Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 support youth organisations serving (a) isolated and (b) rural communities in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.
We also, however, acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports — especially those in rural areas, who often face additional barriers such as limited access to services, transport, and opportunities.
That is why we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy will support better coordination of youth services across different regions — including remote and underserved areas and move away from one-size-fits-all approaches from central government. By doing so, we will bring power back to young people and their communities, rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector, and ensure that rural youth are not left behind.
We will be publishing an interim report shortly, and the Strategy will be published in Autumn.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to support youth work that promotes volunteering opportunities among young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We know that being part of supportive communities, accessing youth work, youth provision and volunteering opportunities can transform young people’s lives. The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) supports the youth work sector in a number of ways, including through funding the National Youth Agency (NYA) to maintain youth work qualifications, curriculum and national standards for England. The NYA youth work curriculum outlines why and how to involve young people in volunteering and social action in their communities.
We also fund and support the #iwill Movement, the only national movement which champions and supports young people engaged in social action, including volunteering. The National Lottery Community Fund and DCMS have jointly run the #iwill Fund since 2016, funding the creation of youth social action opportunities for an estimated 900,000 young people across the country.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to youth work provision in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Finance Settlement in line with local need.
DCMS has also published statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of youth workers on improving young people’s (a) physical and (b) mental health outcomes.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We know that youth workers are vital to youth services, building trusted relationships and creating safe spaces for young people.
That is why this government launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which has been developed together with the youth sector. The new National Youth Strategy is being co-produced with cross-sector input from stakeholders working with and for young people, particularly drawing on the connections and expertise of the youth sector.
DCMS has also commissioned research analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study and the UK Households Longitudinal Survey (longitudinal surveys) which found that at the time of participation, regular attendees of youth activities were more likely to be in good health and not drink/take illegal drugs compared to young people who do not attend youth activities.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 impact of youth work on (a) helping young people stay safe and (b) building relationships in communities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the important role that youth work plays in young people’s lives. We know that youth workers are vital to youth services, building trusted relationships and creating safe spaces for young people. We also acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports.
That is why this government launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which has been developed together with the youth sector. As part of the National Youth Strategy, we are exploring what young people’s current needs are, looking at access to safe spaces, role models, communities and much more. We will be publishing an interim report shortly, and the Strategy will be published in the autumn.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 through youth services to help increase (a) school attendance and (b) the number of young people staying in education.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to live safe and healthy lives, and the positive impact youth services can have on young people, including in educational settings.
That is why we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts.
We know that youth services will help deliver the government’s missions, and the National Youth Strategy will work alongside developing Young Future hubs, the Curriculum and Assessment Review and further work across government to fulfill our commitment to improve young people’s lives.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with youth sector representatives on the role of youth work in helping young people (a) prepare for and (b) access employment.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. That is why this government launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which has been developed together with the youth sector.
The new National Youth Strategy is being co-produced with cross-sector input from stakeholders working with and for young people, particularly drawing on the connections and expertise of the youth sector. We have run engagement sessions in partnership with a range of services, to ensure the strategy can advise and support the youth sector effectively, including to support young people to prepare for and access employment.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make capital funding available to arts centres for regular inspections on building conditions.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is working closely with the sector to understand the needs of arts centres, which are integral to communities up and down the country. Through sector engagement, as well as the recent Arup and Future Arts Centres report, Evaluating Capital Investment Needs for Arts Centres in the UK, we are aware that arts centres are facing challenges with their estates.
The Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. An important part of this government’s growth mission, this fund aims to strengthen the long-term economic viability of the creative and cultural industries. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Arts centres that meet other eligibility criteria will be eligible to apply for the fund. This fund will offer vital support to prevent the closure of operating cultural spaces and the potential irrevocable loss to local communities and economies. However, inspections on building conditions are excluded from the CFF. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the long-term financial sustainability of arts centres.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is working closely with the sector to understand the needs of arts centres, which are integral to communities up and down the country. Through sector engagement, as well as the recent Arup and Future Arts Centres report, Evaluating Capital Investment Needs for Arts Centres in the UK, we are aware that arts centres are facing challenges with their estates.
The Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. An important part of this government’s growth mission, this fund aims to strengthen the long-term economic viability of the creative and cultural industries. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Arts centres that meet other eligibility criteria will be eligible to apply for the fund. This fund will offer vital support to prevent the closure of operating cultural spaces and the potential irrevocable loss to local communities and economies. However, inspections on building conditions are excluded from the CFF. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has held recent discussions with (a) Bridport Arts Centre and (b) Dorchester Arts on access to capital funding (i) to tackle maintenance backlogs and (ii) for modernisation.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Our arms-length body Arts Council England (ACE) is investing £176,345 over three years in Bridport Arts Centre as part of their National Portfolio 2023-26 (NPO). In 2024/25 ACE granted a further £20,000 to Bridport Arts Centre from their Area Funds to explore the lease/ownership of the building which will have a direct impact on their ability to address energy efficiency and accessibility.
In 2024/25 ACE invested £12,650 in Dorchester Arts through their open-access National Lottery Project Grants to deliver a festival of scriptwriting. All recipients of ACE funding remain fully responsible for their operations, artistic programme, and the day-to-day management of their activities.
The Spending Review sets out DCMS’s high-level funding settlement, and individual decisions on how to invest departmental resources will be determined in due course. The Spending Review does, however, commit to significant investment into Arts, Culture, and Heritage infrastructure. Across the spending review period DCMS will be delivering funding across its major capital programmes, supporting local institutions and leveraging economic growth across the regions.
DCMS has not had any recent discussions with Bridport Arts Centre or Dorchester Arts directly, however, in September 2024, ACE held discussions with Bridport Arts Centre about their lease on their Grade II listed building as the contract end approaches.
On 23 June, an ACE Annual Progress Review took place to assess Bridport Arts Centre’s progress against the objectives set out in their ACE funding agreement over 12 months. This included consideration of their contribution to ACE’s Environmental Responsibility Investment Principle which includes energy efficiency.
Both organisations are eligible to apply to ACE’s current round of capital funding, and more information can be found on their website here: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/developing-creativity-and-culture/capital