Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16604 on 11 Downing Street: Art Works, if she will publish a corresponding list of the reference numbers of Government Art Collection works that have been (a) added and (b) removed from the (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) the Prime Minister’s Ministerial residence since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No. It is standard practice, as followed by the previous government, for new ministers to select works from the Government Art Collection for their ministerial offices. All such changes of displays of works from the Government Art Collection constitute 'business as usual' for the Collection. All artworks in the Government Art Collection are on the website and their present locations can readily be searched and identified. The Collection does not publish the history of the locations of artworks.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8809 on 11 Downing Street: Art Works, what was the cost to the public purse of removing the artworks.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is standard practice, as followed by the previous government, of which he was a member, for new ministers to select works from the Government Art Collection for their ministerial offices. All such changes of displays of works from the Government Art Collection constitute 'business as usual' for the Collection, so all costs are met from within existing budgets. All the newly installed artworks are part of the Government Art Collection, and no works have been acquired or procured for this new display. The whole collection, which is about to celebrate its 125th anniversary, shows great British art at its best in ministerial offices, departments, museums, galleries, embassies and consulates. Its diversity is a key part of its appeal and its championing of British art at home and abroad.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to renew the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond its current expiry date of 31 March.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the scheduled ending of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in March 2025 on local projects aimed at restoring listed places of worship; and what alternative sources of support her Department plans to provide to ensure the continued preservation and restoration of historic buildings.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship. We are aware of the importance of the scheme to local projects and listed places of worship across the UK.
Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the level of contribution of coaches to the tourism industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Coaches are a really important part of the tourism industry, enabling millions of people every year to go on day-trips, visit heritage sites, go to the theatre or travel around the UK, often at affordable prices. We remain committed to collaborating with stakeholders to strengthen our partnerships and promote sustainable growth within the sector.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to support new FM licences for radio stations in (a) Rutland, (b) Mid-Wales and (c) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The growth and development of digital radio and changes in listener behaviour have resulted in a clear shift away from analogue listening – digital listening now accounts for 74% of all radio listening (RAJAR Q3 2024). Although AM/FM platforms remain important for smaller commercial and community stations, significant numbers of listeners are migrating to digital platforms.
The licensing of AM/FM radio services is a matter for Ofcom, and in October Ofcom set out its current approach to licensing in a progress report on the rollout of small-scale DAB (SSDAB) technology. This report set out Ofcom’s current view that SSDAB offers audiences a wider range of services and makes a more efficient use of spectrum than FM, and committed to at least two further rounds of SSDAB licensing before considering the possibility of any further analogue licensing in the future.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the BBC on maintaining a sustainable production department in Scotland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The public service remit for television requires that public service broadcasters like the BBC make an appropriate range and amount of their programmes across the UK. This includes specific obligations to production in Scotland, where the BBC is required to make 8% of its network spend and network programme hours. The independent regulator Ofcom holds the BBC to account in meeting these obligations.
The Government is committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for all broadcasters - including the BBC - to be more ambitious in growing our world-leading TV sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission content in every part of the country. Ministers and officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have regular discussions with the BBC, and during the upcoming Charter Review will consider the work of the BBC across the whole UK, including in Scotland.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that second tier professional rugby union clubs are able to continue to operate when Covid-19 loans become repayable.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union to discuss the future of the sport. My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport at all levels.
Loan financing of around £5 million was provided to Championship clubs as part of the Sport Survival Package (SSP). The loans were provided on favourable terms, tailored to meet the unique legal and financial circumstances of clubs. DCMS remains in close contact with our loan agents, Sport England, to ensure loans are repaid and borrowers comply with the terms of their loans.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she department has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the decarbonisation of listed buildings.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have not held any such discussions, but my officials discuss this and other related issues as part of ongoing engagement with their DESNZ and MHCLG counterparts. In addition, in July, Historic England, the UK government's statutory advisor on England's historic environment, published guidance to support the decarbonisation of historic buildings.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 19589 on Newspaper Press: Foreign Investment in UK, whether her Department has (a) considered and (b) taken legal advice on issuing Foreign State Intervention Notices in the last six months.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role when considering foreign state ownership, influence and control in newspapers and news magazines, and as such we cannot comment further.