Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 including capital purchase costs for the acquisition of (a) run‑down or (b) former cultural venues within the eligibility criteria of the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. 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.
We have worked with the sector to understand the variety of capital needs it is facing. Through this assessment we know there is a significant urgent need for organisations at risk of closure if urgent capital works are not completed. This fund will offer vital support to prevent the closure of operating cultural spaces and the potential irrevocable loss this would have to local communities and economies. However, property purchases have been excluded from the CFF. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
Looking ahead, we know that the cultural sector continues to have significant capital needs. This is why the recent Spending Review committed to significant capital spend that will support cultural institutions in towns and cities across the country. Individual programme decisions will be determined in due course and made public in the usual way.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been raised for grassroot music venues to date via the voluntary ticket levy; and what steps her Department plans to take monitor progress of the grassroots ticket levy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sector reporting shows 15% of 2025 tickets on sale since April now include the levy, totaling 1.8 million tickets since January. Summer ticket sales and the establishment of the LIVE Trust should mean greater uptake by Autumn. If not, the government will reconvene the live music sector to consider legislative options.
We are urging major promoters - whose participation is crucial to the levy’s success - to act without delay, and I recently met Live Nation to encourage them to back the scheme in earnest. I would also urge every major artist to encourage their team to sign up to the levy as a matter of urgency so that at least a majority of qualifying tickets carry the levity by the end of the year.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 27 February 2025 to Question 31023 on Gambling: Young People, how many video game companies have adopted the new guidance produced by the Technical Working Group of video game representatives; and what her planned timeline is for the publication of the commissioned independent academic research on its effectiveness.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone.
Following the publication of industry-led guidance on loot boxes in video games, my Department continues to work with independent academic researchers to assess the extent of implementation by video games companies and its effectiveness in improving player protections. This work is continuing and although we do not have the precise number he requests, we will publish findings in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 rural (a) museum and (b) arts and music venues in (i) Mid Derbyshire constituency and (ii) the East Midlands.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund on 20 February. This will include support to museums, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.
This is in addition to steps already being taken to support arts and culture via the Arts Council England (ACE). In the East Midlands, ACE is providing regular National Portfolio funding to 72 organisations from 2023-2027. This includes more than £8.7 million to nine museum services including Derby Museums and Creswell Crags. £4.8 million has been awarded to eight music organisations including Derby based Baby People and Sinfonia Viva (the orchestra of the East Midlands).
Across the East Midlands, since 2021, ACE has also awarded £37.5 million to music organisations and projects via the Grassroots Music Fund, and £7.5 million to regional museum projects via the Museum Estate and Development Fund.
In the Mid Derbyshire constituency, ACE has supported eight individual artists since 2021 through its Developing your Creative Practice grants, providing a total of £73,111 of funding across visual arts and music. ACE has also made six awards across combined arts, literature, theatre and museums in the constituency through National Lottery Grants, totalling more than £272,000.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 ensure the museum sector contributes to her Department's tourism-related objectives.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has set out its ambition for the United Kingdom to welcome 50 million international visitors per year by 2030, as part of its plans for the country to remain one of the most visited worldwide, driving economic growth. The new Visitor Economy Advisory Council has been appointed to identify ways to drive economic growth and remove barriers to opportunities in DCMS sectors.
Many tourists cite our vibrant culture and heritage offer as one of their main motivators for visiting the UK. We are providing additional support to our national museums and galleries with a 5% uplift to their budgets, along with £120m for critical estates maintenance in 2025/26, to help our most visited sites across the country to continue to be open to the world.
Our historical and creative heritage are crucial in driving tourism to all parts of the country; alongside continued Arts Council England and Local Authority investment, we are also supporting our regional museums via the new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, and a new £25m round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 ensure successful partnerships between civic museums and industry to address the skills gap.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to making sure that cultural venues up and down this country are supported to reach their full potential.
That is why the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund on the 20th February, to support museums, arts venues, libraries, and heritage sites nationwide. This major investment will create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.
As part of this package, £45 million will be going to local and civic museums through the Museum Renewal Fund and Museum Estate and Development Fund to help tackle urgent infrastructure issues, preserve community programmes and protect these treasured institutions for generations to come. This is a major step being taken by this Government to support regional museums.
The large, diverse collections held by civic museums serve as a rich source of creativity and inspiration, fuelling our Creative Industries ecology and inspiring the creatives of tomorrow. Museum and industry partnerships can be hugely beneficial. To give a local example, Derby’s Museum of Making has a well-established partnership with Rolls Royce, supporting its ‘Institute of Steam’ learning programme, aiming to equip young people with crucial design, technology and engineering skills.