities and change the way that places are perceived. This document builds on the National Planning Policy Framework core planning principle supporting health, social and cultural well-being . You can download your copy of the guide here.

The role of Culture and Sport in reducing Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Culture and sport have an important role to play in preventing young people becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. This document aims to help providers of culture and sport services better understand community safety and crime reduction agendas. It also offers a number of practical real world case studies that have a track record of successfully diverting those most at risk of offending through culture and sports based activities.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We also have a dedicated webpage that hosts our EDI statement, action plan and progress, along with a report of collated intelligence regarding under-represented groups working within the culture and leisure sector that informed our original thinking.

Activity Alliance has published research revealing the social value in disabled people being active and the societal cost of inequality. It found there is £6,200 social value per disabled person per year if supported to meet the official Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of 150 plus minutes a week. Overall they estimate the ‘activity gap’ at a cost to society of £10.9 billion, i.e. this would be the additional value if activity levels of disabled people were the same as non-disabled people.

Promoting inclusion for neurodiverse young people – The Youth Sport Trust in collaboration with Neurodiverse Sport have created a toolkit on making events more inclusive for neurodivergent young people.

Guide to accessible projects and events – The Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance have published a resource that will help organisations embed access into creative health events and projects. The 26 page guide has advice on budgets and time management and has many points to consider when planning an event. The guide also provides case studies and could prove a useful starting point when planning your first accessible events.

The Inclusive Heritage Advice Hub is part of Historic England’s commitment to supporting the heritage sector to become more diverse. It contains digestible information for any organisation wishing to celebrate inclusive heritage and ensure their work is as diverse and inclusive as possible. Advice is presented through case studies, templates, checklists, guidance, and external signposting.

Sport England has produced guidance to help ensure sport and leisure facilities are safe, welcoming and accessible to all. Aimed at planners, architects, building owners and operators, their Accessible and inclusive sports facilities guidance encourages the design of spaces that reduce or remove barriers to being more active. That includes creating and maintaining facilities that are accessible to disabled people and meet the needs of vibrant and diverse communities, such as those related to faith, sex, sexuality and gender identity.

Environment & Sustainability

Historic England has published advice on balancing climate action with building adaptation. Adapting Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency is aimed at local authorities, heritage consultants and those involved in the planning process, and it makes clear that historic properties can be retrofitted with energy-efficient measures offering advice on insulation, boilers and heating systems, heat pumps, draft-proofing, replacing or adapting windows, and installing solar panels.

The Theatre Green Book UK sets common standards for sustainable theatre across all areas of theatre practice and operation. The new edition is now available bringing together the three volumes Production, Operations and Buildings in one place on a revamped website along with easy-to-use Excel tracker tools, community forums and supporters’ pages. Theatres can self-certify through each rung of their transition to Net Zero – Preliminary (newly added for this edition), Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Sport England environmental sustainability strategy, Every Move, includes major new investment to help the sport and physical activity sector respond to climate change. It provides a roadmap to carbon neutrality, with the aim that everyone has equal access to high-quality green and blue space.

Following on from the launch of the LGA’s Sustainability in Council Services hub, they have now published a leisure routemap and culture routemap to provide councils with support to embed sustainable practices into culture and leisure services. The routemaps suggests interventions that could embed sustainability in council services with a focus on relevant facilities, complementing existing council projects and actions. The guidance should enable council officers with responsibility for culture and leisure services to make informed decisions about facilities.

Sector Specific Tools & Resources

A guide to developing a local outcomes framework for culture and sport. Working with Local Government Association we’ve produced an updated version of the highly valued Outcomes Framework for Culture & Sport which can help you demonstrate the contribution culture and sport makes to better outcomes for individuals, communities and places. This online tool reflects the latest policy developments and we have created a fact sheet to download about how to get the most out of the tool, outlining the benefits of developing your own outcomes framework, explaining the elements that form the framework and also providing an overview of the stages involved in creating your own version locally.

Sport & Leisure

Sport England Local Insight Tool is powered by OCSI Local Insight mapping, enabling users to visualise Sport England data at the local level alongside dozens of other open data sources, providing insight into a wide range of socio-economic and demographic data down to the neighbourhood scale. You can also download tailored reports in comparison to England as a whole.

LG Inform report on sport and leisure – The LG Inform report provides an overview of sport and leisure activities in a selected geographical area by highlighting metrics which cover physical activity, attendance at sporting events, museums, nightlife, and more. To see the data for your local area just select your council name from the drop down menu and it will generate a report.

Guidance on temporary ‘pop-up’ swimming pools – Swim England, the Swimming Teachers’ Association and Swim Wales have published a comprehensive briefing note providing guidance to support the safe operation of temporary “pop-up” swimming pools. These guidelines are designed to ensure that all temporary aquatic facilities uphold the highest safety, hygiene, and operational standards, safeguarding all who use them.

A resource is available to support local conversations about the future of public sport and leisure services and the valuable contribution they make to a multitude of national and local policy objectives. It includes key messages from the report Securing the future of public sport and leisure services, case studies, policy updates and support tools. The resource is hosted by the Local Government Physical Activity Partnership (LGPAP) in recognition of the Partnership’s aim to empower local government agencies to work collaboratively to improve and articulate the social and economic value of public physical activity service provision. CLOA is a strategic partner of LGPAP, along with other key national organisations from across the physical activity sector. The design of the resource offers an ideal briefing for CEOs, Directors and Heads of Service.

Securing the future of public sport and leisure services is the culmination of a research project led by APSE, in partnership with the LGA and CLOA, to explore the future of public sport and leisure services, following the seismic changes to the sector as a result of the health pandemic. It evaluates the current state of public sport and leisure services and sets out recommendations to ensure the survival and development of the sector.

Emergency insourcing of leisure guidance – LGA has published a useful guide to help councils in an emergency position mobilise their leisure service. This is not intended to instruct or encourage councils to bring leisure services back in-house, but instead provides appropriate tools and considerations to support the process. This will assist the continuity of service for the community and ease the transfer from the existing provider to the council, either as an interim measure or on a longer-term basis. A number of CLOA members and Executive Committee have also contributed their learning.

Navigating Local Systems’ is a resource developed by CLOA in partnership with Sport England that focuses on driving change in the local system to increase physical activity within communities. It shares learning and practical tools from 3 localities – Liverpool, Luton, and Wakefield, as they embarked on a journey to better understand the local system they work within.

Sport England strategy Uniting the Movement sets out a 10 year vision from 2021-2031 to transform lives and communities by making being physically active a normal part of life for everyone in England. It sets how we need to change as a sector and an ecosystem, so that we can give people the opportunities they need now and in the future.
Local Authorities have a key role to play in supporting the five key areas:-
· Recover and Reinvent
· Connecting communities
· Positive experiences for children and young people
· Connecting with health and wellbeing
· Active environments
CLOA is proud to be a supporter of #UnitingTheMovement and a keen advocate of how the benefits of sport and physical activity improve people’s lives in so many ways.

Sport England have published new Planning for Sport Guidance to make it easier for local authorities and planning bodies to provide facilities that enable people to get active. The guidance replaces and brings together four pre-existing guides Planning Aims and Objectives Guide, Forward Planning Guide, Development Management Guide and Supporting Advice Guide and focuses on 12 principles and suggested actions.

Sport England has published a guidance document to help local authorities choose the best facility management model. The guidance – plus accompanying case studies and glossary of terms – is an introduction to the different facility management options and aims to help councils adopt a more strategic approach to decision-making.

Sport England Youth Personas has undertaken extensive research with scores of young people and created Under the Skin, which breaks down young people into six key personas. By understanding these various groups you will be better able to design programmes to get young people active.

CLOA and Sport England have developed a series of video testimonies that explain the process of Engaging in Commissioning, reflect on the impact achieved over time in a selection of localities and illustrate a growing pool of best practice. The aim of these new learning resources is to share peer learning and help prompt thinking about how your service can engage with commissioners locally.

Culture

The Culture and Place Data Explorer is an interactive tool that allows users to see what culture, investment and creativity looks like in their region or area. Based on a Google Maps interface, the tool can produce reports and dashboards of local authority areas with local, regional and national comparisons. This Arts Council England tool has more than 200 data indicators, including public funding, cultural engagement data, the visitor economy and local cultural infrastructure. Users can also pull up local figures from a wide range of demographics such as child poverty, housing, health and wellbeing, and transport.

Joint Cultural Needs Assessment Guidance (JCNA) – the updated guidance for producing a JCNA includes the use of the Explorer tool to help the sector develop strategies which respond to the cultural and non-cultural needs of their local communities. It includes new content regarding the governance of place-based partnerships for culture.

Cultural funding: challenges and opportunities – Councils continue to face very significant challenges when it comes to funding services, and the Local Government Association has commissioned a series of infographics to illustrate the pressures on funding for cultural services, the complex governance arrangements surrounding them, and the short-term nature of funding from Government.

Explore best practices in cultural services – Culture Hub developed by the Local Government Association and Arts Council England highlights good practice in cultural services by councils and their partners – gathering inspiring case studies on everything from delivery models to officer leadership. Take a look and be inspired here.

Libraries

Guidance for councils considering changes to library services – Libraries Connected has published this guidance for local authorities that are considering major changes, including closures, to their library services. The guidance has been produced as part of a support package for library services within local authorities that have issued Section 114 certificates or are operating within severe financial constraints.

