Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many West Yorkshire based organisations he has met in the last 12 months.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
Ministers routinely meet with a range of organisations. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis on Gov.uk
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the recent representations made to his Department on establishing a UK Creators Council as a mechanism to improve communication between the Government and representatives from the creative workforce.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government engages regularly with a wide range of leading industry experts in the creative industries, including through the Creative Industries Council (CIC), a forum for Government and industry to convene and share information, and discuss concerns and opportunities. The CIC is formed of a broad range of representative bodies across the sub-sectors of the creative industries.
In January, we received a joint letter from a range of representative bodies including the Design and Artists Copyright Society, the Association of Authors’ Agents and the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain among others. The letter called for the creation of a UK Creators’ Council and highlighted their concern that the issues faced by the UK’s creative industries workforce were not being heard, in particular during this Covid crisis.
We would like to reaffirm that the Government and DCMS are keenly aware of the significant challenges faced by the UK creative workforce. These issues have been repeatedly discussed in both CIC meetings and in ongoing conversations with sector bodies across the creative industries. And it is partly as a result of these conversations that the Government announced the expansion of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme scheme to cover over 600,000 newly eligible self-employed individuals, and extended the Culture Recovery Fund with £300m additional funding for 21/22, to continue to support key cultural organisations.
Considering this, we believe that the interests of the creative workforce are well-represented across Government and the benefits of creating a new entity would need to be carefully weighed up against the risks of duplicating the work of existing organisations such as the CIC. However, I would be happy to discuss further ideas to ensure the creative workforce are strongly represented in Government.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking in response to allegations of racism in cricket.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. The sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’ has diversity and inclusion at its heart. However, it is ultimately for individual sports to decide on the appropriate initiatives for their circumstances.
The Government welcomes the steps taken by the English Cricket Board (ECB) in recent years to increase diversity in cricket, including the most recent establishment of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, chaired by Cindy Butts. This body looks to examine all issues relating to race and equity in cricket. It will play an important role in ensuring inclusivity, and that cricket is a game for everyone, at all levels.
There is still more to do, however, and we will continue to liaise with the ECB to ensure this issue is tackled effectively.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the reading habits of (a) adults and (b) children.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
DCMS has not undertaken an assessment of adults’ or children’s reading habits during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are aware the publishing industry has reported that, while sales of fiction and digital formats rose over the first six months of 2020, total book sales across the industry fell by 11% in that period.
The Government recognises the importance of English skills both in work and everyday life. Whilst we do not track the reading habits of adults, the Government does provide full funding for learners who do not have a level 2 qualification in English who need to improve their literacy skills.
The Government is also committed to continuing to raise literacy standards – ensuring all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can read fluently and with understanding. Recognising the importance of reading during the disruption to education caused by Covid-19, a Reading Together Day was held on 16 July 2020 to celebrate the benefits of reading.
Understanding the impact of the Covid-19 disruption on students is a priority for the Government, and the Department for Education has commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to provide a baseline assessment of catch up needs for pupils in schools in England and monitor progress over the course of the year. The Department for Education will publish interim findings prior to the final research report being published in October 2021.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage reading during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Many people have sought comfort in reading during this pandemic period. Before libraries physically closed their doors last March, public libraries allowed people to take out many books, suspended late fines and then moved swiftly to digital and online services, investing in ebooks and audio. During March 2020 new registrations to access libraries econtent increased by over 600%.
Through national regulations Government has enabled public libraries to continue to offer an “order and collect” provision, as well as home lending services for vulnerable users. We are also pleased to support The Reading Agency’s new campaign: Read, Talk, Share - which will combat loneliness and promote wellbeing through bibliotherapy, working closely with local libraries to reach struggling communities.
In addition we have worked with the Department for Education to remind parents and children that libraries continue to provide free access to reading material, both physically and digitally, through library membership.
Beyond libraries, the Government has supported the publishing industry during the pandemic, to help ensure readers can continue to enjoy the benefits that come with a thriving UK publishing sector. This support has included introducing a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, which was brought forward to 1 May 2020, which ensures e-publications are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the recipients of the Cultural Recovery Fund are located in West Yorkshire; and what proportion of that fund has been spent in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Last year the government announced the unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the culture sector, of which over £1 billion has now been allocated to over 3,000 arts and culture organisations across the country. This Culture Recovery Fund is supporting the arts and culture sector to survive the pandemic and continue operating.
According to the latest figures, 4% of CRF recipients are located in West Yorkshire and just under 5% of the Culture Recovery Fund has been spent in West Yorkshire.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support the economic recovery of (a) UK publishing industry exports and (b) other creative exports.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ creative sectors including the publishing industry. Through regular ministerial-led roundtables, working groups and contact with DCMS officials, we will continue to work with the publishing sector to assess and understand the difficulties it faces in these challenging times and through recovery.
The Government has provided unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. The Government’s response has been one of the most generous and comprehensive in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounceback Loan Scheme and business rates reliefs.
The publishing sector has also benefited from the government's introduction of a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, which was brought forward to 1st May this year. It ensures e-publications are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts.
We are continuing to meet with creative industries stakeholders to provide support and guidance for the sector during this time.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department to taking to support (a) SME publishing businesses and (b) other creative SMEs who were either not eligible for or did not receive funding from the Culture Recovery Fund.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Through regular ministerial-led roundtables, working groups and contact with DCMS officials, we will continue to work with the publishing sector to assess and understand the difficulties businesses across the creative industries, including SME publishing businesses, face in these challenging times and through recovery.
Regarding other creative SMEs, the CRF complements wider measures to support businesses. Cultural organisations have benefited from, and should continue to explore, the wide variety of additional funding made available by Government beyond the CRF, including the Job Retention Scheme; a reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% for tourism and hospitality firms for six months; and the Bounce Back Loans scheme. The publishing sector has also benefited specifically from the government's introduction of a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, which will make it clear e-publications are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts.
The CRF has not been fully allocated and DCMS and the Culture Recovery Board will take decisions in the coming weeks on how best to allocate the remaining funds to best support the sector.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether organisations in receipt of Government grants under the Cultural Recovery Fund grants programme are able to access the (a) provisions for re-hiring staff and (b) all other elements of the coronavirus job retention scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Organisations in receipt of Culture Recovery grant funding are still able to access other Government support schemes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. However recipients should not claim support for the same staff costs from multiple government schemes, and should rehire staff if it is right for them.
Where organisations have questions about the interaction between the culture recovery fund and the job retention scheme, they should speak to their relevant arms length body - Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England or the British Film Institute.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding he has made available to support Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The UK Government expects funding for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 to come from a range of sources. Every effort will be made to ensure that any activities and programmes for the Jubilee do not impose an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer.