Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
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 provide support to theatres in Gloucester.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government primarily supports theatres predominantly through Arts Council England (ACE). Through their main funding programme, the 2023-2027 National Portfolio Investment Programme, ACE is providing over £100 million in grants per year to around 195 theatres across the country. Across all their funding programmes, including lottery schemes, for the financial year 2024-25, ACE awarded around £300 million to theatres/theatre based organisations.
From 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025, ACE will have invested a combined total of £455,613 across two 'Theatre' awards in the constituency of Gloucester - to Complicite, an internationally renowned touring theatre company who have recently relocated to Gloucester, and Strike a Light, a theatre organisation homegrown in Gloucester.
Theatres also benefit from the support that the government provides the sector through Theatre Tax Relief, and has also recently announced over £270 million investment for our arts venues, museums, libraries and our heritage sector.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
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 support leisure centres in Gloucester constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector and provide advice and guidance.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
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 support public libraries in Gloucester.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.
I understand that Gloucestershire had 32 local authority-run static libraries as of December 2023, with five of those libraries located in Gloucester itself.
The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.