Member

The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, asked about guidance. We accept that culture is a broad term, which is why we will look to provide clarification in statutory and non-statutory guidance on the use of the term. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, that conferring mayoral competency should absolutely not imply that other tiers of local government should take their responsibilities any less seriously than they already do; it is for all tiers of local government to take responsibility for culture. As someone who fiercely defended our theatre in Stevenage through years of swingeing budget cuts, I think that it is important that councillors at all levels continue to do that.