Barriers to library use – A report carried out on behalf of the DCMS to understand barriers to engagement with public library services in England has recommended that Libraries should capitalise on their appeal as community hubs, providing a range of resources and a social space for meeting new people or bringing together existing groups. Engaging with people who had not used library services for at least 12 months, the researchers found barriers to access, including limited awareness of services/activities, time constraints, accessibility, social identity, library environment, personal relevance, availability of services/activities elsewhere and library atmosphere and aesthetic.

Libraries Connected has created a Library Advocacy: A Beginner’s Guide. This short guide is full of ideas and inspiration to strengthen local advocacy efforts and help libraries raise their profile. The guide is aimed primarily at new heads of service without extensive advocacy experience, or who may have libraries within their remit for the first time.

Public libraries – the backbone of creative economy Public libraries play a crucial role in supporting and widening access to the creative industries, a briefing Public Libraries and the creative industries from Libraries Connected reveals. The briefing brings together seven case studies and argues that libraries strengthen the whole creative economy by brokering local cultural partnerships, supporting artists and creative businesses, and providing free access to industry-standard software and technology.

The Libraries Taskforce second toolkit focuses on Community Libraries; the toolkit follows the process from community engagement through to setting up a community managed library, from a local authority and community perspective. It includes regulatory and operational issues that need to be considered and also looks at volunteering schemes in local authority libraries. Previously, they published Libraries Shaping the Future: good practice toolkit – a best practice guide for chief executives and library portfolio holders.

Museums

Museums in the metaverse – The majority of the public are in favour of accessing museum collections virtually through VR and ‘extended reality’ technologies, according to the Museums in the Metaverse Audiences and Impact Report, which . surveyed more than 2,000 participants, who were identified as ‘cultural heritage enthusiasts.

Unethical disposal of museum collections – Arts Council England has joined with nine other arts, museums and heritage bodies to set out in a statement the ethical practice that museums should follow when they are considering disposing of collections they hold.

Parks & Open Spaces

Quality open spaces are fundamental to the success of any new development. Fields in Trust has refreshed their Standards to provide a very useful platform for thinking about the role these spaces should have and encouraging developers and local authorities to widen their aspirations for these spaces. The latest edition includes case studies of projects that have applied the Standards, helping to showcase the art of the possible and how good quality green space can be delivered.

Helping to create active environments – The design of green spaces helps encourage both physical activity and improve mental wellbeing for a range of users. This Sport England guidance features eight case studies that show how a creative landscape design process can create or regenerate green spaces, helping to provide opportunities for people to be more active.

The most deprived communities tend to have the least access to green spaces according to the latest annual Green Space Index published by Fields in Trust. Some parts of the UK have access to 50% less green space than others and there are also 2.8 million people living more than a ten-minute walk from their nearest park. The index also shows that areas with the least number of accessible parks and green space tend to be those with a higher incidence of deprivation.

Covid-19 Recovery

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published the final report of their independent Commission on Culture and Local Government. The commission explored the role local culture can play in supporting recovery from the pandemic through a programme of stakeholder engagement events and roundtable discussions across four themes: sustainable and inclusive economic recovery, health inequalities, social mobility and place. The report Cornerstones of Culture discusses how local cultural services support these outcomes and what’s needed from Government, funders and councils to allow the sector to thrive.

The creative industries can drive the economy’s post-Covid recovery by contributing £132bn a year in GVA and creating 300,000 new jobs by 2025, according to new research details published by Oxford Economics. The UK Creative Industries: unleashing the power and potential of creativity, commissioned by Creative UK Group, shows the crucial role that the creative industries could have in levelling up the country.

A report from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, supported by DCMS, gives a comprehensive analysis of the impact of COVID on the UK’s cultural sector and examines the role of innovation in shaping the recovery, renewal and future growth. Boundless Creativity includes specific recommendations for policy and research interventions.

In light of the COVID-19 crisis and the value that the government has attached to being physically active during the lockdown, the Local Government Physical Activity Partnership has produced a think piece Why an active community needs to be at the heart of renewal. The intention is to stimulate debate and encourage places to create sustainable solutions that meet the needs of local communities. Local government has demonstrated throughout the pandemic that it is at the forefront of public health for local communities and has an intrinsic part to play in their short and long term recovery through promotion of physical activity and delivery of opportunities to be active. The return on investment from being physically active can deliver huge cost benefits with people experiencing better mental and physical health, living in less divided communities: from relieving pressure on our National Health Service to reducing prison populations. Physical inactivity is costing the UK £7.4bn per year, which is unsustainable. We urge all Local Authorities to plan for a more Active society in order to reap the long term rewards.

The CLOA Executive has responded to the Covid-19 crisis by adopting a ‘reset and build back better’ tone within the national discussion and issuing a call to reclaim the place-making value of the leisure, sport and culture sectors in the short and long term recovery and emphasising their role in meeting the broader needs of local people. Working collaboratively at a national level we hope to help grow and support a responsive and resilient ecosystem for the future. Please do read An Appetite for a Rethink and share your thoughts with us.