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

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to improve access to the arts and culture in the regions and nations of the UK.

As cultural funding and policy is a devolved issue, I will focus on the work we do across England.

Through the Arts Council England (ACE), we are investing and promoting the arts and culture all around the country and will continue to do so. There continues to be a shift in ACE's National Portfolio funding outside London, increasing from 53.8% outside London in 2012-15 to 60.3% in 2018-22.

As part of this, ACE expects the organisations they fund to ensure that their cultural offer is accessible to as many people as possible. A great example of this is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s increasing number of “relaxed performances” which make the theatre more accessible to a neurodiverse audience.

In October 2019, the Government also announced a £250m Cultural Investment Fund (CIF) - of which £125m will be invested in regional libraries and museums across the country, helping these cultural institutions to enhance their offer and benefit every more people.