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Written Question
Rugby and Tour de France
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the £30 million allocated for the UK’s proposed bids for the (a) 2025 Rugby World Cup and (b) 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ has (i) been spent on each event and (ii) is yet to be spent as of 21 February 2024.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS works closely with UK Sport on the hosting of major sporting events. UK Sport often undertakes feasibility work into major sporting events to understand the costs, impacts and technical requirements of hosting.

This supports the UK’s strategic objective to secure a programme of major sporting events into the 2030s that will generate impact across the cities and regions of the UK and allow our world-class events sector to thrive.

In May 2022, England were announced as hosts of the Rugby World Cup 2025. This event has ambitions to be the best attended women’s Rugby World Cup ever. Up to the end of Financial Year 2023/24, around £11 million will have been invested into staging costs for the Rugby World Cup 2025, and the RFU-led Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact programme.

The Tour de France Grand Départ is being considered as part of the UK’s ongoing feasibility work.


Written Question
Tour de France
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.148 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, whether UK Sport is actively pursuing a 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ bid.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS works closely with UK Sport on the hosting of major sporting events. UK Sport often undertakes feasibility work into major sporting events to understand the costs, impacts and technical requirements of hosting.

This supports the UK’s strategic objective to secure a programme of major sporting events into the 2030s that will generate impact across the cities and regions of the UK and allow our world-class events sector to thrive.

In May 2022, England were announced as hosts of the Rugby World Cup 2025. This event has ambitions to be the best attended women’s Rugby World Cup ever. Up to the end of Financial Year 2023/24, around £11 million will have been invested into staging costs for the Rugby World Cup 2025, and the RFU-led Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact programme.

The Tour de France Grand Départ is being considered as part of the UK’s ongoing feasibility work.


Written Question
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Environment Protection
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which policies under each arms length body reporting to their Department fall within the scope of the Environmental principles policy statement, published on 31 January 2023.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The duty does not require us to maintain a comprehensive list of policies within scope of the duty.


Written Question
Museums and Galleries: Workplace Pensions
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent estimate of the potential impact of changes to the superannuation contributions adjusted for past experience (SCAPE) discount rate on costs for arms-length museums and galleries that are listed in Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Act 1972; whether those heritage institutions will receive funding to meet any shortfall; if she will make it her policy to introduce financial mechanisms to help heritage institutions manage additional costs in the long-term; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has not centrally made any recent estimates of the impact of changes to the superannuation contributions adjusted for past experience (SCAPE) discount rate on costs for national museums and galleries.

In prior spending review periods and to this point DCMS has supported its arm’s-length museums and galleries captured through the Superannuation Act 1972 with additional funding to assist with increased pension costs.

DCMS has already committed to provide additional financial support to assist with pension pressures in 2023-24 to the national museums and galleries listed in the Act and will be working with our ALBs to set prudent budgets for the financial year 24-25 in due course.


Written Question
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Official Hospitality
Thursday 20th January 2022

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the dates and details of any (a) social gatherings for Departmental staff and (b) work gatherings where alcohol and food were consumed that took place at her Department from 23 March 2020 to date.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This information is not collected. For the majority of the period in question, staff were expected to work from home and undertake meetings remotely, wherever possible. Where this was not the case, staff were permitted to be in the office in accordance with the relevant cross-Government Health and Safety guidance at the time.


Written Question
Arts: Self-employed
Wednesday 19th January 2022

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement of 23 December 2021 on £1.5million of additional funding for arts freelancers in England, what estimate the Government has made of the proportion of the arts freelance workforce that will benefit from that fund.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

We recognise the significant challenge the pandemic poses to our arts and creative sectors and to the many individuals and freelancers working across these industries.

Government funding via Arts Council England will provide an immediate £1.5 million emergency support to support freelancers affected by the pandemic, alongside a further £1.35 million contribution from the theatre sector. This will provide grants of £650,000 each directly to the Theatre Artists Fund, Help Musicians, and £200,000 to a-n, the Artists Information Company, a charity for visual artists which will distribute cash to freelancers over the coming weeks. We are keeping the situation under review, and will consider further interventions as needed.

Freelancers are also supported through the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund support package of almost £ 2 billion, which has helped ensure the venues and organisations which support and employ freelancers have survived the pandemic.

We will continue to work closely with freelancers and organisations across the sectors to see how we can best provide support to those affected.


Written Question
Holiday Accommodation
Friday 26th November 2021

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2021 to Question 16064, Holiday Accommodation, when the Government plans to publish the consultation on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Prior to Covid-19, we had been planning to explore the merits and feasibility of introducing a Tourist Accomodation Registration Scheme.

The Government intends to publish a call for evidence on matters associated with short term holiday lettings in early 2022.

This will assist in developing proportionate, evidence-based policy options for a subsequent consultation.

The Government is committed to hearing the views of all interested parties as part of this call for evidence.


Written Question
Public Lending Right: Finance
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to increase funding for the Public Lending Right.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Public Lending Right (PLR) is a legal right to authors for payment from a central fund for eligible book contributors when their books are borrowed from public libraries. It applies to physical books, e-books, and e-audiobooks. Illustrators, photographers, translators and editors are also compensated for the loan of their books from public libraries.

The British Library administers the PLR Scheme and recommends annually to the department the revised PLR rate per loan. The recommended PLR rate per loan is determined by the annual registered loans figure for the relevant year and the available PLR central fund.

The PLR rate per loan has increased annually from 6.20 pence per loan for the PLR Scheme year 2012/13 to 9.55 pence per loan for the PLR Scheme year 2019/20. The department will shortly consult on a revised PLR rate per loan for the PLR Scheme year 2020/21, to be introduced in January 2022.


Written Question
Church Services and Music: Coronavirus
Friday 9th July 2021

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date he plans to publish updated covid-19 guidance on the (a) number of people allowed to attend memorial services and (b) rules for singing indoors; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

The government’s Roadmap set out four steps out of lockdown in England. From Step 4, there will be no limits on the number of people who can sing indoors or outdoors. This includes choirs and congregational singing. The government will remove outstanding legal restrictions on social contact and life events, and open the remaining closed settings. The government will instead enable people to use personal judgement to manage the risk to themselves and others.


We will assess the four tests again on 12 July to decide whether to proceed to step 4 on 19 July. Once that decision has been made, all government guidance will be amended in light of the decision taken.


Written Question
Events Industry: Coronavirus
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the scientific basis for his Department’s policy on the use of single-use beverage containers in its draft guidance for Covid-19 safety at UK events; and if he will make it his policy that reusable containers should be used in those contexts.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department has supported a number of stakeholders to produce guidance for specific sectors to allow them to reopen at the appropriate time and ensure that their activities are Covid secure. The guidance for Covid-19 safety at outdoor events in the UK was published by the Events Industry Forum and is stakeholder-led guidance. Therefore, we are unable to publish the scientific basis on single use containers for events.

The Government has now published new guidance for local authorities on organised events which has been designed to assist local authorities in ensuring that events are able to go ahead safely and in accordance with what is permitted at each step of the Roadmap. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-organised-events-guidance-for-local-authorities/coronavirus-covid-19-organised-events-guidance-for-local-authorities.