Arts Education
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Caine of Kentish Town
To ask His Majesty’s Government, further to their commitment in their response to the recommendations from the independent review of Arts Council England, published on 26 March, when they intend to establish the advisory group to help ensure strategic alignment across government-funded programmes to support arts education.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)
My Lords, the Department for Education and DCMS are working in partnership to ensure strategic alignment across government-funded programmes, including the Arts Council, to support arts education and enrichment in schools and communities. Minister Gould at the Department for Education and Minister Murray at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are working closely, together with officials, on a cross-departmental basis to establish the advisory group to ensure all children everywhere can benefit from strong arts education and enrichment. We are positive we will make strong progress on this recommendation in the near future.
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)
I thank my noble friend the Minister for her positive reply and look forward to a speedy establishment. Does she agree with me that if it had been in place then one example—the serious omission by the curriculum review which has now informed the new national curriculum of not addressing screen arts qualifications in a society and economy that creates and consumes ever more with and through screens—would have been spotted? Given that absence and omission, what can DCMS do now to press addressing that issue with DfE before the group is established?
EU-UK Cultural Exchange Arrangements
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Caine of Kentish Town
To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in securing better cultural exchange arrangements between the creative sectors of the EU and the UK.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)
The Government recognise the importance of strong cultural exchange between the UK and the EU. On 24 March, the Minister for Creative Industries co-led the first UK-European Commission high-level meeting on culture, with Commissioner Glenn Micallef, building on commitments made at the inaugural UK-EU summit in May 2025 to deepen cultural exchange. We continue to work closely with European partners and industry, including through engagement with the Cultural Exchange Coalition, to support our creative sectors.
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)
I thank my noble friend the Minister for her reply. The Brexit deal delivered complex, costly arrangements for touring artists, now made even worse by the recent introduction of digital passports, or carnets, for equipment. In a recent UK Music creators survey, 43% of those who previously toured the EU stated that it is no longer viable for them to do so—a hit to our growing economy and our soft power, repeated across other art forms. Can my noble friend reassure the House that, in keeping with the Government’s manifesto commitment to seek to resolve this issue, it remains a top priority in the current UK-EU reset negotiations, and update the House on what considerations Ministers are giving to stepping up now to help subsidise the cost of the equipment carnets, until a permanent solution is found?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
As my noble friend Lord Hanson made clear, the creative industries are a key sector for this Government. Supporting touring artists is a government manifesto commitment and we deeply value and promote the importance of cultural exchange across Europe. We recognise, as I think my noble friend does, that this is a highly complex issue and we continue to work with our European partners to make progress on practical, mutually beneficial solutions. I can assure my noble friend that the department remains committed, as do the Government more widely, to securing improvements for our musicians and artists, and their support staff, working closely with the creative and cultural sectors as we do so.
BBC Leadership
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I probably need to declare an interest as somebody who, as a child, watched the noble Baroness on the BBC. I have huge respect for her work and for the work of the children’s BBC, but also for the noble Baroness’s campaigning to make sure that children and young people get access to high-quality, accurate content. I know that the noble Baroness has spoken to the Secretary of State about this, but I am happy to follow up with a conversation on this point.
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)
We will hear from the Labour Benches next, then the Cross Benches.
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)
My Lords, as other noble Lords have noted, we must never shy away from discussing and addressing the BBC’s challenges and shortcomings. Charter renewal will be an important milestone in the history of a cherished national institution, and I trust that my noble friend and her ministerial colleagues will ensure steps are taken to strengthen public confidence in the leadership, accountability and performance of the corporation at every level. However, can my noble friend confirm that the Government remain—I think she has already said it, but we like to hear it repeated—fully committed to our main national public service broadcaster, which does so much so very well to inform, educate and entertain? Does she agree that a strong BBC will be central to efforts to tackle misinformation and disinformation nationally and internationally?
Newspapers: Foreign Ownership
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
On the regulations and the exception, I want to be clear: this is a privilege, not a right. It is about passive investment, which is why the level has been set at 15%. The Government have published the second set of regulations today, to put it beyond doubt that multiple states cannot act in concert to take a stake in a UK newspaper that is bigger than 15%. The FSI regime gives the Secretary of State a specific duty to intervene and to refer to the CMA for investigation merger cases that she suspects may have resulted, or may result, in foreign state control or influence over a newspaper enterprise’s policy. So these safeguards are in addition to what we would already consider to be quite clear duties on the part of the Secretary of State.
Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)
My Lords, we have all experienced the closure of local newspapers and radio stations—a worrying loss to local identity and politics—with those that remain generally having sought a future by being subsumed into a larger group. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that, although foreign investment is not entirely free of risk and should not be seen as a quick fix, unless these foreign companies invest in the future of outlets we all care about, those outlets will continue to lack the certainty and security they seek?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
Media organisations desperately need investment to secure their modernisation and their future. It is really important that these historic or local titles, which we all value, are not something of the past but something of the future. Supporting the provision of high-quality, public-interest journalism is a priority for this Government; we need serious investment in order to support this sector to thrive and to meet the challenges of the future.