Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to discuss the breaking down of barriers for musicians and other creative professionals working and touring in the EU at the next UK–EU summit meeting on 22 July.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK is committed to supporting touring artists to work in Europe, as set out in the Government’s manifesto.
As the noble Lord will be aware, the summit has been postponed from July 22nd.
We will continue to discuss options with the EU for the Summit to take place at the next earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the 25th anniversary in December this year of the introduction of universal free entry to the UK's national museums and galleries.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There are currently no plans to mark this anniversary across the Government. Since 2001, consecutive governments have supported free access for all to the permanent collections of DCMS-sponsored national museums and galleries.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the UK joining the AgoraEU programme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Future EU programmes, such as AgoraEU, are still subject to internal EU procedures and are currently being negotiated between Member States and EU institutions.
We recognise the UK’s creative and cultural sectors provide a unique and valuable contribution to Europe’s rich culture. However, we will only join an EU programme where it is in the national interest and value for money for UK taxpayers to do so.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered providing emergency funding to recording studios.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s network of recording studios are central to our position as the world’s third-largest recorded music market and second-biggest exporter of music, and they play a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of our talent pipeline. The creative industries, and music within that, are a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
We have worked with industry to make revisions to the ONS's proposed SIC 2026 framework, and once in place, future economic estimates will be available for both music publishing and sound recording separately.
At the 2025 Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values that will take effect from 1 April 2026. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values (RVs) for some properties. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on business rates bills, the government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. Over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Many recording studios are also likely to benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. Tapered support is available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it will retain SBRR on the first property for 3 years, up from 12 months previously.
The Government is investing £30m into a new Music Growth Package, launching in 2026, which will support music infrastructure, including recording studios, and ensure the UK music sector remains globally competitive. This enables the grassroots music sector, including recording studios, to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams and make repairs and improvements.
We are continuing to engage closely with industry stakeholders, including UK Music and the Music Producers Guild, to strengthen our understanding of the specific challenges the sector faces in relation to business rates, alongside the broader pressures on businesses arising from rising operating costs.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support infrastructure for visual artists, including the retention and capital development of artists' studios.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government acknowledges the economic significance of visual artists and is committed to providing support, including addressing infrastructure requirements. The £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund incorporates the £245 million Creative Foundations Fund, which is dedicated to supporting arts and cultural venues, including galleries and artists' studios, in addressing critical capital needs.
Arts Council England (ACE) provides support for artist spaces through both direct funding and the facilitation of strategic partnerships. This includes significant investments, such as co-founding the Creative Land Trust, which ensures long-term, affordable space for artists and creatives in London by bringing together a number of key funding partners and networks. ACE has supported the organisation with £2 million since 2019, and their goal is to build a portfolio of more than 1,000 studios across London, offering spaces to creatives at affordable rates, equipping those that use them to have greater impact and benefit within communities.
Furthermore, ACE funds numerous workspaces that are part of its National Portfolio Organisation Investment Programme, such as The Auxiliary in Middlesbrough which has received funding of £542,898 since 2022.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the net annual benefit to the UK economy of recording studios.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s network of recording studios are central to our position as the world’s third-largest music market and play an important role in ensuring the continuation of our talent pipeline. The creative industries, and music within that, are a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Up to now, recording studios have been classified by a four-digit SIC code that combined sound recording with music publishing. While this broader group contributed £1.9 billion to the UK economy in 2024, we are not able to disaggregate the contribution of recording studios specifically. Given these long running data limitations, we have in the past commissioned bespoke research to better understand this part of the sector, including a Music Studio Market Assessment in 2021.
Since then, we’ve worked with industry trade bodies to improve the accuracy of industrial classifications, in particular to make the case for revisions to the ONS's proposed SIC 2026 framework. Several of the recommendations have been accepted and once in place, future economic estimates will be available for both music publishing and sound recording separately.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Life peer)
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 - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 - Life peer)
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 - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 - Life peer)
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 - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 - Life peer)
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 - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.