Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government role public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading 2026; and what steps are being taken to increase library engagement with the campaign.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 2 March DCMS announced £150,000 for public libraries to support the National Year of Reading. Funding will be delivered by The Reading Agency in support of the Go All In campaign to reconnect people with reading for pleasure.
The £150,000 fund is expected to support projects across 72 library authority areas which are disadvantaged by high deprivation, weak social infrastructure and low library engagement with the aim of encouraging greater library use and new members.
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the production of original UK content in film, television and radio.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government continues to incentivise the production of original content across film, television and radio. The Creative Industries is one of eight growth-driving sectors in our Industrial Strategy. Our ten-year Sector Plan, published in June, sets out over sixty commitments, with film and TV prioritised as a 'frontier industry' due to its high growth potential and strong connections across the wider economy.
The Sector Plan supports the screen sector, through a £75 million Screen Growth Package to fund original UK film and television content, helping independent British productions reach global audiences. This includes an £18 million per annum scale up of the UK Global Screen Fund supporting development, co-productions, and international distribution. We have also maintained a 40% reduction on business rates for eligible film studios in England until 2034, directly supporting world-class filming facilities across the country.
Our competitive tax reliefs across the audiovisual sector, including high-end TV, visual effects and independent British film, in addition to our generous support for studio infrastructure encourages production activity across the UK.
Our public service broadcasters, in particular, are all subject to original production quotas, which require them to make a minimum level (by hours) of original content, whether commissioned or produced, available on their respective services. Our reputation as a world-leader in film and television production coupled with the attractive fiscal incentives offered by the Government means we also continue to attract significant inward investment from global streaming services and studios.
The UK’s commercial radio sector has benefited from changes in the Media Act to reduce regulatory burdens on licensed stations and the introduction of new protections for the carriage of radio services on smart speaker platforms. We are exploring, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the scope to encourage further growth in the UK’s audio and podcast sector. We have recently commissioned a new study by Frontier Economics to assess the economic potential of the radio and podcasting sector. This research will be completed no later than summer 2026.