Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of longwave radio on 31 March on people living in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is not ending long-wave transmissions of BBC Radio 4 on 31 March 2024. The Corporation announced in 2022 that it would be ending the separate programming for Radio 4 on long wave only and moving to a single Radio 4 schedule.
The BBC has been communicating this change to ensure that listeners know how they can still hear Radio 4 programmes which are only broadcast on long wave on other BBC radio services or other platforms.
Under the BBC’s 2016 Royal Charter and Agreement, it is a matter for the BBC to determine how long to continue with its long-wave transmissions.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide a breakdown of successful applicants to the Culture Recovery Fund seeking an emergency grant by (1) geographic location, and (2) size of organisation.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The first round of the Emergency Resource Support strand of the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) ran in Summer and Autumn 2021 and was delivered by Arts Council England, Historic England, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the British Film Institute. The second round was launched in Winter 2021.
The first round of this funding supported 183 organisations, from a total of 259 full applications, giving a success rate of 70.66%. This excludes organisations which did not reach full application stage, and (for Arts Council England) applications ruled out for technical eligibility reasons. Further information on success rates will be published in due course, as set out below.
The CRF is delivered at arm’s length from the government by Arts Council England, the British Film Institute, the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and Heritage England. Data for successful grant offers that have been published can be found on their websites.
We acknowledge that there is public interest in aggregated all-CRF geographical breakdowns for this important investment, as well as the organisation size breakdowns for successful applicants. For this reason, later this year DCMS will publish sets of aggregated and anonymised management data to demonstrate the geography and characteristics of the CRF applicants and awardees - to the extent that our data-set allows. This will also include further up-to-date information on success rates.
We will deposit a copy of this information in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of applications to the Culture Recovery Fund seeking an emergency grant were successful.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The first round of the Emergency Resource Support strand of the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) ran in Summer and Autumn 2021 and was delivered by Arts Council England, Historic England, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the British Film Institute. The second round was launched in Winter 2021.
The first round of this funding supported 183 organisations, from a total of 259 full applications, giving a success rate of 70.66%. This excludes organisations which did not reach full application stage, and (for Arts Council England) applications ruled out for technical eligibility reasons. Further information on success rates will be published in due course, as set out below.
The CRF is delivered at arm’s length from the government by Arts Council England, the British Film Institute, the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and Heritage England. Data for successful grant offers that have been published can be found on their websites.
We acknowledge that there is public interest in aggregated all-CRF geographical breakdowns for this important investment, as well as the organisation size breakdowns for successful applicants. For this reason, later this year DCMS will publish sets of aggregated and anonymised management data to demonstrate the geography and characteristics of the CRF applicants and awardees - to the extent that our data-set allows. This will also include further up-to-date information on success rates.
We will deposit a copy of this information in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations have benefited from the emergency funding increase to the Culture Recovery Fund.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The near £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) has awarded around £1.5 billion to date, including funding for the DCMS-sponsored national cultural institutions. It has supported around 5,000 individual organisations and sites across the country ranging from local museums to West End theatres, grassroots music venues to festivals, and organisations in the cultural and heritage supply-chains.
The CRF also supports freelancers by ensuring the venues and organisations which support and employ them have survived the pandemic.
The boosted Emergency Resource Support strand of the programme will give eligible applicants, at imminent risk of financial failure, a further opportunity to bid for support, protecting even more organisations so that they can continue to create jobs and contribute to the economy.
We are still in the assessment process for the relaunched strand, so it is not yet possible to list all the organisations which will benefit from the most recent funding increase.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings the (1) Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and (2) Minister of State for Digital and Culture, have had with representatives from the Local Government Association or local Council representatives, since March 2020.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport met with the Local Government Association this month.
In addition, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture and the Local Government Association were among the attendees for a Museums Working Group in June.
The full list of Ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many representatives from local councils are members of the (1) Cultural Renewal Taskforce, and (2) Cultural Recovery Board.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Cultural Renewal Taskforce (CRT) and its Working Groups were set up to develop guidance for safe reopening of DCMS sectors following the latest coronavirus guidelines. The Culture Recovery Board was created to oversee the delivery of the Culture Recovery Fund.
The membership of the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and its Working Groups and the membership of the Culture Recovery Board can be found on the government’s website. The Local Government Association is a member of several of the CRT Working Groups.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the EU during their negotiations relating to the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement about visa arrangements for (1) UK performing artists touring the EU, and (2) performing artists from the EU touring the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the Secretary of State’s answer to Written Question 135862 on 14th January.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to use current cultural funding streams to support the cultural sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has worked with various Arms Length Bodies to create tailored funding packages, made up of existing funding, to support the cultural sector at this time.
Arts Council England has announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and support the resilience of this vital sector. This funding package will support organisations and individuals who need the most support to see them through this crisis. More details can be found on the Arts Council’s website (https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19).
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is also making £50 million available through the Heritage Emergency Fund which will address immediate pressures over the next 3-6 months for those most in need alongside increased investment in essential digital skills across the sector, providing expertise in critical areas such as digital fundraising, use of social media and communications, running online events and activities.
Historic England has also launched a £2 million Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund to provide grants to small heritage organisations. This funding will help organisations, voluntary groups and self-employed contractors survive the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic, and to prepare for recovery.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support arts charities with community outreach work which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In order to support the arts sector specifically, including those charitable organisations within the sector, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, Arts Council England announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and support the resilience of this vital sector. This funding package will support organisations and individuals who need the most support to see them through this crisis. More details can be found on the Arts Council’s website (https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19).
Many charitable organisations within the Arts are continuing to provide their world class content in innovative and unique formats and continue to engage with their communities. The Globe Theatre, The National Theatre and The Royal Opera House are all providing access to their online catalogues and providing access to culture in digital formats in order to maintain their links with communities. In addition, Sadler's Wells is presenting a programme of full-length dance performances and workshops online to connect people through dance, and Wiltshire Creative is working with its young ambassadors to plan a Takeover Festival which will run over the summer online and consist of events, performances and activities.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the value of UK exports to (1) EU, and (2) non-EU, countries are linked to the design sector.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The design sector plays a significant role across the UK economy, contributing to the production of goods and services in a number of sectors.
The sector is one of our fastest growing industries, and continues to outperform the wider UK economy. DCMS Economic Estimates show that in 2016, the UK exported £380 million of design and designer fashion services, representing a 212.2% increase since 2010. This includes £151 million worth of exports to the EU, and £229 million to non-EU countries.
Furthermore, the Design Council’s report entitled ‘The Design Economy 2018’ estimates that the total value of exports where design had made a key contribution was £48.4 billion in 2015, representing 7% of all UK exports.