Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of commercial radio companies regarding reduction of their presence in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Media Act 2024 gives commercial radio greater flexibility to organise its programmes to meet the changing needs of its audiences. While decisions on changes to local radio services are ultimately matters for commercial radio companies, we are disappointed in recent decisions which have resulted in the end of Welsh language programmes.
The Government is a strong supporter of Welsh language broadcasting and will consider the wider implications on Welsh language radio with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders in Wales. Neither I nor any DCMS Ministers have had any direct discussions on this matter with Global.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of tourists visiting the UK they estimate visit Wales.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Based on the latest available data from VisitBritain and the International Passenger Survey (IPS), the UK received 38 million inbound visitors in 2023, of which Wales received 892,000 visits.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to promote the UNESCO designated Slate communities in Wales as tourist attractions for visitors to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
While tourism in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government, VisitBritain, an arm’s length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, retains responsibility for marketing Great Britain on the international stage.
Visit Wales leads on the development of a tourism brand specifically for Wales, while VisitBritain works with Visit Wales to ensure that these brand values are reflected in the broader GREAT Campaign, which highlights a number of the many destinations and experiences on offer across Wales.
VisitBritain champions Wales as a distinguished travel destination, emphasizing its rich cultural heritage and landscape. VisitBritain also promotes UNESCO heritage sites on its website, including Wales slate communities.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many US citizens have been registered as having donated to UK charities in the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government does not hold information on the nationality of donors to UK charities – but we are, of course, grateful to all those who donate to good causes.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to have discussions with senior staff at the British Museum about returning the Mold Gold Cape to Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The British Museum operates independently of His Majesty's Government, and decisions relating to the care and management of its collections are a matter for the Museum’s trustees.
The British Museum, as well as some other national museums, is prevented by law from removing objects from its collections, with a limited number of exceptions, none of which apply in this case. The Government has no plan to change the law.
As the former Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, recounts in his A History of the World in 100 Objects (2010), it is thanks to the work of the British Museum over more than a century that so many fragments of the Mold Gold Cape have been reunited, following their dispersal shortly after it was discovered at Bryn-yr-Ellyllon in 1833.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in promoting the UK as a tourist destination, to ensure that appropriate prominence is given to the attractions of Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government works to promote the whole United Kingdom as a destination for tourists, both domestic and international, working with the devolved governments and administrations across the UK.
VisitBritain promotes the UK abroad by running advertising and promotional campaigns in prospective markets. It generates a return on investment of £21 for every £1 spent; as a result of its activity, international visitors spent an additional £34 million in Wales in 2019–20 alone.
Visit Wales leads on the development of a tourism brand specifically for Wales, while VisitBritain works with Visit Wales to ensure that these brand values are reflected in the broader GREAT Campaign, which highlights a number of the many wonderful destinations and experiences on offer across Wales.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the annual number of overseas visitors to (1) the UK and (2) Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2022, overseas residents made an estimated 31.2 million visits to the UK according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS estimated a total of 686,000 visits to Wales for the same year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much central government funding they provided towards the £120 million cost of the Unboxed festival.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2018 HM Government announced that £120 million would be made available for UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
HM Treasury provided £98.3 million to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport for the programme, and the remainder was provided to the devolved administrations via the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent advice on playing the game of rugby (1) in schools, and (2) between clubs, in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. The Government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health.
The government has released new guidance to enable competitive grassroots team sports to be played – starting with cricket from 11 July. The government has asked individual sports including rugby union and rugby league to consider the steps that would need to be taken, and the conditions that would need to be met, for their activity to resume. Once those plans have been cleared by the government, the sport will be able to return.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the additional finance recently announced for the arts and culture sector in England will be (1) by way of grant, and (2) by way of loans.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
On 5 July, the government announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinemas.
The package will include a £1.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England, delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants.