Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing people under of the age of 16 with free access to (a) museums, (b) galleries and (c) heritage assets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS sponsored museums are already free to enter for people of any age. HM Government also operates a VAT refund scheme (known as section 33a), for other museums offering free entry across the UK, with 159 museums currently benefiting from it.
Many museums, galleries and heritage sites also offer free or discounted entry to young people specifically, both through general admission or educational events and activities inside and outside school. For example, English Heritage, which manages the National Heritage Collection, offers free entry to pre-booked schools and other learning groups at any of the 400+ historic places in its care.
HM Government recognises and celebrates the critical role that museums and heritage organisations have in delivering education and supporting the national curriculum, and funds Arts Council England and Historic England to deliver the Museums and Schools and Heritage Schools programmes.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 promote the inclusion of deaf people in sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.
That is why, through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.
The Government-funded School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. Since 2010, the School Games have offered 13.4 million participation opportunities for young people.
Outside of the school day, the £57 million investment in the Opening School Facilities programme allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours. Up to 1350 schools across England have been targeted, with the funding aimed at having the most positive impact on their communities, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a range of funding to help widen access to heritage. For example, in 2020 they supported Funky Kids to enable families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments to take part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.
Arts Councils across the UK are working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs, including those who are d/Deaf.
DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which is available to a wide range of museums and galleries across England, also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion. Recent grants have supported projects at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the People’s History Museum in Manchester who are working with d/Deaf people, and other groups, to improve accessibility to their galleries and spaces.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 reduce barriers to entry for young deaf people in (a) sport and (b) other activities.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.
That is why, through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.
The Government-funded School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. Since 2010, the School Games have offered 13.4 million participation opportunities for young people.
Outside of the school day, the £57 million investment in the Opening School Facilities programme allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours. Up to 1350 schools across England have been targeted, with the funding aimed at having the most positive impact on their communities, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a range of funding to help widen access to heritage. For example, in 2020 they supported Funky Kids to enable families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments to take part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.
Arts Councils across the UK are working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs, including those who are d/Deaf.
DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which is available to a wide range of museums and galleries across England, also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion. Recent grants have supported projects at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the People’s History Museum in Manchester who are working with d/Deaf people, and other groups, to improve accessibility to their galleries and spaces.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much has been spent on repairing damage caused by pests on the Estate in each of the last three years.
Answered by Charles Walker
We do not hold the individual costs for responses to incidents logged via the Maintenance Helpdesk as these works are captured by an overall budget that covers routine maintenance and/or larger refurbishment works. It is not possible to break down this amount according to works repairing pest damage.
In February 2023, the Heritage Collections team treated 17 pieces of the Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts collection for moth infestation at a total cost of £4,512.81+VAT. There has been no other treatment in the last three years.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 provide financial support for (a) art, (b) music, (c) heritage, (d) sport and (e) other local cultural offerings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government provides funding opportunities for arts, music, heritage, sports and other cultural organisations through a range of sources, including direct Government funding, through arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authority funding.
We have delivered significant support for heritage, including the High Street Heritage Action Zones, a heritage-led regeneration programme administered by Historic England. With a budget of £95 million, this programme focuses on fostering growth in historic high streets throughout England. HM Government also supports the upkeep of listed places of worship via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allocates up to £42 million per year. This scheme provides grants for the reimbursement of VAT incurred during the maintenance of the nation's listed churches. Arm’s-length bodies, like Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, provide further support to the heritage sector through various grants, including the Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme..
We are committed to supporting the arts, music, and wider cultural sectors, including through our arm’s-length body, Arts Council England. Through its current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, in 2022/23 over £105 million of awards went to individuals and arts organisations across the country.
For sport, Government support is delivered alongside National Lottery funding through the UK Sports Councils, and UK Sport provides funding to support potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes. We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England, which receives over £100 million in public funding each year. In addition, direct Government financial support worth over £350 million is being delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, Swimming Pool Support Fund, and the tennis court refurbishment programme.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to promote the English folk music tradition in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
HM Government has a strong commitment to all forms of music, including folk traditions from around the UK and beyond. This Department’s support for folk music is delivered primarily through Arts Council England, which has engaged with the development of the English folk music scene over recent years.
