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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) include cinemas as eligible recipients of capital funding for UK cultural venues and (b) introduce a (i) complementary and (ii) parallel funding scheme for cinemas.

Cinemas help to sustain our high streets whilst offering one of the most accessible and affordable cultural experiences for communities around the country.

In a challenging fiscal environment, we have to make difficult choices about where to direct available funding. Whilst we have no current plans to expand the eligibility criteria of existing schemes or introduce new capital funding schemes, we continue to engage with cinema stakeholders to identify options to support the sector.

Cinemas based in eligible venues can benefit from capital investment through the Creative Foundations Fund (CFF). Not-for-profit mixed arts venues in England are eligible for the CFF, including those with cinemas on site. The first round of CFF recipients included many mixed arts venues with cinemas, including Firstsite in Colchester, the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation in London, and the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre in Hexham. We are also supporting the cinema sector through permanently lower business rates multipliers; public funding schemes through the British Film Institute including the National Lottery Audience Projects Fund and the Film Audience Network; and our significant investment in stimulating production - including through generous tax credits and the £75 million Screen Growth Package we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan - which creates the strong slate of films cinemas need to thrive.