In time for this week’s deadline, the NCA responded on behalf of our members to UK Border Agency’s consultation: Limits on non-EU economic migrants.  In our response we make a strong point about the devastating effects that proposed changes to criteria for Tiers 2 would have on the sector.  We argue that the imposition of an immigration cap on top of a shortage occupation status is illogical. The NCA recommends that shortage occupations are excluded from the cap and that UKBA give further thought to allocating sector quotas to ensure that a cap limit is applied with some degree of fairness, especially in the application of language and salary selection criteria.

Download a copy of our response here

The NCA has this week responded to the Home Office consultation, ‘Rebalancing the Licensing Act.’  

The Government has this week released a new report titled ‘The Migrant Journey’, a study that examines the behaviour of immigrants who entered the UK in 2004 through all managed routes except visitor routes. 

Minutes from the second Arts & Business and NCA Culture Forum meeting are now available online.  The second forum meeting took place on Tuesday 24 August, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and focused on issues around Earned Income, including the ability to exploit assets, new ways of working and intellectual property issues.

As we reported earlier in the year Arts Council England are recruiting individuals with demonstrable knowledge and understanding of particular art forms, to assess ACE regularly funded organisations.  This week ACE have invited applications to fill a further 50 positions which will commence in January next year.

Public advocacy meeting; Audiences UK; Arts, Heritage and Culture Forum Meeting; Nick Starr of the National Theatre.

In 2008 the National Campaign for the Arts brought together practitioners from across drama, theatre and learning to explore ways of working together in order to raise the profile of their work. There was general consensus in support of a statement of common purpose that could unite the sector to advocate for its work at the highest level.

Funding was secured from Arts Council England to commission a study into the feasibility of a drama and theatre manifesto for children and young people. See the report here.

Last month the NCA reported Culture Minister Ed Vaizey’s proposals to launch a programme which would see public libraries at the heart of the ‘Big Society’.  Led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the Local Government Association Group, the programme will examine how to ‘radically rethink’ the public library service, with options including shared services, merging functions, staffing across authorities, support from volunteers or the use of other community buildings.

The NCA would like to remind members of the approaching submission deadline for evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into funding of Arts and Heritage.  Last month’s announcements from the DCMS to scrap, merge or streamline arts and culture quangos and the expected spending cuts led the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to launch an inquiry into the funding of Arts and Heritage.  

The consultation deadline is today, and the NCA has submitted its response. In brief, the NCA welcomes and supports the redistribution of the lottery shares which will benefit the arts and go a little way towards redressing the loss of income when funds were diverted to the Olympics. We have made a strong point about lottery funding not to be seen as a substitute for Government funding but, given the expected severity of funding cuts, have indicated that an immediate increase to 20%, rather than a stepped increase, would be preferred.

See the NCA’s response here.

The NCA launched its cultural workforce survey in April in order to gather data from everyone who works in the cultural sector, including CEOs, Chairs, Board Members/Trustees, Employers, Employees, Freelancers, Interns and Volunteers.  We would like to remind members that the closing deadline is fast approaching.

The autumn edition of nca news will be published in April. This edition will focus on cultural workforce: in these financially testing times, the challenge to the sector to maintain its status as a world leader is ever more pertinent.  

Last week Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, trialled a new ‘express ministerial surgery’.

The coalition government announced earlier this week that it would abolish the UK Film Council in a bid to increase transparency, accountability and efficiency.  The Labour-conceived quango, which is the primary source of funding for British films, is among another 55 arts and culture quangos that are to be scrapped, merged or streamlined in a cost-cutting drive.

Following its review of the use of the radio spectrum in the UK, Ofcom has identified certain radio frequencies which it believes could be auctioned off. As a consequence, some users of radio microphones in the UK will be squeezed out with large stocks rendered redundant.  As the NCA have previously reported, Save our Sound is campaigning for fair compensation to be offered to those affected. 

As we have previously reported, the European Commission is holding a consultation on its Green Paper on Culture and the Creative Industries under the 2020 strategy.  The results of the consultation will inform the shape of the initiatives and future EU spending programmes.

Crafts Council; Museums Association; Dancers’ Career Development; Voluntary Arts Network and TT Catalão, Secretary for Cultural Citizenship at the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and Tadeu di Pietro of FUNARTE (the Brazilian equivalent of the arts council); and the UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity.  

As we have previously reported, the Coalition Government is asking the public to come forward with their ideas for where money can be saved. The Government’s Spending Challenge was initially only open to public sector workers however the Government has now opened the consultation to all members of the public.

In advance of the Second Reading of Lord Lester’s Defamation Bill, the NCA compiled its response outlining how the arts sector may be affected by Lord Lester’s recommendations.  The central aims of the Bill are to: “reform English defamation law so that it strikes a fair balance between the fundamental right to freedom of expression and public information and the protection of a good reputation. It seeks to give better protection to free expression, while ensuring fairness and responsibility in journalism, and necessary protection of the right to a good reputation.” Baroness Young of Hornsey attended the debate last Friday, discussing the NCA’s work and our response to the Bill.  Baroness Young opened her speech with an overview of the NCA’s work, describing how her professional interest had led her to seek our views in relation to this Bill.

When Lord Clement-Jones introduced his Live Music Bill in the last Parliament, the NCA welcomed his response to the government’s frustrating and inhibiting red tape around live pub music.  This week the Lib-Dem peer reignited the debate, one day before the Live Music Forum prepared to deliver a 17,000 signature petition to Downing Street to address the need for small venues like schools and village halls to be exempt from the Licensing Act.