Review

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced a review to assess whether the two should remain as non-departmental public bodies, and whether HLF funding is fairly distributed across the UK. It is calling for evidence by 6 April 2017 on how they "engage with the public and work with partners across the country".

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The Carnegie UK Trust is seeking information on the approach of different cities around the world to wellbeing. The Trust has published guidance for cities looking to develop approaches to improving the wellbeing of their populations and is now seeking examples of good practice.

The guidance offers insights into how to establish wellbeing activities and frameworks as well as a detailed rationale for the reason for developing population-based approaches to wellbeing.

Following the report of the AHRC Cultural Value Project earlier this year, King’s College London is undertaking a scoping project to explore how research into the impact of culture on society might best be supported in the future.

Community dance organisation People Dancing has published a survey providing a snapshot of current practice in older people’s dance. The survey aimed to “seek expert views from those working on the ground about conditions for success”.

The publication - co-commissioned with arts charity Aesop - is intended as a guide to support community dance artists in the delivery of their work with older people and aims to complement existing knowledge and act as a reference resource.

The results of Arts Development UK’s annual survey of local authority spending on the arts shows a projects fall of £26m (13%) in the current year as opposed to 2015/16.

The survey finds what AD:UK refers to as a “steady erosion” in arts spending and that “the landscape is changing with several authorities losing their arts service this year and a reduction in the number of smaller authorities able to take part in the survey.”

The Alzheimer’s Society has called on local authorities to increase provision of personal-care budgets (which can be used for cultural and social activities) for people with dementia. Less than a third of people receiving social care support for problems with memory and cognition have a personal budget, despite the government’s aspirations for a person-centred care and support system.

The new Shadow Culture Secretary, Tom Watson, has launched an enquiry designed to support increased devolution of decisions about culture.

The Communities for Culture enquiry will investigate good practice in local support for culture and the ways culture can support local priorities. Speaking to website Labour List he said:

The Department of Health has launched a listening programme to capture the views and experiences of people with dementia and their carers in order to try to assess what difference its work to tackle dementia is having and where further improvements to the delivery of services and support may be needed at a local level.

The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance has published a guide to the role the arts can play in improving the health, education and wellbeing of those involved with the criminal justice system.

Written by Andy Parkinson from Consilium Research and Consultancy, the guide provides practical information and ideas for those wishing to commission artists and arts organisations and includes details of how to identify providers and case studies demonstrating how arts activities can be used to meet the needs of offenders.

A new report into the state of the social care sector has advocated the use of the arts as a means of care homes achieving excellence. The Care Quality Commission report says that “making best use of the arts to find creative and innovative ways to enable people to have a fuller life” is key to care homes delivering the best service for older people.