Regional Arts Facilities
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall(8 months ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, we have a bit of an impasse. Could we hear from the Conservative Benches and then the Labour Benches?
Libraries
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Baroness Rawlings
The Government are building on the future libraries programme and the libraries development initiative, which is run by Arts Council England and is designed to test new approaches to the library service. In February 2012, Arts Council England and the Local Government Association awarded £230,000 to fund 13 library projects across England. At the moment, these difficulties are being looked into further.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
I will come to my question but I wish to make the point that at 8 o’clock this morning I was reading How to Catch a Star with my two year-old grandson. Does the Minister agree that for children who do not have the good fortune to have a number of books in their house, libraries are very important and that the issue is not just that there are enough of them when you take the country as a whole but that there are enough of them locally for the people who are least able to access transport and who are most likely not to go if the difficulty of getting to the library increases?
Baroness Rawlings
Yes, libraries are vital for children, as is their school, which also has books. Transport to get to libraries or to any other public places where children learn is, of course, of paramount importance.
Charles Dickens: Bicentenary
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, my noble friend Lady Bonham-Carter brings up a very good point. We are committed to encouraging wider reading. I am sure that we will include in the culture education review that is about to come out the various points that she brought up. The Secretary of State for Education has talked frequently about the importance of encouraging children to read books. It is often said that those who read well-written books usually achieve better standards. Dare I quote from Dickens, as everyone has done?
“No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on a shelf, like one who cannot”.
That is from Our Mutual Friend.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
My Lords, would the Minister agree with me that the film and television industries, which have developed in the past 100 years, would have been pretty stuck for content, had it not been for the works of Charles Dickens? Would she encourage her ministerial colleagues to put some pressure on BAFTA to nominate Charles Dickens for a posthumous fellowship?
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, I am sure that that is a good idea, but I have a feeling that BAFTA is probably an independent body. We will put that forward, and hope that BAFTA reads the noble Baroness’s suggestion in Hansard.
Children: Television
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, my noble friend Lady Benjamin is right. As we all know, she has formidable experience in this area and is a passionate supporter of children's television in the UK. We believe that with around 30 dedicated children's channels in the UK, our younger viewers have a wide choice of programmes. Two of these are public service broadcasting channels: the BBC services of CBeebies and CBBC. I hope that my noble friend agrees that the BBC is fulfilling its public duty by making certain that these channels play a very important role in the provision of high-quality children's programmes in this country.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
My Lords, will the Minister answer the question that the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, has just asked? It was not about whether CBeebies and CBBC are good providers but where they stand on the electronic guide. As I know to my cost, having searched for them in the interests of giving my grandchildren something worth watching, you have to go right down to number 71 on the electronic programming guide to find CBeebies. I do not think that that is high enough. Will the Government put pressure on Ofcom to make it better?
Baroness Rawlings
The noble Baroness makes an important point. I am sorry if I did not stress that Ofcom is an independent body that decides these things, and the communications review will be looking at this. The prominence of a children's programme is decided by Digital Multiplex Operators Ltd, DMOL, and other operators.
Arts: Regional Theatres
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, has been consistent and is extremely knowledgeable on this issue. I am aware of the theatres and that “War Horse” has been a fantastic success; we are thrilled about that. However, I suggest that bald statements on funding do not tell the whole story. Thirty-seven per cent of London’s regularly funded organisations were identified as touring in 2010, and “War Horse” has been touring everywhere with great success. Their influence spreads well beyond the M25. We must acknowledge, too, that the Arts Council is investing in capital projects across the regions through National Lottery funds.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
My Lords, first I declare an interest as a member of the board of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a former executive director of the Royal National Theatre. I echo the point that the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, made about the interdependence of the major companies, the National and the RSC, both of which are currently enjoying huge success in America. They are hugely dependent on the health of the regional theatre sector, as has already been pointed out. The Minister will be aware that the Arts Council has already implemented cuts of nearly 30 per cent in its awards across the country this year and for the next three years. She will be aware also that it is faced with the necessity to cut 50 per cent of its own costs in the next few years. Does she think that it is likely that the Arts Council, faced with those difficulties, will be able properly to fulfil its remit as a strong, arm’s-length body supporting the arts?
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, the noble Baroness made some very valid points. More than 100 organisations that identified touring as a core part of their work are recipients of regular Arts Council funding. In the near future, there will be an additional £80 million a year of lottery income invested in national portfolio organisations for touring.
BSkyB
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, the right reverend Prelate makes an extremely good point. At the moment there are six inquiries, including a police investigation and several others on which it is not possible to comment, that of the Home Affairs Select Committee and the two inquiries that the Prime Minister has announced. All those will have to be gone through. There is a timescale. As I said, the Competition Commission review will take between 24 and 32 weeks. Ofcom will then take a decision and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who will make the final decision.
Arts: Local Provision
Debate between Baroness Rawlings and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, I understand fully the thrust behind the question of the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, but we feel that imposing a statutory duty would also place added burdens upon local government at a time when deregulation is a priority. We want to continue to give the funding responsibility to local communities and local authorities so that they can take the decisions which are most appropriate for their area, rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all model of cultural provision.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
My Lords, does the Minister agree that Arts Council England, to which she referred, has made a pretty good effort through the creation of its new national portfolio to ensure that there is coverage across England of arts organisations at all scales, as she mentioned? I should, perhaps, register an interest as the author of a report, three years ago, on its last effort, which was, perhaps, slightly less successful. Does she not agree, however, that the random nature of the way in which funding has been withdrawn by local authorities makes the Arts Council’s job a great deal more difficult and means that the available funds are used less well? It would be in the interests of the Government, as well as those of arts communities, for local authorities to be more consistent in the way they apply their funding to the arts and culture.
Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, the noble Baroness is absolutely right. The arm’s-length principle means that individual arts funding decisions are taken at arm’s length from government. To go back to the main part of her question, on 30 March Arts Council England announced its new national portfolio organisations. These are bodies which will receive regular funding over the next three years. As for the geographical breakdown, the spending will remain largely the same, so it will cover all areas.