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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the report Why collect? published by the Art Fund in January 2018, if he will make an assessment of (a) the implications for his policies of the Heritage Lottery Fund's recent announcement of a reduction to its grant-making budget for 2018-19 and (b) the effect of that funding reduction on museums and galleries.

The recent Mendoza Review: an independent review of museums in England found that over the last ten years public funding to museums and galleries in England has totalled over £8.4 billion, including £912m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. While the fall in lottery receipts will necessitate a reduction in the amount of funds distributed, the Heritage Lottery Fund will still support a broad range of heritage across the UK, including museums and galleries. Investment at a local level has been protected as far as possible to maximise the coverage, spread and number of grants. However, because HLF funds are based on applications and does not allocate specific amounts per sector, it is not possible to estimate the level of funding provided to museums and galleries in coming years.