Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is providing funding to support the primary school library commitment, previously announced by the Chancellor.

Research by the National Literacy Trust estimates there are 1,700 primary schools in England currently without a library. A 2023 NLT report states that 1 in 7 UK state primary schools, rising to 1 in 4 in disadvantaged areas, do not have a library or dedicated library space.

Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.

It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. The Department for Education, therefore, does not collect data on the number or structure of school libraries or number of librarians in primary or secondary schools.

The government is committed to expanding the tourism sector and enabling more inbound and domestic visitors to fully experience the UK's diverse offerings in areas including Bedfordshire, home to stately homes such at Bridgerton’s West Park and family attractions including Whipsnade Zoo.

To drive more inbound visits across Britain, VisitBritain launched a global screen tourism campaign ‘’Starring Great Britain’’ in January 2025. The campaign uses the country's rich film and television history as a hook to inspire visitors to explore diverse and often rural destinations. The launch was supported by a wider advertising campaign across the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor markets including Australia, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, France, Germany and the USA.

The Government has secured a multi-billion-pound investment in a major new Universal theme park and resort in Bedford. This project will create thousands of jobs and drive millions of visitors, both inbound and domestic to Bedfordshire, reinforcing the UK as a world leader in the creative industries.

The Government has also announced the expansion of Luton airport which will significantly increase its passenger capacity enabling it to play a significant role in accommodating international visitors to the Universal theme park. The East West Rail corridor will also include Bedford from 2030, improving connectivity and driving economic growth.

The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK benefit from high-quality sport facilities to help enable people to get active. The Government has committed at least £400 million to be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities over the next four years across the UK.

Funding is subject to departmental business planning processes which are ongoing. Further details will be announced in due course.

National Parks are vital assets for tourism, attracting millions of domestic and international visitors each year and supporting local economies through recreation, hospitality, and cultural heritage. While there are no plans to make an estimate of the economic contribution of tourism to areas with a protected landscape, DCMS recognises the importance of protected landscapes to the UK’s tourism offering.

DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience. VisitBritain’s new GREAT-funded international marketing campaign, ‘Starring GREAT Britain’, uses the hook of Britain’s rich film and television history to encourage more international visitors to explore across Britain, including many rural destinations, landmarks and National Parks.

The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of government.

DCMS continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Prem and Champ clubs as well as the Tier Two Board, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.

I have met with Prem Rugby previously to discuss the long-term financial sustainability of professional rugby union, and my officials regularly engage with Prem Rugby on this issue.

All DCMS staff are subject to regular performance reviews. Under performance management procedures, reviews should take place monthly, quarterly and at the end of each financial year. We hold data for managing poor performance cases these are provided below for the last 5 years:

Of the 61 performance management cases, 11 employees were either dismissed or resigned. We cannot provide the number of performance cases that resulted in either resignation or dismissal for each of the past five years because doing so would breach the Data Protection Act. This is due to the risk of identifying individual cases in years where the case count is five or less, as the information relates to someone other than the data subjects.

DCMS does not hold performance data in regards to its arms-length bodies and agencies.

In the last five years 43 members of staff were subject to management procedures during their probationary period. Of these cases 13 employees did not retain their employment and 6 employees were subject to an extension of their probationary period.

We cannot provide the number of staff who did not retain their employment or had their probationary period extended. Doing so would breach the Data Protection Act and risk identifying individual cases where the case count is five or less, as the information relates to someone other than the data subjects.

In the past 5 years 7 employment tribunals have been lodged against our department. 5 of these claims were under the Equality Act.

We cannot provide the number of claims broken down by year or those that were related to unfair dismissal or claims under the Equality Act 2010. Doing so would breach the Data Protection Act and risk identifying individual cases where the case count is five or less, as the information relates to someone other than the data subjects.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport facilities. They provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live.

That is why, we are investing £98 million through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Fund and have committed a further £400 million through this Spending Review period into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK. This funding will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities that promote health and wellbeing and remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.

Over the last four years, the constituency of North East Somerset and Hanham has received a total of £621,712.80 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Fund to fund sixteen projects.

Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill, which is why it is a mandatory part of the primary PE National Curriculum.

