Caroline Dinenage

We recognise the important role night-time economy business plays in supporting local economies and communities. Healthy night-time economy businesses not only support our creative industries, including musicians, DJs and performance artists, but also support tourism and bolster day economy businesses.

This Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets. This work will ensure that our high streets are great places for our businesses, supporting economic growth across the UK.

To deliver the manifesto pledge to protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000.

The Government has committed to partnering with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the requirements for phasing out of animal testing and we are currently engaging with the sector as to how to take this commitment forward.

The Government invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of non-animal approaches. The NC3Rs receives additional funding from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for specific programmes and substantial in-kind support from companies for their CRACK IT innovation programme.

The Civil Society Covenant will set out the terms of a new relationship between government and civil society through high level principles for an effective long term partnership between government and all of civil society. The complementary National Youth Strategy will be co-produced with young people and the youth sector. Both the Covenant and National Youth Strategy will be published in 2025.

Over the coming months we will be developing our plans for the National Youth Strategy, in partnership with young people and with organisations within the youth sector, including civil society organisations. In November we held a roundtable with young ambassadors from the #iWill movement and in early December we held a roundtable with young people in Bristol. In early 2025, we will be holding further youth-led roundtables and will set up a Youth Advisory Group to work alongside us.

The Government is working closely with the live music industry to support an economically sustainable music sector.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues, published 14 November, sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. Cultural venues provide enjoyment to many thousands of people as the opportunity to hear live music up close is an essential part of our cultural life.

Following the Autumn Budget, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music Fund which provides grants to grassroots music organisations - including those that host or promote electronic music – including venues, rehearsal and recording studios, promoters and festivals. ACE continues to engage with industry through targeted webinars and events to promote the Fund to the club sector and encourage applications.

This Government is focused on our five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets, to ensure they are great places for businesses, and economic growth across the UK.

To deliver our manifesto pledge to protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.

We have no plans to develop a separate night clubs strategy, but would be interested in hearing from her Select Committee if it has suggestions in this area.

The Government is working closely with the live music industry to support an economically sustainable music sector.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues, published 14 November, sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. Cultural venues provide enjoyment to many thousands of people as the opportunity to hear live music up close is an essential part of our cultural life.

Following the Autumn Budget, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music Fund which provides grants to grassroots music organisations - including those that host or promote electronic music – including venues, rehearsal and recording studios, promoters and festivals. ACE continues to engage with industry through targeted webinars and events to promote the Fund to the club sector and encourage applications.

This Government is focused on our five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets, to ensure they are great places for businesses, and economic growth across the UK.

To deliver our manifesto pledge to protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.

We have no plans to develop a separate night clubs strategy, but would be interested in hearing from her Select Committee if it has suggestions in this area.

The Government is working closely with the live music industry to support an economically sustainable music sector.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues, published 14 November, sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. Cultural venues provide enjoyment to many thousands of people as the opportunity to hear live music up close is an essential part of our cultural life.

Following the Autumn Budget, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) successful Supporting Grassroots Music Fund which provides grants to grassroots music organisations - including those that host or promote electronic music – including venues, rehearsal and recording studios, promoters and festivals. ACE continues to engage with industry through targeted webinars and events to promote the Fund to the club sector and encourage applications.

This Government is focused on our five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets, to ensure they are great places for businesses, and economic growth across the UK.

To deliver our manifesto pledge to protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.

We have no plans to develop a separate night clubs strategy, but would be interested in hearing from her Select Committee if it has suggestions in this area.

We have not made such an assessment, but Historic England has commissioned an external evaluation of the High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme, which was designed to drive economic growth in places that need it the most. We await the report for this which will be published in March 2025.

There are around 500 large society lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission. The Gambling Act 2005 has licensing objectives that underpin the responsible functions that any Lottery must meet. These include:

• preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crime

• ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way

• protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

All Society and local authority lotteries licensed by the Gambling Commission are required to comply with the relevant conditions and codes of practice, which are set by the Gambling Commission. These licence conditions are set out at the time a licence is issued. Further information about social responsibility requirements are contained in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.

The National Lottery is managed under separate legislation - the National Lottery Act 1993. This establishes a statutory duty on the Government to ensure it is run with due propriety, wide social value commitments, while contributing substantially to Good Causes across the UK and via the Lottery Duty.

