5 year plan for culture revealed as effect of Covid19 Pandemic on Liverpool City Region's creative industry is laid bare

THE Pandemic's impact on Liverpool City Region's cultural industries is revealed in a new report that details a 5 year plan to rebuild the sector. The report; to go before the Combined Authority tomorrow; also reveals 24,000 people, nearly double the number estimated by the Office for National Statistics, worked in the City Region's creative sector before the Pandemic. The new plan; known as the Liverpool City Region Cultural Compact Strategic Action Plan; recognises the key role that arts and culture play in the City Region's economy and in supporting health and wellbeing as the City Region emerges from the Pandemic. It also praises the commitment of arts and cultural organisations to focus on communities and renewal during the Covid19 Pandemic and the sector's agile and innovative response.

The Cultural Compact identifies 3 key strategic priorities for the sector's recovery:-

► Creative Communities will champion community-led transformation and develop assets within communities across the Liverpool City Region.

► Creative People will support and facilitate artist, practitioner and community led cultural/creative interventions within City Region cultural programmes.

► Creative Places will prioritise the influence and role of arts and culture in the regeneration and recovery of the City Region.

According to the report:- "Arts, culture and creative industries are amongst the sectors hit hardest by measures to mitigate the risk of the Covid19 Pandemic. Evidence of the impact of the crisis can be observed across the Hospitality sector and visitor economy, hit by the closure of venues and 3,500 redundancies in the 1st 6 months of the crisis. Closure of music, entertainment and performing arts venues had a catastrophic effect on other parts of the supply chain, including production services, catering and travel companies, whose social and economic impact is immense."

The report recognises that:- "Liverpool City Region's decision, uniquely, to feature culture in its devolution deal, continues to drive ambition and opportunity for the arts, culture and creative industries across the City Region. Culture has contributed massively to the wellbeing of the City Region and its people; if it is to remain the critical and vital part of the City Region's economic and social infrastructure that it has become, the sector will need re-invention and reinvestment."

Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "Culture is in our DNA as a City Region. It's part of what defines us and plays a key role in all of our lives, not to mention our economy. We have done all we can to support the sector during the Pandemic and through our Culture and Creativity Awards we recently celebrated the resilience and ingenuity of our cultural community, who have continued to create and entertain us through these most difficult times. We are going to need our cultural and creative sector more than ever, as we start to emerge from lockdown. It has a key role to play in boosting our health and wellbeing as we deal with what we have been through over the last year, and the Cultural Compact Action Plan provides an invaluable blueprint for the sector's ongoing recovery."

The funding from Arts Council England was awarded to Culture Liverpool to support the work of/development of the Compact which has been facilitated by the LCR Cultural Partnership. The Cultural Compact Action Plan builds on an ongoing commitment to the sector, including the 1% For Culture pledge, which commits 1% of the Combined Authority's annual ₤30 million budget to the cultural sector, and the successful Borough of Culture programme, as well as the LCR Music Support Fund and LCR Film Development Fund, launched during the Pandemic. The ₤2m Liverpool City Region Film Production Fund, launched in 2019 with funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, has directly supported 5 productions in the last year, including Jimmy McGovern's:- 'Time' starring Sean Bean and:- 'Help' with local actors Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer. The fund is managed by Liverpool Film Office (part of Culture Liverpool). The Fund has helped to ensure the involvement of local crew and facilities in the productions, building the expertise, reputation and capacity of the local sector. Its linked training has helped to support the next generation of diverse local crew with 40 LCR trainees supported in 2020.

Phil Redmond, Co-Chair of the Cultural Partnership, said:- "As we look to a Post Pandemic future and reboot our culture, there will inevitably be challenges ahead, just as there always has been, but there is also a new horizon in an accelerating, digital, post Covid world. This plan lays down a new road map for the next stage of cultural development as we remind people that Liverpool City Region has been, is and will continue to provide the UK's 2nd City of Culture."

