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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address concerns about the level of government funding for classical music, including the funding of institutions such as the English National Opera and the Welsh National Opera.

We are committed to ensuring that creativity and culture can be enjoyed by everyone, not just by the privileged few. This applies equally to classical music and opera as it does to any
other musical genre.

In addition to their earned income and philanthropic support, the ENO and WNO are funded by arms’ lengths bodies including Arts Council England and the Welsh Arts Council, whose decisions
are made independently of government.

The Government is aware of the significant financial challenges facing many arts organisations and the new Secretary of State for Culture will be working closely with the cultural sector at large to
support them to thrive.

The Creating Growth plan for the Creative Industries which was published in March sets out a number of early priorities for the new Government in relation to the arts and culture - and includes commitments to review Arts Council England, attract more funding from different sources for arts organisations, and ensure every child gets a good creative education.