Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 55644 on Arts and Cultural Heritage: South Northamptonshire, what discussions she has had with (a) Arts Council England and (b) National Lottery Heritage Fund on evaluating the potential long-term impact of arts grants on levels of local (i) cultural participation and (iI) economic development in South Northamptonshire constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Secretary of State has not carried out an assessment of the funding allocated for arts and heritage in the South Northamptonshire constituency specifically, however, the Department has carried out an initial review of publicly funded arts, culture and heritage sectors, including looking at national and local government funding. This work ensures any future policy development is evidence driven.

Ministers have also launched a review of Arts Council England, our arms-length body who are responsible for the distribution of arts funding across England. The review will examine everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement. Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the review and will provide government with her report and recommendations in the autumn of 2025. The government will then publish the conclusions of the review along with the government’s response in 2026.

Details of Arts Council England funding since 2021 can be found on the Arts Council England website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map

The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts, culture and heritage with their counterparts at our arms-length bodies.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 55644 on Arts and Cultural Heritage: South Northamptonshire, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the funding allocated for arts and heritage in (a) South Northamptonshire constituency, (b) rural and semi-rural communities and (c) urban areas since 2021.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Secretary of State has not carried out an assessment of the funding allocated for arts and heritage in the South Northamptonshire constituency specifically, however, the Department has carried out an initial review of publicly funded arts, culture and heritage sectors, including looking at national and local government funding. This work ensures any future policy development is evidence driven.

Ministers have also launched a review of Arts Council England, our arms-length body who are responsible for the distribution of arts funding across England. The review will examine everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement. Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the review and will provide government with her report and recommendations in the autumn of 2025. The government will then publish the conclusions of the review along with the government’s response in 2026.

Details of Arts Council England funding since 2021 can be found on the Arts Council England website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map

The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts, culture and heritage with their counterparts at our arms-length bodies.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the case for requiring publicly funded arts councils in each of the four UK nations to publish per-organisation data on staffing costs, freelance volumes, and artistic expenditure on a consistent and comparable basis.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Arts Councils of each of the four UK nations are devolved responsibilities.

Ministers have not made an assessment of the case raised in the question. However, we are aware of the need for data collection to be consistent, proportionate, and manageable for publicly-funded arts organisations. Baroness Hodge of Barking has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to conduct a Review of Arts Council England. This includes in its terms of reference to consider how effective the relationships between ACE and the organisations it funds are; and how far ACE cooperates and shares knowledge with the United Kingdom’s Arts Councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Arts Council England publishes an Annual Data survey of its National Portfolio Organisations, which provides a breakdown of expenditure for those organisations. Data from this survey is available on line from the year 2016-17 onwards. ACE also publishes data on its own staff and expenditure in its Annual Report - the latest of which covering 2023-24 can be found on their website.

Israel APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: their time, sensitivity, and insights, chaired by Lord Roberts of Belgravia, including Baroness Hodge of Barking