All schools must provide swimming instruction in either key stage 1 or 2. In particular, pupils should be taught to: swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres; use a range of strokes effectively; and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Primary schools can use their PE and sport Premium funding to provide top-up swimming and water safety lessons for those pupils that do not meet national curriculum requirements after they have completed core swimming and water safety lessons.

The Department for Education is also funding the ‘Inclusion 2028’ grant at up to £300,000 per year to improve opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities to participate in school sport, including swimming and water safety.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is providing funding to support the primary school library commitment, previously announced by the Chancellor.

Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. This includes a commitment to ensuring that every primary school in England has a library space by the end of this Parliament.

The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including expected timelines.

DCMS recognises the contribution of the West Midlands, and the constituency of Sutton Coldfield, to the visitor economy. The region's attractions, from Sutton Park to the Black Country Living Museum, and its reputation in hosting major events, including the upcoming 2026 European Athletics Championships, all contribute to local job creation and economic growth.

Screen tourism is also a powerful driver of the West Midlands' visitor economy, with major global hits such as Peaky Blinders providing invaluable global marketing for the destinations. To tap in to screen tourism, and drive more inbound visits across Britain, VisitBritain launched a global screen tourism campaign ‘’Starring Great Britain’’ in January 2025. The campaign uses the country's rich film and television history as a hook to inspire visitors to explore diverse and often rural destinations. The launch was supported by a wider advertising campaign across the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor markets including Australia, the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, France, Germany and the USA.

The West Midlands is also represented in the joint industry and Government-led Visitor Economy Advisory Council, through membership of the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company. In this way the views of the West Midlands help to inform and shape Government policy and the forthcoming sector growth plan which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth. I work closely with the Mayor of the West Midlands and recently met with them to discuss tourism.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.

Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.

The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.

Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.

The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.

Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.

The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Participation in grassroots sports helps keep people active and creates opportunities for social interaction that bolster mental resilience.

In October 2024, DCMS research showed that the sport and physical activity sector contributed £53.6 billion of direct Gross Value Add (GVA) to the UK economy in 2021. The same research showed that football, throughout the whole football pyramid and grassroots sport, as well as football’s indirect impact on the economy at large, generated £8.71 billion towards the total UK GVA in 2021.

In 2024-25, grassroots clubs in Oldham Borough received £1,902,056 of funding via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which funds projects such as new artificial grass pitches, floodlights and clubhouses. No funding has been provided to AVRO FC.

The Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund was launched in January 2023 as an up to £30 million package of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. This funding supported people living in disadvantaged areas to connect with others in their community and engage in volunteering, with the aim of improving wellbeing and pride in local areas.

In April 2025, the KYN Fund was extended until March 2026, with an additional up to £4.5 million of government funding. This funding will uplift existing grant awards to organisations in the 27 eligible delivery areas that had previously received KYN funding between 2022 and 2025, to enable them to continue delivery up until March 2026. It will build upon the original KYN objectives with funded projects also aimed at reducing loneliness stigma and building community cohesion.

The objectives of the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund are, by March 2026:

• To increase the proportion of people in targeted high-deprivation local authorities who volunteer at least once a month.

• To reduce the proportion of chronically lonely people in targeted high-deprivation local authorities who lack desired level of social connections.

• To build the evidence to identify scalable and sustainable place-based interventions that work in increasing regular volunteering and reducing chronic loneliness.

• To enable targeted high-deprivation local authorities, and the local voluntary and community sector in these places, to implement sustainable systems and processes that encourage volunteering and tackling loneliness.

Sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

I have not made an assessment of the financial structure of government arrangements of Blenheim Estates or the Blenheim Foundation. Charities are independent organisations and it is the responsibility of the trustees to make decisions in the best interests of the charity. Concerns about the governance of a charity should be raised with the charity itself, or where there are concerns about misconduct or mismanagement the Charity Commission for England and Wales as the independent regulator.

DCMS works with the national tourism agency, VisitBritain, to champion visits to Britain to a worldwide audience. To drive more inbound visits across Britain, VisitBritain launched a global screen tourism campaign ‘’Starring Great Britain’’ in January 2025. The campaign uses the country's rich film and television history as a hook to inspire visitors to explore diverse and often rural destinations. The launch was supported by a wider advertising campaign across the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor markets including Australia, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, France, Germany and the USA.

