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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reduction to local government spending announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on (a) local and (b) national arts and culture organisations.

TheSpending Review settlement puts national arts and culture organisations on a strong footing. It will ensure continued free access to national museums and galleries and allow them to pursue an ambitious agenda across this Parliament. As the Chancellor said in his Spending Review speech, "one of the best investments we can make as a nation is in our extraordinary arts, museums, heritage, media and sport".

Forecast increases to other sources of income (including business rates and council tax) mean that local government spending is forecast to be higher in cash terms in 2019/20 than in 2015/16 . Local authorities understand the importance of investing in cultural activities in their areas, and are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending.