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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund 2021.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport sets objectives for grant funding when designing grant schemes and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department and its public bodies deliver all grant funding with regard to the Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants.

The Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund was created to build a lasting legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North. In 2018, it was announced that three major cultural projects across the North of England would receive a share of the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund, totalling over £11 million of public investment.

Nearly £3.3 million has been invested to enhance the visitor experience at cultural attractions across the Lake District. This has supported (i) the development of the Windermere Jetty Museum, which houses a unique collection of over 40 historic lake boats and was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize; (ii) Dove Cottage, home to William Wordsworth for a decade, which has undergone restoration work; and (iii) Abbot Hall Museum, where essential works were carried out, and which reopened on 19 May 2023.

A total of £4 million has been invested to help transform the vacant former Bradford Odeon cinema into a 3,800-capacity live music, entertainment and events venue, due to open in 2024.

£4 million has been invested to support the creation of a new museum in Blackpool which will celebrate the town’s history as the UK’s first mass seaside holiday resort. ‘Showtown’ Blackpool is due to open in March 2024, with additional backing from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and notable philanthropic foundations.