Welcome to the fifth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here.
It’s rather a mouthful of a title for this section, but it reflects the diverse remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Almost inevitably it is made up of a disparate shopping list of policies without any clear thread running through them.
The list includes the not exactly controversial (Make a success of the Olympics! Make a success of other sports events! Try to get more sports events!) through supporting the status quo (including maintaining free entry to national museums and galleries – one of the best acts of the Labour government) to the worthy (make use of cash in dormant betting accounts to improve local sports facilities).
The BBC’s future gets a careful cross-party compromise: “We will maintain the independence of the BBC, and give the National Audit Office full access to the BBC’s accounts to ensure transparency”. On the controversial issue of cross-media ownership, the agreement says, “we will enable partnerships between local newspapers, radio and television stations to promote a strong and diverse local media industry”. In other words, we’ll allow lots of takeovers.
There is a touch of traditional Conservatism in the encouragement of more competition in schools sports, but married to a traditional cross-party concern to protect playing fields. Mind you, if promises to protect playing fields were enough, our playing fields would be now be the Fort Knox of the world’s green spaces.
The National Lottery comes in for some changes, with limits on administration costs, a ban on lobbying (no more National Lottery stands at party conferences) and greater concentration of Lottery funds on sports, arts and heritage.
Possibly the most radical proposal is that for football clubs with the encouragement of “reform of football governance rules to support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters”. It’s not an issue that rates high on most people’s lists of political priorities, but we could be about to see a burst of mutualism in a sector that deeply affects many people’s lives.
Notable by its absence in this section (and more generally from the document) is any reference to the Digital Economy Act, though there is a promise to cut the red tape that restricts live music performances and also a plan to speed up the roll-out of superfast broadband with money taken from the digital switchover fund if necessary.
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4 Comments
The Live Music Bill is crucial to the de-regulation of small live music events (though still restricted under other laws to stop actual disturbance obviously) and free up performers. And Don Foster’s adjustment to the Lottery taxation method is a great policy – though a little complicated.
However, presumably we felt we could sacrifice this Department in the negotiations as there isn’t a Lib Dem in sight – hence the larger proportion of Tory policy.
“We will cut red tape to encourage the performance of more live music” can be read two ways: is it to encourage those small events & independent venues that promote creative new talent ignored by the industry, or will it just make it easier for soulless.corporate chains to open more outlets for foisting the usual dreary old mainstream tosh on less adventurous punters? It already looks like we’re losing two good small venues in London this month alone – the deceptively innocuous-looking Legion and the ramshackle but quite irreplaceable Foundry, the latter because the council ignored its invaluable arts contribution in authorising demolition.
How business “partnerships” promote diversity escapes me: we need more non-commercial community media, not easier pickings for the Murdochs and their competitors. Those who offer real diversity have been doing real partnership for years by sharing resources, it’s how they stay afloat: they don’t need legislation to do it. They do need an environment that offers room for innovation and a degree of long-term stability.
I remember what happened to museums and libraries in the 80s and 90s, and Tories shouldn’t be trusted to determine their fate without supervision: this is an area where LibDems should be getting involved. Culture & heritage are something we do surprisingly well given how we seem to have spent much of the past century trying to erase both, and we neglect both at our peril.
‘or will it just make it easier for soulless.corporate chains to open more outlets for foisting the usual dreary old mainstream tosh on less adventurous punters’
It is an admittedly vague reference to the Live Music Bill we hope as this was supported by both parties in opposition and nearly made it through parliament …. It is about amll venues, bars, and a 200 audience or fewer exemption. I know it could be read two ways, but I don’t think it should, and we need to make sure it isn’t.
I suggest that live music can cause serious health problems to residents within earshot of a pub. Please ensure that new regulations take into account those of us who need to sleep after 11pm.