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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that theatres (a) outside London and (b) in Bolton North East constituency receive equitable funding from Arts Council England.

His Majesty’s Government is deeply committed to supporting theatres across the whole country, including through public funding to organisations made via Arts Council England.

The arts are for everyone, and the Government has made it a priority to ensure that funding for the arts is fairly distributed across the country. Through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 National Portfolio, increased funding of £444.6 million per annum will fund a record 985 organisations in more parts of the country than ever before. This is an increase from £410 million per annum and 828 organisations under the previous portfolio. Of the 275 new organisations joining the funding portfolio, 214 are outside London.

Overall investment in theatre has also increased through this round of the Arts Council’s investment programme – both in terms of the number of organisations supported, and the volume of funding, which is now more than £110 million per annum, encompassing 194 organisations. The Octagon Theatre in Bolton receives annual funding of £625,359. In the last three years, theatres and theatre-focused projects in the Bolton North East constituency have received over £2.5 million of funding via Arts Council England.