Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will meet representatives of (a) Rugby Football Union, (b) Premiership Rugby, (c) Championship Clubs and (d) Community Clubs Union to discuss (i) future governance, (ii) financial stability and (iii) executive pay.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby to discuss the future of the sport, and my department is in regular contact with the rugby union authorities.
The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport. My department does not intend to conduct a review into the finances or governance of rugby union at this time.
My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the Rugby Football Union, (b) Premiership Rugby and (c) the Rugby Players Association on the issues facing rugby union.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby to discuss the future of the sport, and my department is in regular contact with the rugby union authorities.
The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport. My department does not intend to conduct a review into the finances or governance of rugby union at this time.
My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will undertake a review of (a) financial pressures and (b) governance challenges facing rugby union in England.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby to discuss the future of the sport, and my department is in regular contact with the rugby union authorities.
The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport. My department does not intend to conduct a review into the finances or governance of rugby union at this time.
My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 help support the (a) TV and (b) film industry outside of London.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the TV and film industry across every nation and region.
Our TV sector, in particular, is centralised in London and the South East, which is why my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State has called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission more content from right across the UK. My Department is taking forward work to understand the barriers to further growing the industry outside of London and we are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.
Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films. We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector.
We support the British Film Commission’s (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, over the last five years. This funding has supported the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent. This will mean that for the first time productions with a budget up to £15 million will be eligible for a relief of 53% on qualifying expenditure. Films with a budget up to £23.5 million are also eligible for the IFTC and the relief will be tapered. We also support indie content across the nations and regions to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF).
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that from 1 April 2025, UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), for an overall rate of 39%.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations across the UK as part of its international tourism marketing activity.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to conclude her review of Arts Council England.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The previous public body review of Arts Council England was paused during the election and has now been closed.
We have announced a new review of Arts Council England and further details will be announced in due course.
After 14 years of indifference and cultural vandalism, this government is committed to making sure that arts and cultural activities will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Universal Studios on proposals for a theme park in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS supports NBCUniversal’s proposal to invest in Bedfordshire. A world-class, large-scale resort and theme park has the potential to transform the area, drive growth, create thousands of jobs and boost UK tourism.
The details of conversations between private investors and the Government are confidential.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 Universal Studios’ proposed theme park to be situated in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS supports NBCUniversal’s proposal to invest in Bedfordshire. A world-class, large-scale resort and theme park has the potential to transform the area, drive growth, create thousands of jobs and boost UK tourism.
The details of conversations between private investors and the Government are confidential.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the Government’s response to the consultation entitled The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are currently considering the responses to the consultation that we received, and hope to publish a response in the near future.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of proposals for the regulation of short-term lets on the tourism industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Short-term lets are integral to our visitor economy and we know they bring a range of benefits to the UK on a national and local scale. We believe that communities in tourism hot spots need to be able to benefit from a thriving tourism sector, but they also must be able to access genuinely affordable housing to rent or buy in their local area. DCMS and MHCLG continue to discuss their respective policies to ensure a joined up approach that looks at the short-term lets sector as a whole. DCMS will be examining the impact of the registration scheme for short-term lets on the sector through an impact assessment and will update in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 local journalism.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Culture Secretary has announced our intention to develop a local media strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector and with a view to helping ensure it can continue to tell the stories that matter in communities. We are working across Government as we develop this strategy and see how we can improve local communities’ access to news.