Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

It is not appropriate for me to comment on the commercial issues surrounding the decision of the owners of Phones 4u to put the company into receivership, but it is possible to purchase mobile phones not just through the operators’ shops but on the high street and from online outlets; and mobile virtual network operators are also providing a great deal of competition.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Question 2, Mr Speaker.

[The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Funding decisions for the arts are made independently of Ministers by the Arts Council England, but I am delighted to say—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vaizey]

Mr Speaker, I am incredibly grateful for your guidance. You are quite right that, with your permission, I would like to take this question with Question 3, which I also hotly anticipate. Thank you for correcting me. My eagerness got ahead of me in wishing to communicate to the hon. Lady that for the first time—[Hon. Members: “Get on with it!”] I have been asked to get on with it; things are going from bad to worse, aren’t they?

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of Government funding decisions on the arts and culture outside London.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of the balance of funding for arts organisations in the English regions.

[The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Funding decisions for the arts are made independently of Ministers by Arts Council England, but I am delighted to say that 53% of the funding that the Arts Council recently allocated to non-profit organisations will go outside London. It is the first time that the majority of that funding will have gone outside London.

[Diana Johnson]

But public funding for the arts in London is 15 times greater than for outside the capital, and Hull city council has seen a 25% cut to its funding during this Parliament. How does the Minister expect Hull to deliver the national city of culture in 2017 with these unfair funding formulas?

[Mr Vaizey]

I have to say that the hon. Lady’s colleagues in Hull are much more bullish about being the capital of culture and are looking forward to delivering it in 2017. They have received £3 million of funding from the Arts Council. Indeed, the Arts Council has set up a pop-up office in Hull to assist with the capital of culture.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Last but not least, I call Diana Johnson.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I am very intrigued by the answer that the Minister has just given. Is she or is she not in favour of compulsory sex and relationships education? That is what I am really interested to know.

[Nicky Morgan]

I am very pleased that the hon. Lady is so interested in what I say. I think that sex and relationships education is extremely important. Many schools already do it well, and we can do more to help schools teach it even better.