Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has undertaken economic modelling of the potential impact on GDP of the UK rejoining Creative Europe.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government keeps abreast of many EU and international funding programmes across many sectors of the economy. Where participation is deemed in the national interest - including in terms of value for money and economic impact - the Government seeks to negotiate UK participation. This has been the case for instance regarding Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. However, the Government has no plans to join Creative Europe at this time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the UK rejoining Creative Europe.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government keeps abreast of many EU and international funding programmes across many sectors of the economy. Where participation is deemed in the national interest - including in terms of value for money and economic impact - the Government seeks to negotiate UK participation. This has been the case for instance regarding Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. However, the Government has no plans to join Creative Europe at this time.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure children from less privileged backgrounds can access (a) music and (b) dance training in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to revitalising arts education including through the reformed national curriculum.
Programmes available to children in Surrey Heath that Arts Council England (ACE) fund include:
Surrey Music Hub, which helps young people to sing, learn instruments and develop their talents;
Surrey Dance 21 an initiative, providing opportunities for young people to participate in dance training.
The government’s Music and Dance Scheme also continues to provide means-tested bursaries to enable young people to benefit from world-class training, regardless of their personal circumstances.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of cultural industries as a driver of soft power.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK’s thriving cultural industries are one of our greatest soft power assets. Contributing approximately 6% to our GDP, they play a vital role in supporting economic growth and the UK’s international standing.
The UK is the world’s second-largest music exporter and the fifth-largest video game market with UK films commanding over a fifth of global box office revenues. Our design and publishing sectors are internationally recognised, whilst our visual arts market and theatre district are the largest in the world.
We are committed to supporting their continued success through the Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will publish annual data on the number of jobs in the creative industries, broken down year by year from 2016 to 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We publish annual official statistics on the number of filled jobs in DCMS sectors, including the creative industries, as part of our DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates Employment series. Data from 2011 to 2024 can be found here. Data for 2025 will be available soon and will be published on Thursday 9th July 2026 on the same page. Data for 2026 is not yet available.
Until recently, we published rolling 12-month quarterly releases as part of our employment series. Due to data quality issues with the underlying data source, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey, we have paused these non-calendar year quarterly employment publications. We will review whether or not to return to publishing these quarterly releases as the quality of the underlying ONS data improves, in line with user needs.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will publish the most recent available data on employment in the creative industries sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We publish annual official statistics on the number of filled jobs in DCMS sectors, including the creative industries, as part of our DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates Employment series. Data from 2011 to 2024 can be found here. Data for 2025 will be available soon and will be published on Thursday 9th July 2026 on the same page. Data for 2026 is not yet available.
Until recently, we published rolling 12-month quarterly releases as part of our employment series. Due to data quality issues with the underlying data source, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey, we have paused these non-calendar year quarterly employment publications. We will review whether or not to return to publishing these quarterly releases as the quality of the underlying ONS data improves, in line with user needs.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 90-in-180-day rule on UK (a) touring artists, (b) musicians, (c) performers and (d) crews.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the 90 / 180 day limits continue to pose a significant challenge for touring artists, including musicians and other performers, and their crews working across multiple EU Member States. That is why we have pledged to help touring artists in our manifesto.
We continue to engage with the EU and Member States, as well as music and arts industry stakeholders, to determine how best to improve arrangements to better reflect the touring schedules of artists and their crews touring across the European continent.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking to steps negotiate a reciprocal UK-EU mobility agreement for (a) touring artists, (b) musicians, (c) performers and (d) crews.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the 90 / 180 day limits continue to pose a significant challenge for touring artists, including musicians and other performers, and their crews working across multiple EU Member States. That is why we have pledged to help touring artists in our manifesto.
We continue to engage with the EU and Member States, as well as music and arts industry stakeholders, to determine how best to improve arrangements to better reflect the touring schedules of artists and their crews touring across the European continent.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to community spaces in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
As I emphasised during a recent Westminster Hall debate, the Government recognises and celebrates the contribution that community spaces make to local people and we have taken steps to support more communities to have access to shared environments.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in December 2024, sets out that planning policies and decisions should plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities (such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues, open space, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship) and other local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments.
Libraries form a key example of these community spaces, Surrey County Council has 52 static libraries. The library service previously received £75,000 from the Libraries Improvement Fund to introduce flexible shelving within eight of its libraries (Ashtead, Chertsey, Dittons, Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere, Oxted, and Reigate). This allows libraries to move furniture around to reconfigure spaces and accommodate more events, services, and visitors.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the NPPF. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, includes proposals relating to community facilities. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of resources available to the Charity Commission for England and Wales to conduct investigations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government keeps the Charity Commission's powers under regular review and is actively considering what further powers are required to support the Commission in regulating charities. As a non-ministerial department, the Charity Commission receives its funding directly from the Treasury. In the 2025 Spending Review the Charity Commission’s budget increased by over 27% to £37.9m for 2026-27. This will support the Commission to respond to increasing casework demands.
The Charity Commission already has the power to disqualify charity trustees whose conduct is damaging to public trust and confidence in charities under section 181A of the Charities Act 2011. As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers will be extended in order to tackle extremist abuse of charities and strengthen the Commission's oversight of the sector. This includes helping the Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred.