UK Town of Culture

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

In Cornwall, we do not have big urban centres; we have towns with populations of about 20,000. That is why the UK town of culture competition is one that a large rural area such as Cornwall can get involved in. I am taking it as a good example of the Government’s commitment to, and awareness of, the rural parts of the country.

I am really lucky to come from a place with a distinctive narrative. We have our own language, which is now recognised again, and in Truro and Falmouth we have a beautiful peninsula town and a great little city, each with their own character and a strong sense of Cornish identity. Falmouth has a very distinct story. It is a vibrant place that has always turned its face outwards towards the sea. The packet ships took trade and parcels around the world from the late 1600s, and we have the two castles of Pendennis and St Mawes, built by Henry VIII, to protect Falmouth.

Now, Falmouth has an incredible arts and science university, stemming out of a 100-year-old art school, along with a thriving music scene and an active and young town council in lockstep with a strong business improvement district. The council runs an art gallery for all, a library, the peninsula headland, a newly built community radio station, and a theatre and venue. The team are award-winning and know how to run a world-class event, from international shanty festivals to the tall ships. Falmouth is inclusive and welcoming, from yacht to gig racing and from shanties and metal to Ukrainian soul. It hosts everything from the Lady of Shalott by Waterhouse to graduate shows of prosthetic props at Falmouth University in Penryn, where the Methodist chapel was recently converted into artist spaces.

Then there is Truro, Cornwall’s capital and one of the smallest cities in the UK. Lying upriver from Falmouth, it has been shaped by its proximity to the coast, as almost everywhere in Cornwall has been. There is evidence that the Phoenicians and the Romans traded with Truro, and by the 14th century it had become a significant port and stannary town, exporting locally mined tin and copper. We hope that can now happen again thanks to our critical minerals strategy.

By the 19th century, Truro was a local cultural centre. The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in the city to promote the arts and sciences. It was intended to provide access to culture and learning for Cornish people at a time when there was no universal education. This aim resembles that of the town of culture competition: to break down the barriers to opportunity and open up culture to everyone, even if they live in a peripheral area such as Cornwall, where some of the high arts barely come down at all.

The Royal Institution of Cornwall still exists today in the form of the Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery. Truro is also home to Cornwall’s beautifully renovated national theatre, which has just finished its Cornish panto, and our distinctive gothic revival cathedral, which hosts everything from art and silent discos to concerts. We have weekly markets, Bert Biscoe’s walking tours, fantastic pubs, bars and restaurants, and so much more.

Cornwall’s story has always been one of reinvention. When the packet service left Falmouth in the mid-19th century, the town adapted. As the river Truro silted up, the city became Cornwall’s administrative heart. Our mining industry has seen boom and bust, and now resurgence. Creativity has always sparked in Cornwall, but rurality and peripherality have often limited our opportunity. We face deprivation, which is why cultural infrastructure really matters. Whether it is one of the places I have mentioned alone, or as part of a hub-and-spoke model, they would all have my wholehearted support in the UK town of culture competition, and I urge them to apply.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Louise Jones (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

3. What assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the £25,000 cap in the listed places of worship grant scheme on levels of church repairs.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. What steps the Church plans to take to support listed places of worship with repairs and renovations after the conclusion of the listed places of worship grant scheme.

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

10. What assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the £25,000 cap in the listed places of worship grant scheme on levels of church repairs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Marsha De Cordova]

As I have highlighted, we value our churches and our listed places of worship, and it is important that the Government hear these calls and provide some clarity and certainty about the future of the scheme. The Church Commissioners have funded many projects, providing around £9 million of grants for repairs to churches, and church building support officers are also in place to advise on management, how repairs can be carried out and the essential development of these places of worship. I hear my hon. Friend, and I invite her to lobby the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to give us some certainty about the scheme.

[Jayne Kirkham]

I have been visiting places of worship in my constituency, including St Probus and St Grace church, with the tallest church tower in Cornwall, and St Gerrans church, with its distinctive tower and spire. Both need extensive and expensive works to keep them watertight, so all that good work with food banks, coffee mornings and warm hubs that goes on there can continue to happen. They are both concerned about the new annual cap, as they have costed their schemes, and the potential ending of the listed places of worship grant scheme next year. What alternative support will be available to them and others now that the scheme is reduced and potentially ending? Of course, I will be lobbying DCMS, too.

