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 representatives of arts centres on the potential impact of their finances on their ability to provide employment for young people.

The Secretary of State meets with a range of cultural and arts organisations and discusses the issues facing them - including financial stability and their workforce issues.

After 14 years of indifference and cultural vandalism, this government is committed to making sure that the arts and culture will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few. We are working with Arts Council England and others to understand what the challenges and opportunities are for our sectors. We know that Art Centres are a key part of the Arts sector more widely and we will of course include them as we continue to engage with the sector to understand the whole picture, including employment opportunities.

The Government is also transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy, which will give employers more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need. We have started engaging with the sector to gather feedback and will continue to do so as we develop Skills England over the next 9 to 12 months.