Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the sustainability of local news outlets in (a) Ribble Valley and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Ribble Valley and Lancashire. The Government understands the important work that local news does across the UK, including outlets such as the Lancs Live and the Lancashire Telegraph. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.
We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 provide financial support to professionals in the creative sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government provides financial support to creative professionals through DCMS funding programmes, grants from arm’s length bodies and wider government support, including through InnovateUK.
The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out an ambitious target to increase annual investment in the Creative Industries from £17 billion to £31 billion by 2035 and delivers £380 million of targeted spending in the sector over the next Spending Review. This builds on the £40 million in funding announced earlier this year, supporting cross-sector initiatives plus programmes in music, video games, film and TV.