Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide a timetable for the review of Arts Council England.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A review of Arts Council England was publicly announced by the Cabinet Office on 23 September 2023 as part of its annual list of Public Body Reviews. The next steps will be announced via a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the potential impact of increases in the cost of (a) live music and (b) theatre tickets in the last 12 months on inflation.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The independent Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing and publishing inflation figures. Information on price changes for cultural services can be found here: Consumer price inflation tables - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will Chair the group established to implement the Carney Review recommendations.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State will be chairing the first meeting of the implementation group taking place in March. The implementation group will include key-decision makers across industry with responsibility for taking forward the Review recommendations.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on implementing the non-regulatory reforms on player (a) welfare and (b) support outlined in her Department's policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, published on 23 February 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In the football governance white paper, the Government set out a clear expectation for industry to take further action on player welfare and support. It is for industry to implement these reforms, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has had a number of discussions with the sector to discuss this work.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's policy paper entitled Clarifications of the rules for cultural tax reliefs, updated on 22 November 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to section 1217FA of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 on (a) immersive and (b) experiential experimental work.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Provided immersive or experimental productions meet all the qualifying criteria for theatrical productions as set out in Section 1217FA of the Corporation Tax Act 2009, they should be entitled to Theatre Tax Relief.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on consultation with creative industry stakeholders on changes to cultural tax reliefs.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since 2010, the Government has supported the success of the creative industries with tax reliefs across the board: from film and TV, to animation, video games, children’s TV, animation, orchestras, museums and galleries, and theatre.
All in all, our screen sector tax reliefs alone are estimated to have delivered over 200,000 new jobs and more than £13 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA).
These tax reliefs have played a vital role in making the UK’s creative industries world leading, attracting investment and generating jobs and economic growth across the country.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Ministers and officials regularly engage with my HM Treasury counterparts on matters relating to the creative industries, including on cultural sector tax matters.
Reforms to the film, TV and video games tax reliefs were announced at Autumn Statement 2022 and were subject to a 12-week policy consultation. HM Treasury met with creative industry stakeholders during this consultation period.
Draft legislation for these reforms, and for separate technical clarifications to the cultural tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries tax reliefs were published in July 2023. The draft legislation was also subject to a 12-week consultation. HM Treasury met with creative industry stakeholders during the consultation period.
To maximise the potential of the UK’s cutting-edge production industry and help incubate unique British talent, the Government’s Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit and the Video Games Expenditure Credit came into force on 1 January 2024.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to confirm the next Chair of the BBC.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As per the BBC Royal Charter, the BBC Chair appointment is made by Order in Council. The appointment of Dr Samir Shah CBE as the next Chair of the BBC will be put to the next meeting of the Privy Council for final approval, due to take place in February.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 implications for her policies of the report entitled Black Representation in English Professional Football published by the Black Footballers Partnership in January 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government supports calls for further action to be taken on a range of issues in the domestic game, including equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome the industry’s ongoing efforts to improve transparency and its commitment to provide equity and fair opportunities for all. Since the publication of the Fan-Led Review, the football leagues and the Football Association (FA) have introduced enhanced equality requirements for football clubs.
The Government acknowledges that there is still more progress to be made and will continue to work with the leagues, the FA, and other organisations to encourage reform where appropriate.
It is ultimately for football’s national governing body, the FA, to decide on the specific aims and appropriate initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion in the sport.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 increase black representation in the football profession.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government supports calls for further action to be taken on a range of issues in the domestic game, including equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome the industry’s ongoing efforts to improve transparency and its commitment to provide equity and fair opportunities for all. Since the publication of the Fan-Led Review, the football leagues and the Football Association (FA) have introduced enhanced equality requirements for football clubs.
The Government acknowledges that there is still more progress to be made and will continue to work with the leagues, the FA, and other organisations to encourage reform where appropriate.
It is ultimately for football’s national governing body, the FA, to decide on the specific aims and appropriate initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion in the sport.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential correlation between children's swimming ability and their family's socio-economic status.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier - which is why in our new Sport Strategy - 'Get Active’ - we set out an ambitious strategy to boost our national health by getting 3.5 million extra active people by 2030. This includes bold targets to reach communities with the lowest levels of physical activity. Swimming can play an important role in achieving these targets, particularly among children.
In recognition of the benefits of physical activity, including swimming, and the challenges facing the sector, we are providing over £60 million of support for swimming pools. This will help ensure the long term sustainability of pools, so that children from all backgrounds can continue to access them.
Sport England’s Active Lives Survey for Children and Young People collects annual data on the engagement in, and attitudes to, sport and physical activity. The release of the 2022-23 Active Lives data for Children and Young People is scheduled for 7 December.