Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has made on developing a national Cultural Infrastructure Map; and whether it will identify (a) areas of under-provision and (b) existing cultural assets.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is not currently developing a national Cultural Infrastructure Map. However, extensive work has been undertaken by Arts Council England and Historic England to effectively map the cultural and heritage infrastructure of England. The Arts Council's Culture and Place Data Explorer maps the currently available datasets related to cultural services across the country, including the location of Theatres, Libraries, ACE accredited museums and charitable organisations delivering culture, heritage and science related activities. Additionally Historic England publishes data relating to assets such as heritage sites, heritage at risk and conservation areas. This data can be found on their website. In addition to this the department has undertaken work to map areas of low engagement and underprovision to help in selecting Culture Priority Places. The methodology will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 to ensure that grassroots artists and cultural organisations in post-industrial towns can access funding streams to support creative economy growth.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to supporting grassroots cultural organisations and spurring local creative economy growth.
We launched the Creative Foundations Fund in February 2025, as part of our £1.5bn Arts Everywhere investment. This will invest up to £425m in arts and cultural organisations in England over five years.
The Creative Places Growth Fund will provide £150m of devolved funding across six Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England to turbocharge local creative industries.
Moreover, places across the UK, including many post-industrial towns, have had the opportunity to bid into the UK City of Culture and UK Town of Culture competitions. Notably, both competitions have guaranteed funding to the winners of £10m and £3m respectively.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 potential impact of neurodivergent workers on the creative industries; and what steps she is taking to improve data collection, access, progression and workplace support for those workers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The continued success of the creative industries is dependent on the diverse people who work within them, and we value and support the potential of neurodivergent workers and their impact on the creative industries. Whilst we already publish employment data broken down by disability status in the creative industries, the Creative Industries Sector Plan committed DCMS to tackling barriers to data collection. We will continue to work with industry to develop new data and evidence and improve access to official statistics, evidence and data, both of which are important to understand representation of neurodiverse people in our creative sectors.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we work closely with the Disability and Access Ambassador for the creative industries to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the industry for disabled people. We also committed in our Sector Plan to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service, to raise awareness of creative careers and support young people from all backgrounds. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, ensuring inclusive access for young people outside major urban centres, including those with SEND or other access considerations. Our Creative Careers Programme work experience pilot successfully engaged a diverse and inclusive group of young people, with 81% of the young people who completed a placement in the last year having identified access or additional needs.
The government can't achieve our goals alone, which is why we work closely with the sector to improve inclusivity, through the Creative Industries Council, and our continued support for the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA). We have been pleased to see vital industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity, such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve diversity and representation, and create career opportunities for all.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 potential merits of consulting on sub‑quotas within future investment obligations to ensure a defined proportion of streamer spend is directed to independent UK producers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s independent production sector plays a vital role in our world-leading creative economy. We recognise that the current market is challenging for many independent producers, which is why we are providing support though a generous 53% tax credit for independent production; through scaling up the UK Global Screen Fund from £7 million to £18 million a year so it can better support independent production, distribution and business development; and through a £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund for six priority areas to support their creative industries, for example by boosting their local screen ecologies.
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan also commits to removing barriers to growth by supporting better access to finance, including through increased support from public finance institutions such as the British Business Bank to increase the pool of debt and equity finance available to the creative industries, with a specific focus on IP-backed lending.
We want our film and TV sector to remain vibrant and dynamic, where production companies of all sizes can create, collaborate and invest in the UK. We have been clear that we do not believe that introducing levies or investment obligations on streamers is the right way to achieve this. We will however continue to engage with major streaming services, with the independent production sector and with Public Service Broadcasters on how best to ensure mutually beneficial conditions for all parties.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of providing support for independent producers impacted by inflation in talent, locations and IP acquisition.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s independent production sector plays a vital role in our world-leading creative economy. We recognise that the current market is challenging for many independent producers, which is why we are providing support though a generous 53% tax credit for independent production; through scaling up the UK Global Screen Fund from £7 million to £18 million a year so it can better support independent production, distribution and business development; and through a £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund for six priority areas to support their creative industries, for example by boosting their local screen ecologies.
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan also commits to removing barriers to growth by supporting better access to finance, including through increased support from public finance institutions such as the British Business Bank to increase the pool of debt and equity finance available to the creative industries, with a specific focus on IP-backed lending.
