Research published this week by the British Council, entitled ‘A Special Relationship’, revealed that the cultural connectedness between the UK and the US is ‘strong, and shows no signs of weakening’. The research, which surveyed 1000 young people, noted that 71% of Americans agreed that …

A “digital pledge” backed by £7.5 million of Government funding has been launched to help councils transform their online services. Over 50 local authorities, Government departments and partner organisations have already signed up to the pledge, called the Local Digital Declaration, agreeing a common vision …

In May 2018 there were a total of 3.9 million visits to the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries. This is an increase of 0.1% (around 4,000 visits) compared with May 2017.

The Charity Commission has published an independent study examining the factors that the public associate with a trustworthy charity. It identifies the key drivers of trust in charities as being: transparent about where money goes (8.8 of 10) true to their values (8.5) efficient in …

HMRC has published the charity tax statistics for 2017/18. Overall the value of tax reliefs to charities (including Gift Aid, SDLT and business rates relief) is £3.62bn and for individuals the value of tax reliefs (including higher rate relief, IHT relief and payroll giving) is …

Research carried out by the Place Alliance, supported by the Mayor of London and Urban Design London, provides convincing evidence that design review delivers real benefits in terms of raising the quality of design in new developments and changes the culture locally to prioritise the …

The Government has responded to the Lords Select Committee report ‘The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century’ published on 18 April 2018. The Committee’s first recommendation was that there should be a single minister in a single department with responsibility …

DEFRA has published its ‘Fisheries white paper: sustainable fisheries for future generations’, which lays out the Government’s vision for the marine environment and the fishing industry in a post-Brexit Britain. The paper outlines how the Government will negotiate fishing quotas annually after 2020, when the …

The June 2018 first revised draft of the Ministerial Declaration for the UN High-Level Political Forum, the mechanism established by the United Nations for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, made little mention of culture, and …

The Alliance was pleased to attend the recent launch of the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) report ‘Licence to build: A pathway to licensing UK construction’ in the House of Lords. Speakers included the Construction Minister Richard Harrington MP; the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP; …

Heritage 2020 provides a framework for collaborative working by the historic environment sector in England on topics that the sector has agreed are a priority (see the Heritage 2020 framework). The initiative brings together 46 people from 33 organisations and we’re now seeking views on …

The next #HeritageChat will take place on Thursday 19th July, 13.00-14.00 (UK time). We’re using the theme of youth engagement with heritage (a focus of the Heritage 2020 public engagement group), and now we call for your ideas on topics to explore as part of …