Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
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 increasing the eligibility of the Museum Renewal Fund to include independent museums.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Museum Renewal Fund is an urgent intervention this financial year to provide time-limited support for museums with a local authority link. The Fund, delivered by Arts Council England, provided targeted support for museums and focused on supporting the financial resilience of museums caring predominantly for publicly-owned Collections, responding to a clear ask by the entire museums sector. It is now closed to applicants and the 75 recipients were announced in October 2025.
DCMS provides a range of support for ACE-Accredited museums of all types, through Capital funds including the Museum Estate and Development Fund and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, and tax incentives like the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief, and Museum VAT Refund Scheme.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will consider the potential merits of introducing a statutory definition of civic museums to include independent museums.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no statutory definition for ‘civic museums’ as this is a label originating within the museums sector, which museums may choose to self-identify under. DCMS is advised by Arts Council England on the categorisation of museums: its policies for the sector and eligibility for support schemes are carefully designed to take into account the breadth of operating and governance models across the sector, as well as respond to new and emerging needs, including those faced by independent museums. There are no current plans to introduce a statutory definition of the term.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the speech at the Labour Party Conference of 29 September 2025, on what evidential basis it was said that 1,700 primary schools do not have a school library.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is providing funding to support the primary school library commitment, previously announced by the Chancellor.
Research by the National Literacy Trust estimates there are 1,700 primary schools in England currently without a library. A 2023 NLT report states that 1 in 7 UK state primary schools, rising to 1 in 4 in disadvantaged areas, do not have a library or dedicated library space.
Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.
It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. The Department for Education, therefore, does not collect data on the number or structure of school libraries or number of librarians in primary or secondary schools.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government's ambition that every primary school should have a library, what funding will be available (a) for the staffing of the additional libraries, (b) for the provision of books and (c) to cover other costs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.
Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.
The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government's ambition that every primary school should have a library, how much funding will be available for (a) the building of libraries and (b) the conversion of existing buildings to libraries.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.
Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.
The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish interim indicators of progress towards the Government's ambition to add 1,700 primary school libraries.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility over the Dormant Assets Scheme.
Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. Funding for this initiative will come from the £132.5m.
The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including funding allocations.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 78098 on Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and Responsible Technology Adoption Unit, how many full time equivalent staff there were in the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation by grade at the end of the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Full Time Equivalent Staff for the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation by Grade at the end of the 2022-23 Financial year is shown below.
Grade | FTE Total |
A | 13 |
A(U) | * |
B | 9 |
C | * |
Senior Civil Service Pay Band 1 | * |
Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2 | * |
Grand Total | 29.9 |
*data exempted under Section 40(2)
Some personal information has been withheld under section 40(2) (personal information) of the Act. Section 40(2) is an ‘absolute’ exemption and the department is not obliged to consider whether the public interest favours disclosing the information. Section 40(2) exempts personal information from disclosure if that information relates to someone other than the applicant, and if disclosure of the information would, amongst other things, contravene one of the data protection principles in Article 5 of the UK GDPR. In this case, I believe disclosure would contravene the first data protection principle, which provides that personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully. This information has been withheld as there were a small number of staff who met the criteria of your request . The department does not release information that affects a low number of staff as this would make them easily identifiable to the wider public.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which of the actions set out in the Online Advertising Taskforce action plan, published on 30 November 2023, are (a) completed, (b) being taken forward and (c) not being taken forward.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Online Advertising Taskforce last met on May 6th 2025, and is expected to meet again in Autumn. Its six industry-led working groups are delivering a programme of work to help tackle illegal advertising, and minimise children being served advertising for products and services illegal to be sold to them. A progress report was published in November 2024, updating on progress to date and planned next steps. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-advertising-taskforce-progress-report-2023-24
Since the publication of this report, working groups have continued to set further targets to improve advertising trust, transparency and accountability, and a new AI-focused working group has been established.
The Action Plan also referred to the passage of legislation at the time and to other government initiatives to support a reduction in advertising harms, including fraudulent advertising. This includes the Online Safety Act 2023 and Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Digital Marketing, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which restates the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and applies from 6 April 2025. The Government committed to introducing an expanded Fraud Strategy in our manifesto, covering the continued and modern-day threats our society faces. Development of the strategy has begun, and we are considering all harms, including fraudulent online advertising.
The Online Advertising Programme was an initiative of the previous government and a second consultation was not published, but we continue to monitor the regulatory framework closely.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when will the Online Advertising Taskforce next meet; and how many meetings are anticipated in 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Online Advertising Taskforce last met on May 6th 2025, and is expected to meet again in Autumn. Its six industry-led working groups are delivering a programme of work to help tackle illegal advertising, and minimise children being served advertising for products and services illegal to be sold to them. A progress report was published in November 2024, updating on progress to date and planned next steps. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-advertising-taskforce-progress-report-2023-24
Since the publication of this report, working groups have continued to set further targets to improve advertising trust, transparency and accountability, and a new AI-focused working group has been established.
The Action Plan also referred to the passage of legislation at the time and to other government initiatives to support a reduction in advertising harms, including fraudulent advertising. This includes the Online Safety Act 2023 and Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Digital Marketing, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which restates the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and applies from 6 April 2025. The Government committed to introducing an expanded Fraud Strategy in our manifesto, covering the continued and modern-day threats our society faces. Development of the strategy has begun, and we are considering all harms, including fraudulent online advertising.
The Online Advertising Programme was an initiative of the previous government and a second consultation was not published, but we continue to monitor the regulatory framework closely.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take legislative steps to regulate programmatic advertising.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government will continue to monitor the regulatory framework around online advertising to assess if further legislation is needed. The Online Advertising Taskforce continues to take forward non-legislative action on addressing illegal advertising and minimising children being served advertising for products and services illegal to be sold to them.