The landmark agreement with the arm's length bodies of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Arts Council England, Historic England, the National Lottery Community Fund, Sport England and VisitEngland will bolster the sector's potential to deliver economic growth by harnessing the region's cultural and creative strengths, improving health, sustainability, and regional infrastructure, boosting tourism and driving innovation.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) announced new partnerships with national cultural bodies and creative unions with the Mayor signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with five national arts, heritage and cultural organisations and another partnership deal with five of the biggest creative industries trade unions.
Memorandum of Understanding with the Arm's Length Bodies
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Arm's Length Bodies (ALB's) of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS): Arts Council England, Historic England, the National Lottery Community Fund, Sport England and VisitEngland. The agreement is a collaboration of a strategic cultural partnership to work together to identify and facilitate successful delivery of shared goals and objectives. The MoU effectively, will enable, sharing of expertise and insight across culture, heritage, sport, communities and the visitor economy, to maximise the impact of funding and policy decisions taken for the local authorities and non-constituent areas.
Mayor Richard Parker with Jon Eastwood (National Lottery Community Fund), Lisa Dodd-Mayne (Sport England), Andrew Stokes (VisitEngland), Liz Johnson (Arts Council England), Claudia Kenyatta and Louise Brennan (Historic England).
Commenting Peter Knott, Midlands area Director at Arts Council England, said "It is extremely positive to be joining the WMCA along with other cultural organisations in committing to supporting growth of the creative sector in the West Midlands. The West Midlands boasts a vibrant cultural scene with an international reputation for excellence, and we look forward to supporting more opportunities for communities across the region to experience creativity on their doorsteps".