Minutes:
Two public questions had been received by Mr Nigel Slack and delivered as follows:-
Question 1 ‘Just before the country went into lockdown the Mayor announced a proposal to create the position of an Arts and Culture Commissioner for the City Region. What has happened to that proposal?’
Question 2 ‘With the city and indeed country sitting on the precipice of a second wave, what further plans do the Sheffield City Region have for mitigating the economic impact without risking the safety of our residents?’
In response to Question 1, the Mayor was pleased to report that an Art, Culture and Heritage Project Director would very soon be recruited, following on from the proposal presented earlier in the year. In recent months, focus had been given to advocating the theatres, venues, freelances and artists, and to make sure that their voice was heard in Whitehall. The Mayor had met with key stakeholders from the Arts Council England and with local cultural organisations to better understand the affects of the lockdown measures. In partnership with the University of Sheffield, two South Yorkshire wide surveys had been undertaken on the impact of the crisis on art and culture, and the music sector. The results of which had fed into a submission to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport call for evidence on the impact of Covid-19.
The Mayor had written to the Department for Digital, Media and Sport to urge the Government to offer financial support specific to the sector. Close working had been undertaken with the local authority partners to create a business case for future growth and investment into the arts, culture and heritage, to unlock their economic and social potential on a city region wide level. Further details would be made available within the ‘Unlocking the potential of Culture, Arts and Heritage in South Yorkshire report’ which would be published on 22 September 2020. The Mayor had long believed that the arts, culture and heritage sector was not just vital for the economy, but also for our character and spirit. These sectors, were not a luxury, but a vital part of the region’s recovery and renewal which contributed to healthy and sustainable communities, strong local identities and vibrant places, together with the economic recovery. There was now an even greater need to level-up the North, to invest in our communities, and to build a stronger, greener and fairer South Yorkshire, to which culture, arts and heritage must be central to. Once in place the Project Director would add further capacity to work with culture stakeholders to identify creative solutions for the sector to re-open, captivate and offer much needed relief to audiences across South Yorkshire and the wider city region once more.
In response to Question 2, the Mayor stated that the Renewal Action Plan which had been submitted to Government, had outlined the proposals for mitigating the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on our economy and on our people. It set out a number of projects and initiatives to deliver support to our businesses, safeguard jobs and invest in our infrastructure in order to adopt to the changing economic circumstances.
The Mayor commented that it was unacceptable that people were unable to obtain a Coronavirus test, which was a national priority when the Government wanted to reach their target set of 100,000 tests per day. It was vital for the Government to ensure that the necessary testing capabilities were in place, as the tests were now urgently needed, with the rate of cases significantly rising across the North of England. The medical professionals and those on the front line of fighting the virus were correct; the test and trace had descended into chaos. As the number of Coronavirus cases increased daily, and there were vast swathes of areas that were being forced into lockdown. It was now the time to act before more lives, jobs and businesses were put at risk.
As the rates of infection in South Yorkshire continued to head fast into the wrong direction, the Mayor urged all residents, young and old to play their part in slowing the spread of the virus through social distancing, the wearing of face coverings on public transport and in shops, and to isolate if they had Covid-19 symptoms or had been in contact with someone who had symptoms. He also urged the businesses to ensure that they had effective measures in place, to enable their employees to work safely.
The Mayor thanked Mr Slack for his questions.