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 heritage industries, such as thatching, to remain viable businesses.

DCMS has announced nearly £200m of new funding over four years to support heritage. This will build a pipeline of projects and demand for heritage trades. The department is in discussions with Skills England about training pathways, including heritage craft apprenticeships such as thatching, and the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions to ensure heritage-specific occupations are considered in the Growth and Skills Levy.

DCMS also supports heritage industries through Historic England, its arms length body. Historic England hosted a thatch-straw growers workshop on 11 March 2026 to support the production of thatching straw. Ministerial roundtables have been held on heritage skills with the sector to support a sustainable skills pipeline.