Maggie O'Carroll, Co-Chair of the Cultural Partnership, said:- "The Arts, Culture and Creative sector is integral to the local, national and international identity of Liverpool City Region. No stranger to the world stage, it illuminates and enriches our lives in so many ways, impacting on our sense of being, place, history, and our future. It is a foundation stone to our social wellbeing and cohesion, our physical and mental health, our education system, our national status, and our economy. The sector confers such enormous benefits and therefore it is incumbent upon to us to recognise it, celebrate it, support it and invest in it; and that is why we have developed this strategy and action plan in conjunction with the sector to ensure that it prospers and grows."

Deputy Portfolio Holder for Culture, Tourism and Visitor Economy and Knowsley Councillor Shelley Powell said:- "The Pandemic has demonstrated how innovative and resilient our creative and cultural sector is, as they have continued to create and entertain in new ways in really challenging circumstances. The pent up appetite to enjoy live, cultural events together is huge and this plan will help to ensure that the sector is still there for us when we can get out there again."

Liverpool's Acting Mayor, Councillor Wendy Simon said:- "Without doubt, the cultural sector has been hit incredibly hard by the Pandemic; seemingly shutting down overnight. As we are looking ahead to brighter days, this plan puts culture firmly in the spotlight and shows the confidence in the resilience of the sector and its ability to come back fighting. There will be a focus on using culture to not only tell the stories of those who live in our communities in a beautiful, Covid safe way, but to also send out a real place making statement that across Liverpool City Region, culture isn't just a nice to have; it's an essential."
 

Cheshire and Merseyside health leaders launch drive to help Ethnic Communities feel safe about Covid19 Vaccine following findings from insight research

CHESHIRE and Merseyside NHS is teaming up with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities to launch a campaign promoting Vaccine safety. Using insight from local research, representatives from ethnic communities will address questions about the Vaccine in a series of radio adverts, posters and social media adverts planned across the local area. Findings from the research carried out in Cheshire and Merseyside are also being shared with senior health and social care leaders, to help ensure everyone has all the facts around the Vaccine and nobody gets left behind.

Roseamma George, a senior NHS nurse and Sefton resident, said:- "Just like with polio and smallpox, vaccinations are vital in eradicating viruses and keeping people safe, and it's important that people know it's not just their own lives they are protecting by getting the Vaccine, but the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities. It is normal for people to have concerns in times like these, but so far millions of people have received their 1st dose and there has been no evidence of widespread negative effects. As an NHS worker I am incredibly proud to be able to continue to care for the people within the local community, and I urge everyone to help play their part in helping the NHS protect and save lives and get the Vaccine."

The research surveyed people across the Region from ethnic communities to develop an in depth understanding of their experiences of Covid19 and their views towards the vaccination. It found that concerns about efficacy and fear of potential side effects are among the top reasons why 33% of the minority of the ethnic communities in Cheshire and Merseyside are reluctant to take the Covid19 Vaccine. Although overall uptake of the Vaccine amongst the 1st 4 priority groups is now just under 90%, the uptake is lower amongst some ethnic minority communities, which the local NHS says is a concern, given the fact that these communities are being disproportionately affected by the virus.

Fiona Taylor, Chief Officer at NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said:- "As we work through vaccinating our Sefton residents in order of priority it is vital that we address the concerns of those worried about having the Vaccine for the reasons highlighted from this research. It is more important than ever that we reassure people and I hope that this targeted campaign across Cheshire and Merseyside will help, using the voices of those in Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the Region to alleviate the concerns others might have and encourage them to get their Vaccine."

Dr Linda Charles Ozuzu, Regional Director of Commissioning for NHS England and NHS Improvement and Senior Responsible Officer for the Covid19 vaccination programme in the North West, said:- "It is vital that everyone who is at a higher risk of infection has the right information and are reassured about the safety and efficacy of the Vaccine. Tens of thousands of people from the Cheshire and Merseyside patch, who identify themselves as being from an ethnic minority backgrounds and are eligible, have already had 1 dose of the Vaccine and this is really positive."

The study, which was co-funded by Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England and Cheshire and Merseyside's Directors of Public Health, surveyed 636 people from across Cheshire and Merseyside.