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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders to improve support for local arts in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.

The Secretary of State and her ministerial team engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts organisations and museums. In February 2025, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, with organisations across the North East already benefitting. This includes the £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, with over £1.2 million awarded to museums in the North East in October, and £483k specifically for the North East Museums group to support activities across Northumberland museums, including Hexham Old Gaol. This funding is additional to core museums funding delivered through Arts Council England, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, which sees over £3.3 million a year invested in the North East Museums group amongst others.

The Department continues to work with stakeholders to provide additional support for local museums and galleries in 2025/26, through the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) tackling maintenance backlogs, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, currently open for applications.

The Arts Everywhere Fund will also deliver £85 million of investment through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts and cultural organisations, including local arts centres, to address urgent estate issues, ensuring buildings and infrastructure are fit for future generations. In addition, Ministers have commissioned a formal review of ACE, the body responsible for distributing arts funding across England. The review is considering all aspects of ACE’s work and investment, and will report this Autumn.