Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the (1) funding, and (2) engagement, with the band Kneecap, with reference to the guidance published on 14 March 2024 Government's principles of engagement.

The Department of Business and Trade decided not to award a grant to Heavenly Records. My Department has not had any engagement with Kneecap and is currently reviewing how the scheme operates, with the intention of introducing appropriate eligibility criteria for any future grant rounds, to address the risk that an artist or the applicant awarded support may say or behave in a way that could bring the scheme into disrepute.