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 support infrastructure for visual artists, including the retention and capital development of artists' studios.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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 - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they intend to make at the United Nations Security Council regarding the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, in relation to the protection of cultural property in Iran and the wider region.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK remains fully committed to the 1954 Hague Convention. We continue to monitor developments in Iran and the wider region and we work with partners across the UN system to reinforce compliance with international humanitarian law, including obligations relating to the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
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 net annual benefit to the UK economy of recording studios.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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 - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they periodically review the effect of the structure of the Progress 8 and accountability measures in arts subjects in schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has reviewed Progress 8 and determined that it has had an impact, including on arts subjects. As a result, as part of the government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we announced our intention to consult shortly on an improved version of Progress 8 that will recognise the value of subjects, including the arts, which strengthen our economy and society, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum. We will continue to monitor patterns in subject entry, including arts subjects, in the future.
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 Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of teaching of craft in schools; and whether the Curriculum and Assessment Review will impact the current arrangements for craft teaching.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review final report and the government response were both published on 5 November 2025.
The response included a commitment to revise the art and design programmes of study to exemplify the knowledge and skills that pupils should develop, including through their own creative practice, and to encourage teaching of a broader range of artists and media. This will include consideration of craft, which is covered in the existing national curriculum.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to encourage the introduction of further university level non-academic heritage craft skills courses across the country.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government recognises the importance of heritage craft skills and supports their development through apprenticeships, vocational qualifications and partnerships with sector bodies.
Higher education institutions in England are autonomous and independent, and so they are responsible for determining the courses they offer. The government does not intervene in academic content. However, we encourage collaboration between universities, further education providers and heritage organisations to embed practical craft skills where appropriate, including through vocational and foundation degrees.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the current status is of funding for level 2 and level 3 building crafts and other heritage craft skills diploma courses; and whether they will reinstate level 3 funding for courses including stone masonry and joinery.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 12 January 2026, the department’s consultation on post-16 pathways at level 3 and below closed. We are currently reviewing the responses and will provide a government response in due course and set out how we will transition to the new system.
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 Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funds to microbusinesses in the heritage craft industry to support apprentices' salaries and training periods under makers as part of their increased allocation for apprenticeships, including for skills on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employer satisfaction with apprenticeships is very high: 83% of employers are satisfied with their apprenticeship programme; and 77% report improved productivity.
The government is investing an additional £725m to transform the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy, and provides a range of financial support to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in all sectors to take on apprentices.
We pay £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in care. Employers are also not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
Additionally, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the start of the next academic year in August. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care.
To help prospective apprentices find apprenticeship opportunities, they can search and apply for apprenticeships on our Find an apprenticeship service which is used by thousands of employers.