Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to form a cross-departmental group for craft drawing together the responsibilities in this area of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to supporting the creative industries, including the craft sector, which is why we put them front and centre of our Industrial Strategy, including publishing the Creative Industries Sector Plan last year. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with all other relevant government departments to support the craft sector and deliver on the Sector Plan. DCMS currently has no plans to form a cross-departmental group for craft, however DCMS and Skills England jointly run a Creative Sector Skills Forum, which has a rolling cast list and includes representation for the crafts sector depending on the agenda. This includes the Crafts Council, Heritage Crafts and Officials from DWP and DfE as needed.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which departments have responsibility for the heritage crafts sector and associated skills; and whether they plan to consider the appointment of an expert to coordinate policy in that area.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department of Education, and the Department for Works and Pension have overall responsibility for devising and delivering skills policy across Government. The Department for Culture Media and Sport works across Government to ensure heritage crafts and skills are appropriately considered in policy.
Historic England, Government’s advisor on heritage and Arms Length Body of DCMS, advises the Government on heritage skills and craft policy and contributes to a number of cross Government working groups, including the Construction Skills Delivery Group. DCMS has no plans to appoint further experts.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will provide an update on the status of the listed places of worship grant scheme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will close on 31 March 2026 or when the budget for the year is spent.. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most. Our evaluation of the Scheme showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. There will therefore not be further funding rounds of the current scheme.
However, on 21 January we announced the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund. This will have an annual budget of £23m starting in 2026/27. This provides certainty for the remaining years of the Spending Review until 2029/30, providing £92m over the period. Support will be targeted at places of most need. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce measures addressing AI-generated digital replicas of an individual's likeness or voice, particularly in relation to the entertainment industry.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that individuals, including those in the entertainment industry, wish to have control over the use of their voice or likeness in AI-generated content.
Government intervention requires careful consideration given the complex legal landscape.
The Government sought views on the issue in its copyright and AI consultation. It is considering all feedback received through the consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rejoining Creative Europe on financial growth.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has no plans to rejoin Creative Europe. This position is informed by indicative analysis of the value for money of associating with the programme.
We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad. This includes through the Creative Industries Sector Plan, which is key to driving long-term economic growth across the United Kingdom; the new £75 million Screen Growth Package; the scaled up £18 million per year UK Global Screen Fund (2026–2029); and by committing up to £30 million for our Music Growth Package.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Twycross on 12 June (HL Deb col 306GC), where the figures that the crafts subsector generated around £400 million in gross value added and employed around 7000 highly skilled artisans were originally sourced from; and how these these figures have been computed.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
These figures are sourced from accredited official statistics published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates series.
Our annual gross value added (GVA) statistics, based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), provisionally estimate that the crafts subsector contributed £400 million to the UK economy in 2023. Our employment statistics, based on data from the ONS Annual Population Survey, estimate that there were 7,000 filled jobs in the crafts subsector in 2023.
Detailed methodological information about these statistics is available in the accompanying technical report published in each statistics release.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Arts Council England's report Leading the Crowd published on 15 May.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government works closely with Arts Council England who support arts and cultural organisations to develop their fundraising skills and capacity to attract more private investment.
We welcome this report, and are committed to ensuring that the UK has the best framework for philanthropy, and that partnerships between government, philanthropists, businesses and civil society are maximised.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to negotiate rejoining Creative Europe.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government does not have any plans to rejoin Creative Europe, though we are committed to finding constructive ways to work with the EU and deliver for the British people on shared priorities and global challenges.
We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s diverse cultural landscape. We are working with our world-leading sectors to ensure that they can continue to promote growth and enrich lives, at home and abroad, including through initiatives such as the £7 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the £1.6 million Music Export Growth Scheme.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of streaming on the level of the income of musicians and composers.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the vital importance of ensuring that music creators, including musicians, songwriters and composers, are appropriately compensated for their work.
Many creators have legitimate concerns about remuneration from streaming. Revenues from recorded music constitute a small proportion of UK music creators’ earnings, with live music and teaching being the main ways in which music creators make a living from music (IPO report, 2021). I commend the efforts of industry to address this, such as the major labels’ decision to disregard unrecouped advances in older contracts, but there is further progress to be made.
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the creative industries, we are engaging constructively with a broad range of stakeholders from across the music ecosystem through a working group aiming to drive industry-led action on music streaming remuneration.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to negotiate bilateral agreements for work permits with individual EU member states which do not currently offer cultural exemptions for work of up to 90 days.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to working collaboratively across departments to address the issue of musicians, performing artists and their support staff being able to tour across the EU. We will engage with the new European Commission and EU Member States, and explore how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent without a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage.