The Head of Policy, Culture and Communications submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which explained the development of the Draft Culture Strategy and an overview of the vision and priorities of the proposed Culture Strategy 2015-18.

Cllr Simm, Board Member for Culture and Communities presented the report. She explained the importance of the Council investing in cultural groups so they could leverage additional funding from elsewhere.

The Cultural Development Manager explained that the strategy aligned with the objectives of the Arts Council which will enable us to make clearer links between cultural projects and grant requests in Oxford, and national priorities for arts and culture.

Cllr Simm went through the Scrutiny Committee’s report and agreed with recommendations 1 to 3. In terms of recommendation 4 - encouraging visitors to spend more time in Oxford, Cllr Price outlined Experience Oxford’s planned initiative to link tourism with the cultural offer of the city. There were also plans to link this with hotels to encourage visitors to stay longer.

The strategy will go out for consultation and will return to the Board for approval early next year.

The City Executive Board resolved to approve the consultation of the Draft Culture Strategy as set out at Appendix 1.