Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has she made of the effectiveness of the Arts Council England’s Incentivising Touring scheme.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government welcomes the continued success of this fund, which expands domestic touring into new areas. This investment will enrich our cultural landscape and boost local economies by bringing popular productions to communities nationwide, allowing more people to enjoy the arts locally.
The second round of this pilot makes £2.9 million available to enable more mid-to-large-scale theatre and dance productions to tour. The funding aims at giving venues and producers the capacity to create, tour, and programme a wider range of work, providing audiences with more opportunities to see a greater range of quality dance and theatre productions at scale.
It’s great to see such excellent productions as Dear England, Fiddler on the Roof and Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) being enjoyed across the country in part thanks to this fund.
Arts Council England has commissioned AMION Consulting to undertake a process evaluation and an assessment of the impact of the scheme across the pilot rounds, including an assessment of the economic and social impact of the programme.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that touring in Europe is viable for UK artists.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We have reset our relationship with the European Union and are determined to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and help our touring artists. This is in full recognition of the challenges that creative and cultural professionals, and their support staff, face when touring in Europe.
On 19 May 2025, the first ever Summit between the UK and EU was held. At the Summit, the UK and European Commission recognised the value of cultural exchange, including the activities of touring artists.
We continue to engage with the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament and the sector, both in the UK and across Europe, with a view to addressing the challenges that touring artists and their support staff face. This is mutually beneficial - it will help our artists to contribute to Europe’s rich cultural landscape and support shared growth.
We are also working with the EU and Member States to promote wider cultural exchange to further the UK-EU strategic partnership.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 implications for her policies of Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England; and whether she will implement the recommendations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government’s full response to Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England was published on 26 March and deposited in the House Library.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 ensure funding disbursed by Arts Council England is fairly distributed across the country.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State believes that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. As part of our Plan for Change, we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture thrives in every part of the country, with more opportunities for people to engage, benefit from and work in arts and culture where they live. It is why, at DCMS, we have adopted a place-based approach, putting local people, communities and places first in everything that we do. And it's why, over the course of this Parliament, the Government will invest £1.5 billion in capital funding for arts and culture - the largest investment of its kind for a generation. We believe that excellent culture belongs to everyone, everywhere, and not just in a handful of cities or institutions, but in every town, city and village in this country.
ACE itself uses several mechanisms to ensure funding is distributed fairly across the country. Their funding strategy is a targeted, data-driven, and locally delivered model that prioritises underinvested areas, with an embedded, long-term approach to regional equity. This strategy includes:
Geographic investment targets: ACE sets place-based priorities to direct more funding into historically underfunded areas.
Regular portfolio balancing: Its National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) funding round is periodically reassessed to rebalance investment across regions.
Data-led decision-making: Funding allocations are guided by regional data on deprivation, cultural access, and existing provision.
Dedicated regional teams: Local officers assess applications with knowledge of regional needs and context.
Strategic funds and programmes: Targeted schemes support touring, grassroots organisations, and underserved communities.
Transparency and reporting: ACE publishes funding data and geographic breakdowns to monitor equity and accountability.
Access and inclusion criteria: Applications are assessed partly on how they broaden access for diverse and geographically dispersed audiences.
Together, these measures aim to reduce regional disparities and ensure public funding benefits communities across all parts of England.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support age-appropriate news content for children that promotes civic engagement.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.
The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.
The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.
More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 implications for her policies of plans for the future of children’s programming.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.
The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.
The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.
More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support funding for effective UK-produced programming for children.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.
The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.
The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.
More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 contribution of educational children’s programming to children's development.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.
The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.
The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.
More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that children’s programming is culturally relevant and promotes positive values.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.
The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.
The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.
More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 implications for her Department of the report by BBC Children’s & Education entitled Socioeconomic Impact of BBC Children’s and Education, published on 3 March 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has noted the BBC report on Socioeconomic Impact of BBC Children’s and Education, published on 3 March 2026, and strongly supports the BBC providing high quality children’s and educational content.
The BBC’s Royal Charter sets out its Mission and Public Purposes, including to inform, educate and entertain; support learning of people at all ages, including children and teenagers. The BBC is a significant provider of original UK children’s programmes, and in 2024, accounted for 88% of all first-run UK-originated children’s programming by Public Service Broadcasters. The volume of informal learning content on BBC iPlayer has also grown by 60% since 2021.
The Government published a Green Paper on BBC Charter Review last year, which also sets out our ambition for the BBC to support ‘at risk’ content, including children’s and educational content. We also want the BBC to build on its work helping people of all ages build digital skills and confidence - through services like BBC Bitesize - to ensure that everyone can continue to benefit from its services.
The BBC is a cornerstone of our world-leading creative economy because of its reach and impact - nurturing home-grown talent, driving technological change, and encouraging investment into the UK creative sector. The Charter Review is a vital way we can support this ecosystem and will focus on ensuring the BBC is able to continue playing a central role in the growth of the UK’s creative economy, including entering into mutually beneficial partnerships.