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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2015 to Question 223128, which of his Department's programmes fund early intervention in promoting (a) reading, (b) arts participation, (c) sports participation and (d) experiencing the arts.

The Government will have provided more than £400 million for music and cultural education programmes over the life of this parliament. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education and Arts Council England (ACE) have worked together to increase the opportunities and support for any young person who wants to get involved with the arts. This includes the creation of a National Youth Dance Company, a Museums and Schools programme and the In Harmony programme which inspires and transforms the lives of children through community-based orchestral music-making in areas of exceptional deprivation.

In January we announced £130,000 of funding for the Sorrell Foundation’s National Art and Design Saturday Clubs to support their expansion. These clubs provide 14- to 16-year-olds with the opportunity to participate for free in inspiring art classes every Saturday morning at local art and design colleges or universities. In addition, ACE National Portfolio Organisations help to promote reading by children and young people through the Reading Agency and Booktrust.

Sport England’s Satellite Clubs and Sportivate are ‘early interventions,’ getting young people playing sport at a time when they develop a sporting habit for life (14-25). A central part of its 2012-17 Youth and Community Strategy is committed to getting more young people playing sport regularly, and Sport England is investing almost £450 million to achieve this. The government is also currently funding the School Games programme (£150m from 2012 to 2016) and the PE and Sports Premium (£150m per year).