FAQ

The Combined Authority was formed in April 2014 to be the driving force for economic growth across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield. In 2021 Tracy Brabin was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire. As the Chair of the Combined Authority the Mayor works with partners across the region and beyond to deliver regeneration and economic development, and co-ordinate long-term programmes that will transform West Yorkshire. The Combined Authority also develops local transport throughout West Yorkshire under the well-known brand Metro. To find out more visit: www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk. 

The development of the framework is led by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Heritage and Sport Policy Manager. This work is overseen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Heritage and Sport Committee, which includes the Mayor, elected members from each of the five local authorities in the region (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield), and representatives from the culture, heritage and sport sectors. You can find out more about the Culture, Heritage and Sport Committee here: WYCA - Modern Gov

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has allocated a budget of £11.4 million to Culture, Heritage and Sport activity until 2025. 

This is part of the ‘gainshare’ funding that was secured as part of the West Yorkshire devolution deal, agreed between the region’s leaders and the government in March 2020. In February 2022, the Combined Authority Committee agreed to commit £11.4 million to Culture, Heritage and Sport. See the Commitee minutes here: WYCA - Modern Gov

Where the draft framework says we will invest in culture, heritage or sport activity, in most cases this will mean using some of the £11.4 million gainshare allocation (for example, making a grant to support a programme of cultural activity). We may also apply for additional funding (from central government or other sources) to support activity which helps us realise the ambitions set out in the framework. 

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority recognises that Culture, Heritage and Sport are key to levelling up the region. In February 2022, the Combined Authority Committee agreed to commit £11.4 million to support Culture, Heritage and Sport. This money is part of the ‘gainshare’ funding that was secured as part of the West Yorkshire devolution deal, agreed between the region’s leaders and the government in March 2020. You can read the relevant Combined Authority Committee agenda, decisions and minutes here: WYCA - Modern Gov. 

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Heritage and Sport Framework is our plan to grow and sustain culture, heritage and sport in the region. The framework sets out our ambitions, the kinds of things we will do to achieve our ambitions (our interventions), and how we will measure the impact of this work.

The interventions are organised into categories:

Invest – this means what we will spend money on.

Collaborate – this means helping people and organisations to work together across the region.

Broker – this means asking government or other funders to invest money in West Yorkshire’s culture, heritage and sport, or to change a policy to help these sectors. It also refers to our work in attracting businesses to invest in the region.

The draft framework sets out who we think the main beneficiaries will be:

• Individuals, by increasing everyone’s opportunities to enjoy culture, heritage and sport.
• Communities and community groups.
• The culture, heritage and sport sectors.
• People who want to gain skills to work in the culture, heritage or sport sectors.

However, this public engagement is a chance for you to tell us if we’ve got this balance right, or if you think we need to change it.

When we say culture, we mean the process or product of any form of creative endeavour, including visual arts, music, dance, theatre, film and TV, literature and spoken word, video and board games, fashion, design, architecture and crafts. 

When we say sport, we mean any kind of sport, exercise or recreational physical activity, engaged in individually or within a group, team or club. We sometimes use the term ‘grassroots sport’ to specifically refer to activities in which the majority of participants are non-professional players (however, grassroots sports may also involve some professional athletes, coaches, venues, or events organisers).

When we say heritage, we mean historic places or locations such as stately homes, mills and moors, and places where our heritage assets are housed and studied such as museums, archives and libraries, but also our non-tangible heritage, such as cultural practices, traditions, experiences and stories. 

When we say the creative industries, we mean creative occupations whose work relies on creative endeavour. This includes artists, writers, composers, literary translators, musicians, actors, directors, curators, photographers, games designers, animators, graphic designers, fashion designers, set designers, dramaturgs, creative lighting designers, create makeup artists, craftspeople, dancers, performance artists, creative educationalists, architects and advertising creatives. 

We also include the ecosystem of companies and organisations that are the main employers of creative occupations, and/or facilitate creative activity, including film, TV and radio production companies, theatre companies, publishing companies, software developers, festivals and events companies, live music venues, museums, galleries and libraries, and book and record shops. 

When we say communities, we mean groups of people with shared interests. This might be due to a shared location, a shared faith, a shared ethnicity or cultural heritage, a shared characteristic (such as LGBTQIA+ communities), or a shared disability (such as d/Deaf communities). It may also include people across the region who are united by an interest in the same activity (such as the gaming community, or the crafting community). We also recognise that these communities contain a diverse range of views, which cannot be represented by a single spokesperson.

The aim of the framework is to set out the kinds of things the West Yorkshire Combined Authority should be doing to support culture, heritage or sport, not to name specific organisations or projects. In future, when we consider proposals to invest in specific culture, heritage or sport activities, we will refer to the framework to ensure any decision we make aligns with our agreed ambitions and interventions.

Whether you’re responding as an individual or on behalf of an organisation, the engagement survey is your opportunity to tell us which parts of the framework you agree with, and which parts you think should be changed, and why. At the end of the engagement period, we will collect all responses and consider them together when we prepare a final version of the framework. 

It will help us if you can make your answers to the survey questions relevant and actionable. Please also be aware that this process may necessitate striking a balance between competing and contradictory feedback (for example, some survey respondents may say the framework should include more about skills training, while other respondents may say the framework should include less about skills training).

After the engagement period closes on 25th September, responses will be collated and analysed into a report, with feedback reflected on in the final version of the Culture, Heritage and Sport Framework, which we are planning to publish in November 2022.

At the end of the engagement period on 25^th September 2022, we will collect all responses and consider them together as we prepare a final version of the framework. 

Please be aware that this process may necessitate striking a balance between competing and contradictory feedback (for example, some survey respondents may say the framework should include more about skills training, while other respondents may say the framework should include less about skills training).

The final framework will be subject to approval by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Culture, Heritage and Sport Committee, and is due to be published in November 2022.

You can contact the project team by:

• Email: yourvoice@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
• In writing: Freepost CONSULTATION TEAM (WYCA) (no stamp is required)

You can register here to be kept informed about any updates on this project