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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support people working in the heritage sector.

The workforce and volunteers in our cherished heritage sector are critical to preserving our rich heritage for the benefit of future generations, and sharing it with the widest audience.

In November 2022, Historic England convened a cross-sector Heritage Skills Forum to provide a collective view of the skills challenges facing the sector, and to prioritise action to tackle them. Focusing on the longer term, DCMS public bodies are nurturing a skills pipeline to help preserve vital skills in the sector through training and apprenticeships programmes. For instance, a £4.3 million grant from The Hamish Ogston Foundation is generously helping to fund a heritage apprenticeship programme across the North of England delivered by Historic England.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique challenge to the sector, with many heritage professionals unable to work. To support people and organisations in the face of this challenge, HM Government delivered the unprecedented £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund. This included the Heritage Stimulus Fund, which supported over 700 historic sites, allowing them to restart vital construction and maintenance projects and to preserve heritage visitor attractions. The Heritage Stimulus Fund also helped to establish a pipeline for skilled craftspeople and heritage construction.

Recent and ongoing challenges such as the rising cost of living and energy prices have created additional pressures for many heritage organisations. The Government has provided support through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme and with additional support to Energy and Trade Intensive Industries. This support will ensure that various sector employers are protected from the impact of higher energy bills and are able to remain operational and financially resilient, providing greater security to the workers they employ.

Ministers regularly engage with people working across the sector to show our appreciation for the work they do, and to hear how else we can support them.