Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to widen access to culture and heritage.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring as many people as possible can access our world-class museums, galleries and heritage sites, regardless of their background or where they live. Our Arm’s-Length Bodies deliver much of this good work.
For example, following a request from HM Government to ensure that the taxpayer subsidy it allocates is more equitably spread around the country, Arts Council England will be investing £446 million each year in 2023-2026 to support 990 organisations across the whole of England. This is more than ever before, and in more places than ever before.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on the consultation on the introduction of a Tourist Accommodation Registration Scheme in England.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Prior to Covid-19, we had been planning to explore the merits and feasibility of introducing a Tourist Accomodation Registration Scheme.
The Government intends to publish a call for evidence on matters associated with short term holiday lettings in early 2022.
This will assist in developing proportionate, evidence-based policy options for a subsequent consultation.
The Government is committed to hearing the views of all interested parties as part of this call for evidence.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2020 to Question 128274, what support allocated to the cinema sector remains unallocated as at 25 January 2021; and how his Department plans to distribute the remaining funding.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the significant cultural and economic value of cinemas, and has supported them through both sector-specific and economy-wide measures during the COVID-19 crisis.
In the first round of the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, more than 200 independent cinemas have so far received funding. As of 25 January 2021, £16.6m has been awarded from the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas, managed by the British Film Institute on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This is from the £30m pot allocated as part of the Fund’s first round.
We have agreed a thorough and robust assessment process for the Fund and are confident in the process established to support the sector. The BFI are continuing to process and assess a small number of outstanding applications, so we cannot confirm the final round one award total at this stage.
Further to this funding, we announced in December that cinemas will be able to apply to a pot of up to £14 million in grants as part of the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund in 2021. This will support cinemas as they transition back to a viable and sustainable operating model from April to June 2021.
In addition to the Culture Recovery Fund, cinemas have also benefited from economy-wide measures including the VAT cut on tickets and concessions, a business rates holiday, access to Bounce Back Loans, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Local Restrictions Support Grants.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund has yet to be allocated; to what programmes and projects funding has already been allocated; and when he plans to announce the mechanism for allocating the remaining funding.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As of 11 December, £1 billion worth of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund has been allocated across all four nations of the UK. That includes:
Direct support to national institutions and the Devolved Administrations, who have received £188 million through the Barnett formula;
Over £500million in recovery grants to almost 3000 arts and heritage organisations in England;
Over £100million in capital grants;
And over £160million in generous repayable finance to some of our most iconic national institutions
Some capital awards and independent cinema recovery grant awards are still to be allocated - this will happen over the coming weeks.
Additionally, a second round of funding was announced on 11 December, which utilises the remaining Culture Recovery Fund funding. There will be over £300m available in grants delivered by DCMS’ delivery partners, and £100m of repayable finance delivered by Arts Council England specifically.
Further information on this will be available shortly.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) equity of the distribution of the grants awarded under the Culture Recovery Fund; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Culture Recovery Fund has so far awarded grants to over 2000 cultural organisations, both big and small, with more funding to be awarded in the coming weeks.
This is public money, so rigorous criteria have rightly been applied to ensure we are supporting organisations that have national and local importance, and those that play a key role in the levelling up agenda. Criteria included applicants being able to show that they have a sustainable, viable plan and that this funding would help them to continue trading. The Arm’s Length Bodies delivering the funding (Arts Council England, British Film Institute, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England) are confident they have applied them in all decision making.
In addition, the independent Culture Recovery Board, chaired by Sir Damon Buffini, was created to increase assurance over the delivery of the Culture Recovery Fund programme, and to bring a range of external expertise across culture, heritage, creative industries and museums sectors to support decision making. The board members' role is to offer regional, sectoral and commercial expertise and to bring rigour to decision-making.
The split of organisations who have already been allocated funding demonstrates a balanced picture across regions. The last round of funding was announced on 7 November and allocated over £33 million to 170 arts and heritage organisations, of which 70% was allocated outside London.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) campaigners for a Government-backed insurance scheme for the UK live events industry and (b) representatives of the Let LIVE Thrive campaign.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We are aware that there are calls for a Government backed insurance scheme for live events. I am grateful for the evidence provided and I know DCMS and Treasury colleagues are monitoring the situation together with the sector.
We are continuing to meet with live events stakeholders to provide support and guidance for venues to re-open and stage live events.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to support and ratify the Beijing Treaty on Audio-Visual Performances to extend the economic and moral rights of actors and performers in audio-visual performances including films, videos and television programmes.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The UK fully supports the Beijing Treaty on Audio-Visual Performances (BTAP) and signed it on 11 June 2013. The UK has now left the EU, and the Government will consider when and how to ratify and implement BTAP as part of its future policy agenda. Any future changes to UK legislation in this area will need to be subject to public consultation and impact assessment.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will publish guidance on the safe re-opening of dance studios; and whether those studios will be allowed to reopen before the end of June 2020.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The ambition is to reopen the arts sector as part of Step 3 of the government’s roadmap, no earlier than the 4th July, subject to the scientific and medical advice at the time.
In order to ensure appropriate support and guidance is given to the cultural sector, DCMS has established the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Entertainment and Events working group which include extensive membership from artists and performers. These groups specifically include representatives for the dance sector, such as One Dance UK. Full details of the Taskforce can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/culture-secretary-announces-cultural-renewal-taskforce, and the Entertainment and Events Working Group can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/cultural-renewal-taskforce-and-supporting-working-groups#entertainment-and-events-members.
DCMS officials and ministers have also held regular calls with representatives from across the arts and cultural sector and these have included a number of dance organisations and representatives including Sadler’s Wells and Northern Ballet.
The Taskforce and Working Groups will be focusing on ensuring that COVID-19 secure guidelines are developed in line with the phasing ambitions and public health directions, building on the existing guidance and providing intelligence and sector-specific expert input.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department is providing to the commercial theatre sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including commercial theatre, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.
£90 million is being made available to National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and Creative People and Places (CPPs) lead organisations. £50 million is being made available to organisations that are not in receipt of regular funding from the Arts Council in order to maintain their survival through this crisis. Finally £20 million of financial support is being made available to individuals, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures that are needed to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector.
The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Arts sector extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector. DCMS is engaging with other departments to support the economic response, by ensuring that the needs of its sectors, and those who work in them, are understood. DCMS will continue to work with this valuable sector to understand the difficulties it faces and help it access support through these challenging times and through recovery.