The Government also has part funded, through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the South West Visitor Economy Hub, which is an online tool providing tourism and hospitality businesses in Devon and Somerset with real-time data and insights to help them make informed decisions. It tracks trends like visitor demographics, volume, and expenditure, as well as business performance and marketing impact. By offering this information, the Hub aims to support local businesses in growing their productivity and financial stability.

Tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country particularly in rural constituencies like South Shropshire, home to historical sites such as Ludlow castle and the diverse landscapes of the Shropshire Hills.

DCMS works with VisitBritain and VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience with the aim of ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are felt by all regions and nations.

The Telford and Shropshire Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) has an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that meet the needs of visitors and benefit local communities to the area.

The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Plan, which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live. On 19 June 2025, we announced that following the Spending Review at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

The government is aware of the challenges the National Glass Centre is facing. How these challenges are managed, and decisions about its future, are a matter for the University of Sunderland and its partners, as the owner of the building.

Sunderland Culture is currently in discussion with the University about the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s (NGCA) future programme. These talks include exploring how to continue the city-wide approach to displaying the collection, which is currently exhibited in City Hall and The Beam. The University is also looking to lease space within Culture House as a potential permanent home for the NGCA. In addition, Arts Council England (ACE), an arm’s-length body of government, is working with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland City Council to help preserve the city’s glass-making heritage and skills for future generations.

In January 2025 Sunderland Culture was awarded £5 million from the Government’s Cultural Development Fund for Glassworks, a new world class facility for glass making in Sunderland that will connect the city’s 1,350 years of glass-making heritage. ACE delivers the Cultural Development Fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Government has no plans to rejoin Creative Europe. This position is informed by indicative analysis of the value for money of associating with the programme.

We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad. This includes through the Creative Industries Sector Plan, which is key to driving long-term economic growth across the United Kingdom; the new £75 million Screen Growth Package; the scaled up £18 million per year UK Global Screen Fund (2026–2029); and by committing up to £30 million for our Music Growth Package.

Information on the number of civil servants leaving each government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication.

Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/.

Sport England, DCMS’s Arm's-Length Body for grassroots sport, is helping increase awareness of cardiac risk among young athletes in the community sports sector, including signposting to information about screening, through Buddle, its online site for clubs and community organisations. They can also provide funding to community sports clubs for Automated External Defibrillators through their Movement Fund.

I will continue to work with ministerial colleagues at the Department for Health and Social Care on these issues.

Senior officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have received a copy of the dossier containing these allegations and have been assured by the BBC that they are examining the issues raised in the report. The Culture Secretary is being kept updated on these developments.

Because the BBC is independent of government, it is for the Corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions. It is crucial the BBC upholds the highest standards of reporting and impartiality, so they are trusted as the national broadcaster and the Government therefore expects the BBC to consider feedback they receive seriously and carefully.

DCMS staff are permitted to attend Civil Service Network events in line with the Civil Service Network Policy. However, DCMS does not currently host any Civil Service wide networks and therefore did not organise any such events.

The Secretary of State has had constructive conversations with HM Treasury to secure grant-in-aid funding for our institutions.

These successful conversations were borne out in February 2025, when we announced a £270m Arts Everywhere Investment package that included a 5% increase to the budgets of all national museums and galleries to support their financial resilience.

And as per our most recent Spending Review settlement announced in June 2025, there is significant planned funding for the UK’s world-leading culture and heritage sector. We will be investing in celebrated institutions including national museums and galleries, as well as organisations like Arts Council England, which support local projects across the country and ensure that the best of British culture is accessible to all.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

In the last financial year, 2024-25, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, Sport England, invested £​37,​724 into the ​North Shropshire constituency​ to improve access to sport and physical activity.

Sport England, through its place partnerships, also works with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers to sport and physical activity in communities. ​Energize Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.

Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live. On 19 June 2025, we announced that following the Spending Review at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, including for children and young people, and will then set out further plans.

The Gambling Levy Programme Board first met in June 2025. The Board is chaired by the DCMS Director of Sport and Gambling, and its membership consists of government officials from relevant HMG departments, and the Scottish and Welsh governments.

The Advisory Group first met in May 2025. It is chaired by a DCMS official and membership consists of working level representation from UK Research and Innovation, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, NHS England, the appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales and the Gambling Commission.

We will continue to regularly monitor the levy’s governance arrangements to ensure that there is effective oversight of delivery against objectives. We will publish the Terms of Reference and details of membership for the Levy Board and Advisory Group in due course.

The Secretary of State and her ministerial team engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts organisations and museums. In February 2025, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, with organisations across the North East already benefitting. This includes the £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, with over £1.2 million awarded to museums in the North East in October, and £483k specifically for the North East Museums group to support activities across Northumberland museums, including Hexham Old Gaol. This funding is additional to core museums funding delivered through Arts Council England, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, which sees over £3.3 million a year invested in the North East Museums group amongst others.

The Department continues to work with stakeholders to provide additional support for local museums and galleries in 2025/26, through the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) tackling maintenance backlogs, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, currently open for applications.

The Arts Everywhere Fund will also deliver £85 million of investment through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts and cultural organisations, including local arts centres, to address urgent estate issues, ensuring buildings and infrastructure are fit for future generations. In addition, Ministers have commissioned a formal review of ACE, the body responsible for distributing arts funding across England. The review is considering all aspects of ACE’s work and investment, and will report this Autumn.

The Secretary of State and her ministerial team engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts organisations and museums. In February 2025, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, with organisations across the North East already benefitting. This includes the £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, with over £1.2 million awarded to museums in the North East in October, and £483k specifically for the North East Museums group to support activities across Northumberland museums, including Hexham Old Gaol. This funding is additional to core museums funding delivered through Arts Council England, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, which sees over £3.3 million a year invested in the North East Museums group amongst others.

The Department continues to work with stakeholders to provide additional support for local museums and galleries in 2025/26, through the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) tackling maintenance backlogs, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, currently open for applications.

The Arts Everywhere Fund will also deliver £85 million of investment through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts and cultural organisations, including local arts centres, to address urgent estate issues, ensuring buildings and infrastructure are fit for future generations. In addition, Ministers have commissioned a formal review of ACE, the body responsible for distributing arts funding across England. The review is considering all aspects of ACE’s work and investment, and will report this Autumn.

The Government recognises the contribution of pubs to the nighttime economy in the UK, as well as the commercial pressures they face.

Although the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Commission do not hold official statistics on the contribution of gaming machines to the level of pubs’ supplementary income, we recognise that gaming machines are an important source of revenue to many pubs across the country.

Trade associations representing the pub sector, including the British Beer and Pub Association, UK Hospitality and the British Institute of Innkeeping, recently emphasised the importance of gaming machines in pubs, estimating that 48% of pubs have at least one gaming machine, with the total income from these machines equating to £622m per year.

This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

DCMS asks all employees to declare whether they have a disability, but does not differentiate between mental health and physical disabilities.

Information on the number of people declaring a disability by each government department is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Latest published data are as at 31 March 2025 and can be found at Table 29 of the statistical tables at the following web address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025

Information for 31 March 2026 is due for publication in July 2026.

The department and the Gambling Commission have regular discussions covering gambling regulation, including society lotteries.

The department and the Gambling Commission have regular discussions covering gambling regulation, including society lotteries.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

In order to start the roll-out of Young Futures Hubs, up to £2m is being made available for 8 Early Adopters Local Authorities, so that the first Young Futures Hubs will be operational later this financial year.

As the Prime Minister stated in his speech on 15th July, we have plans to open 50 hubs over the next four years. The design and implementation of the programme will be informed by our work with early adopters, and they will be located where they will have the most impact.

The Government recognises the vital role of theatre in enriching communities across the country and provides funding primarily through Arts Council England (ACE). Expanding access to high-quality theatre remains a shared priority for the Government and ACE. Across all ACE funding programmes for the financial year 2024/25, ACE awarded around £300 million to theatres/theatre based organisations.

In 2023, Oldham Council secured £1.845 million from ACE to enhance creative and cultural activity in the borough, with a strong focus on theatre. This funding supports a vibrant cultural programme for residents and visitors, delivered in partnership with organisations such as Oldham Theatre Workshop and Oldham Coliseum Theatre. The Council has a four-year business plan to redevelop, reopen, and operate the Coliseum Theatre on Fairbottom Street. This work aligns with Oldham’s Cultural Strategy, the Creating a Better Place Programme, and ACE’s Let’s Create strategy.