[Marsha De Cordova]

I commend the work of the churches in my hon. Friend’s constituency. She highlighted St Probus and St Grace church, which was founded in 930 AD. I understand that it is a truly wonderful building and establishment, but it needs a new roof, and the fundraising is under way to try to ensure that it gets the funding. I highlighted earlier the Church Commissioners’ building emissions fund. This issue has been raised every time I stand here and respond to questions on behalf of the Church. It is vital that the listed places of worship grant scheme continues and that the Government provide clarity on the future of the scheme, so that all the wonderful listed places of worship in all our constituencies have certainty going forward.

Swimming Facilities

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Falmouth is a town of young people which juts out into the Atlantic on a finger-like peninsula, so it is vital that people there learn how to swim, yet statistics from a primary school in Falmouth show that the percentage of young children who are unable to swim 25 metres has shot up dramatically, from less than 10% to 50%. That is not coincidental. Schools in Falmouth are struggling, because Falmouth no longer has a swimming pool. It was decommissioned in 2022 by Cornwall’s Tory-run unitary council, which said it was too expensive to run. There is no other swimming facility within a half-hour drive. Primary schools in Falmouth are trying to bus their children for up to 40 minutes to swimming facilities, but that is much too expensive and people are now struggling to learn how to swim.

As things stand, the Falmouth and Penryn Community Area Partnership, which covers a population of 50,000, is the only one in Cornwall without a pool in its area. Falmouth town council took a risk, took on the leisure centre on Pendennis headland and is trying to redevelop the site, but it is struggling to do so. Collaboration with the private sector will be essential, but we also need help from the Government. I know they recognise how important swimming is for our children and young people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, was asked—

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What recent progress the client board has made on consulting hon. Members on the restoration and renewal programme.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)]

The restoration and renewal programme has engaged extensively with Members of both Houses. In this House, in the last two years alone there have been about 500 interactions with MPs—for example, through briefings, engagement stands, tours and events. Given the turnover of MPs at the general election, in January one of our Deputy Speakers, the hon. Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins), wrote to Members to encourage further one-to-one meetings.

[Jayne Kirkham]

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. As a new Member, I was very lucky to have a restoration and renewal tour. My question was more about how many MPs and Lords, since the change in Government, have been able to have a look round and have some information about the plans going ahead, and is there any idea of the timeframe?

[Nick Smith]

So far there have been about 150 interactions with MPs in this Parliament, including 85 with new Members elected in 2024. Information about the three restoration and renewal options are expected to be published later this year, allowing Members to decide on the preferred way forward. We want to help Members understand the proposals prior to this important decision point. As the programme moves into the next phase and we get closer to the start of the main works, we must ramp up these interactions so that Members are informed as best as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

This is getting a little bit tired. Young people should be the focus of this House. We have already announced that £100 million of dormant assets funding will be dedicated to the provision of services, facilities and opportunities to young people, and for 2025-26, we are allocating over £85 million of capital funding to creating fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, including through the new better youth spaces fund. We are being driven by the needs of young people. I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that in addition to leaving us with an incredible economic mess, the Conservatives left us with a series of commitments to young people that did not address any of their needs, and no single youth strategy. Frankly, they should be ashamed.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to support small music venues.

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

We have Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music fund, and in addition, we are pushing the live events industry to introduce a voluntary levy on arena and gig events to support small music venues.

[Jayne Kirkham]

I have a number of crucial small venues in my constituency, including the Cornish Bank, the Chintz Bar, the Old Bakery and the Princess Pavilion, to name just a few. They are vital for the cultural ecosystem of Cornwall; they foster new talent and bring bands from outside the county down to us. I am pleased to hear that the Minister is considering a scheme in which larger venues contribute part of their takings to smaller venues. He said it would be voluntary, but if that did not work, would he consider a mandatory scheme, and what would be the timeline? Can he confirm that the business rates scheme will be formulated to support small venues from 2026?