The government has announced a £1.5 billion investment to stabilise and renew England’s cultural infrastructure. This article sets out what’s in the package, how the sector has responded, and why it matters for communities across the country.

Yesterday’s Grand Committee debate in the House of Lords built on sustained work by Culture Commons to secure a clear place for culture, creativity and heritage in England’s devolution agenda. Drawing on our evidence developed with 250 organisations, Peers reinforced a simple point: cultural capability is central to effective devolution, not an optional extra.

Director Trevor MacFarlane makes an initial response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget 2025.

This week, we’ve taken our work on cultural devolution right into the heart of government — submitting formal evidence to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s consultation on the new English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, now moving through the UK Parliament.

At the 2025 Labour Party Conference, the UK Government has announcement £25 million over three years for six mayoral regions - a significant boost for creative industries. Beyond the headline, the question for us at Culture Commons is: how does this investment advance the case for cultural devolution?

On 25 September 2025, the government launched its Pride in Place Strategy as part of the Plan for Change. What began as a pilot is now a flagship national policy - backed with long-term funding and new powers for communities.

Culture Commons has been attending a series of high level roundtables hosted by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to help support the development of the emergent Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF).

New Towns Taskforce report drawing on Culture Commons policy cited in an evidence session in a cross-party House of Lords committee.

The UK Government has today published the ‘English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill’ - a game-changing moment for local decision making across England.