The Licence is awarded through a competitive process to an operator with an overriding duty to ensure the interests of every Participant in respect of playing, engaging with or being exposed to, the National Lottery are protected. This is supported through regulatory requirements overseen by the Gambling Commission.

The current operator Allwyn has its own strategy of creating additional social value commitments in the way they operate their business and engage with all National Lottery partners. More information on Allwyn’s social value plan can be found here.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.

This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.

This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

We recognise the important role that the UK copyright framework plays in supporting investment into the creative industries and ensuring that talent and creativity are rewarded. Finding the right balance between rewarding human-centred creativity, fostering the potential of AI to open up new creative frontiers and ensuring legal certainty for all those working in these fields is going to be complex and challenging, but addressing it is a priority of this Government. My department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to address this issue.

This work requires thoughtful engagement with the creative industries and with AI developers including widespread consultation. DCMS and DSIT chaired roundtables with AI developers and representatives of the creative industries to discuss AI and IP issues on 17 September. The Government will continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders on this topic, and will set out next steps soon. These would need to address a range of issues in the round, including transparency.

The film and TV sector forms a critical part of UK society, democracy and its creative industries. DCMS estimates that the number of filled jobs within the film and TV industry is 182,000, as of the 2023-2024 financial year. The Government is committed to continue supporting growth and job creation in this sector.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is aimed at children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. However, local authorities have discretion to go beyond this as set out in the HAF guidance: “While the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of free school meals, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related free school meals, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision”.

I refer the hon. Member for Gosport to the answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17058.

The collaborative approach between further education, higher education and employers developed by Institutes of Technology (IoTs) is valued. The department will be working with the sector as we develop our strategy for post-16 education and skills.

Information on the number of students that took higher technical education courses (those at, or above, level 4) at IoTs are set out in the table below.

*The department changed the way the data was collected and presented from 2021/22 academic year. The figures for 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years are for learner starts at levels 4 and 5. The figures for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years are for learner cohorts for level 4+ (including level 6 and above).

The collaborative approach between further education, higher education and employers developed by Institutes of Technology (IoTs) is valued. The department will be working with the sector as we develop our strategy for post-16 education and skills.

Information on the number of students that took higher technical education courses (those at, or above, level 4) at IoTs are set out in the table below.

*The department changed the way the data was collected and presented from 2021/22 academic year. The figures for 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years are for learner starts at levels 4 and 5. The figures for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years are for learner cohorts for level 4+ (including level 6 and above).

Programme funding for the 2025/26 financial year is subject to the outcomes of the department’s business planning. This includes the Heritage Schools programme, led by Historic England. Details will be set out in due course.

The department has not made any estimate of the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan who will enter state-funded mainstream or special schools or leave private mainstream education as a result of the proposed application of VAT to private schools’ fees. The department cannot be certain of the precise level, if any, of transfer from private to state sectors additional to the movements between schools, and between the private and state sectors, which happen each year in all parts of the country. The department will monitor demand and capacity using our normal processes and will work with local authorities to meet any pressures.

It is however worth noting that most pupils with EHC plans are educated in mainstream state-funded schools and more than 97% of pupils with EHC plans attending private schools have their place fully funded by their local authority. Where pupils’ places in private schools are being funded by local authorities, local authorities will be able to reclaim the VAT.

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October.

Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget in the usual way.

The government is passionate about extending opportunities for children and young people in the arts through a broader curriculum, ensuring all pupils in state-funded schools can access creative subjects, alongside subjects such as mathematics, science and English.

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget in the usual way.

The government aims to support all pupils with special education need and disabilities (SEND), including with autism, to achieve and thrive at school. High quality teaching and support is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for pupils, including those with autism or other SEND.

While the department recognises the value of Oliver McGowan training, this training was developed for health and social care staff.

Within education settings, school staff can access a range of training as appropriate to their career stage. Training to support pupils with autism includes information on when to draw on the expertise of health and social care professionals.

Headteachers should also use their professional judgement to identify any further training for teaching staff they employ. This may include the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training and specific specialisms for individual staff when that is relevant to them, the school and its pupils. This can also include the Universal Services (US) Programme.

The US programme brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism, and aims to reach 70% of schools and colleges in England per year. The contract offers autism awareness training and resources. Over 185,000 professionals have received autism training from an Autism Education Trust training partner since the US programme launched in May 2022.