Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 4.83 of the Autumn Budget 2017, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating some of that funding for cultural projects to support regeneration and local growth in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.

We recognise the powerful role that culture plays in regeneration and local growth, and we are committed to ensuring these benefits are spread across the country. The Great Exhibition of the North will be the largest event in England in 2018 and a game-changing moment for the North of England. Further announcements on how the funding announced at Budget will be invested will follow in due course.