We want our film and TV sector to remain vibrant and dynamic, where production companies of all sizes can create, collaborate and invest in the UK. We have been clear that we do not believe that introducing levies or investment obligations on streamers is the right way to achieve this. We will however continue to engage with major streaming services, with the independent production sector and with Public Service Broadcasters on how best to ensure mutually beneficial conditions for all parties.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to support rights retention for independent producers in negotiations with global streaming platforms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s independent production sector plays a vital role in our world-leading creative economy. We recognise that the current market is challenging for many independent producers, which is why we are providing support though a generous 53% tax credit for independent production; through scaling up the UK Global Screen Fund from £7 million to £18 million a year so it can better support independent production, distribution and business development; and through a £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund for six priority areas to support their creative industries, for example by boosting their local screen ecologies.
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan also commits to removing barriers to growth by supporting better access to finance, including through increased support from public finance institutions such as the British Business Bank to increase the pool of debt and equity finance available to the creative industries, with a specific focus on IP-backed lending.
We want our film and TV sector to remain vibrant and dynamic, where production companies of all sizes can create, collaborate and invest in the UK. We have been clear that we do not believe that introducing levies or investment obligations on streamers is the right way to achieve this. We will however continue to engage with major streaming services, with the independent production sector and with Public Service Broadcasters on how best to ensure mutually beneficial conditions for all parties.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 to support the continued inclusion of UK (a) film and (b) television content within the definition of European works in the forthcoming revision of the EU’s Audio-visual Media Services Directive.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the UK is no longer an EU Member State, it is not formally involved in the review of the EU’s Audiovisual & Media Services Directive. However, the Government routinely engages with European partners (EU institutions, EU Member States and non-EU countries) – for example, through DCMS Minister of State Ian Murray’s attendance at an EU Informal Council in Copenhagen of culture and media ministers on 3 and 4 November.
It is clear from this engagement that there is a solid understanding in Europe of the valuable contribution that the UK makes to the European audiovisual ecosystem and the benefits of working together. Through this engagement, we collaborate with our partners on shared policy challenges, celebrate our cultural diversity, drive growth in our respective sectors, and make the case for continued European works status for UK content.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 to help increase the number of companies making charitable donations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Corporations donate around £4 billion per year to charity. This Government has three priorities for philanthropy, to: connect philanthropic investment with the places that need it most; unlock extra philanthropic investment; and partner with civil society, communities, donors and businesses to celebrate a culture of giving. This includes championing existing reliefs and ways to donate, with Government granting around £1 billion a year in tax relief for companies' donations.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to help encourage companies to give more to charity.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Corporations donate around £4 billion per year to charity. This Government has three priorities for philanthropy, to: connect philanthropic investment with the places that need it most; unlock extra philanthropic investment; and partner with civil society, communities, donors and businesses to celebrate a culture of giving. This includes championing existing reliefs and ways to donate, with Government granting around £1 billion a year in tax relief for companies' donations.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of times the guidance set out in the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice on (a) fee transparency on charging commission on Gift Aid and (b) giving equal prominence to a zero fee or tip option has been breached in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Fundraising platforms are commercial organisations that provide an important service to charities and donors. Many charities ask online fundraising platforms to claim Gift Aid on donations made on their platform for the charity, and pay a fee for this service to be provided because it is cost effective and efficient to do so. No estimate has been made at this time on the potential impact of banning the charging commission on Gift Aid on revenues to charities.
Most platforms are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which is the independent, non-statutory regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Fundraising Regulator’s new Code of Fundraising Practice, which will come into force on 1 November 2025, includes requirements for fundraising platforms to include information for donors about how fees, including any voluntary tips, are calculated. The Fundraising Regulator will engage with fundraising platforms to ensure they are clear on the new transparency requirements for fees and tipping sliders before the new Code comes into effect.
DCMS does not hold information centrally about breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice. The below information was provided by the Fundraising Regulator.
The Fundraising Regulator issued guidance for fundraising platforms on 17 February 2023.To date since the guidance was published, the Regulator has closed a total of 20 cases where there were complaints about a "tip" being taken by a platform. None involved a breach of the Code because information about fees, including the tip, was provided even if it could have been clearer or made easier for donors to choose not to tip. In the same period, there were seven complaints relating to Gift Aid but none were about commissions, fees or tips on fundraising platforms so there was no breach of the Code.
DCMS will continue working with the Fundraising Regulator, charities, and online giving platforms to support best practice across all forms of charitable fundraising.