Culture
Tourism levy meeting call
Core Cities has called for a meeting with new culture secretary Nicky Morgan and her ministers to discuss the idea of a hotel room levy.
Union 'bewildered' by backing of city of culture bid
Bradford City Council has come under fire after backing a campaign to become the UK’s city of culture.
Setting the right playing field
Donna Hall assesses the value of strong belief systems against the all too common trend to measure progress in a mechanical manner, and says the public sector can benefit from an adaptable take on the former
Exclusive: Chief execs' survey highlights tensions of 'challenging politics'
Tensions between chief executives and their leaders are under greater scrutiny because of ‘challenging politics,’ a survey by Penna and The MJ has found.
Preston steps in to take over struggling Guild Hall
Councillors in Preston have taken back control of the city’s Guild Hall - five years after selling the venue
Driving ahead with a new cultural and tourism strategy
Great Yarmouth BC is finalising a new strategy aligning its tourism and cultural offers, says Sheila Oxtoby - and alongside this it is shaping a 'place story' to support promotion.
Council to 'fully investigate' complaints after sexism claims
Stratford-on-Avon DC has said it will ‘fully investigate complaints of inappropriate behaviour’ after its outgoing head of paid service claimed it had a sexist culture.
Wigan’s fire within
A year ago, Wigan MBC commissioned its new cultural strategy. Alison McKenzie-Folan, explains how the arts are helping ignite excitement and spark creativity in the town.
Don’t be afraid to jump in the deep end
Donna Hall maintains that if we are serious about bringing about positive change we need to work out how our own behaviours influence the culture of an organisation or a team.
Creating a compassionate council
Robert Moran’s vision for Elmbridge is to ensure compassion runs through all of the work of the council – benefiting both residents and employees
Call for tourism tax review
An inquiry into cultural investment in cities has called for a UK-wide review of the benefits of a tourism tax.
Standards bearers
The local standards regime for councils has faced allegations that it is insufficiently robust. Will the 20th report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life on ethics in local government lead to positive change? Heather Jameson reports
A council’s culture eats its strategies for breakfast, dinner and tea
Rip up all those wordy strategies that hardly anyone even reads. They just don’t work, says Donna Hall. She describes a better way for council chief executives and leaders to spend their time.
Putting people first
Detached is not her form of politics and she ‘worked like an absolute sod’ to capture an ‘unwinnable’ seat in Waltham Forest MBC. Council leader Clare Coghill talks to Heather Jameson
When it comes to our cities there are reasons to be cheerful
There is little doubt that 2019 will be an historic and turbulent year, but there are some great opportunities for our cities to drive radical change and play a key role in post-Brexit Britain, says Cllr Judith Blake
Cambridge brings service in-house from struggling charity
Cambridge City Council is to bring its cultural events service back in-house, after the charity Cambridge Live ran into financial difficulties.
Empowerment is a team effort
As the first London Borough of Culture, and one of five integration pilot areas, Waltham Forest LBC has an unprecedented opportunity to bring residents together, says Linzi Roberts-Egan
Scrutiny can reduce Government intervention risk - Kerslake
Rishi Sunak has called for scrutiny to receive a ‘strong commitment from the top’ of councils amid warnings about the risk of further Whitehall intervention.
'New beginning' for Bristol after 'significant void'
Bristol City Council (BCC) ‘lost a year’ due to inertia caused by a lack of officer leadership, Local Government Association peers have been told.
A bit of northern flavour
Diary applauds Channel 4’s plan to move its HQ to Leeds, which has been welcomed warmly by many in local government.