The Arts Council’s primary investment in English folk music is via its National Portfolio. This programme supports organisations like Soundroots (£300,000 per annum) which runs the English Folk Expo (the annual showcase for folk, roots and acoustic music in England), and the English Folk Dance and Song Society (£96,748 per annum), which promotes English folk music and folk dance. In addition, one of Arts Council England’s new Investment Principle Support Organisations, Making Music, also supports a range of folk music ensembles.
Arts Council England has also invested £47,803 in music in Romford since 2018 through its National Lottery Project Grants. There have been no successful applications for Arts Council investment in Romford from organisations focused on English folk music, but there is an active folk scene including Haverfolk and the Romford Folk Club as well as the Romford and Brentford Folk Dance group. As these groups meet at public houses in Romford, the venues would be eligible, should they wish, to apply for funding via Arts Council England’s DCMS-supported ‘Supporting Grassroots Music’ programme. These groups could also apply for support via National Lottery Project Grants.
HM Government has also announced the intention to ratify the UNESCO 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which could help promote folk music traditions across the UK. A public consultation on the first stage of implementation is running until 29 February.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support disabled access to venues.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is committed to improving the accessibility of cultural and heritage venues across the UK for everyone.
In June 2021, the Government Disability Unit launched an enhanced programme of Disability and Access Ambassadors. As part of this, David Stanley BEM was appointed as the Arts and Culture Disability and Access Ambassador. The Department is working closely with him to improve accessibility to the sector and its venues for people with disabilities.
DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion, with recent awards including new accessible doors, lifts, ramps, and signage at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, amongst other projects.
Arts Councils across the UK are also working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in Spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times she met with the Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
David Stanley BEM was appointed as the Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture on 8 June 2021 for a term of three years. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) regularly engages with him on opportunities to support the Government’s work to widen access to culture for people with disabilities. This has included supporting Mr Stanley when he was appointed as one of the panel of experts who helped to devise the joint Department for Education and DCMS National Plan for Music Education.
On 8 February 2022, Mr Stanley met the then DCMS Ministerial Disability Champion, the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society, as part of a meeting with the other DCMS Disability and Access Ambassadors.
On 17 October 2023, the current DCMS Ministerial Disability Champion, The Rt. Hon. Stuart Andrew MP, held a roundtable discussion with all the DCMS Ambassadors to discuss young disabled people’s access and participation in DCMS sectors. The Arts and Culture Ambassador was part of this discussion.
Mr Stanley also regularly engages with the Department for Work & Pensions to discuss his work in the arts and culture sectors. For example, on 16 May 2022, Mr Stanley met the then Minister for Disabled People to provide an update on his work as Disability and Access Ambassador and to discuss his wider work as CEO of The Music Man Project. In June 2022 a video of Mr Stanley and his work was included within a presentation from the Minister at the United Nations’ 15th Conference of states parties to the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (COSP15) in New York.
On 5 June 2023, Mr Stanley met the previous Minister for Disabled People, to provide an update on his work as Disability and Access Ambassador and discuss The Music Man Project. The Rt. Hon. Penny Mordaunt MP and Anna Firth MP were also in attendance at this meeting in their roles as patrons of The Music Man Project.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the art sector on the potential impact of AI on that sector.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government recognises the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence to a range of sectors, including the arts. As set out in the Government’s recent AI White Paper, our goal is to ensure that the UK becomes an AI superpower. It is important, however, that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes risks to the creative and cultural sectors and to copyright-holders.
The Secretary of State and Ministers have held a number of meetings with people and organisations from across the creative and cultural sectors on this issue and on AI more broadly. This includes a meeting in which the Minister for Arts & Heritage, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay participated, hosted by What Next? in November, during which representatives from small and large arts organisations, freelance creative professionals, academics and other participants from across the country discussed the potential impact of AI on the arts and creative sectors.
DCMS has engaged with the arts and creative sectors to identify areas where AI is being applied through innovation and to understand the sectors’ views – for instance, through a recent meeting held jointly with the Intellectual Property Office and a group of leading sector chief executives.
Last month, the UK also hosted the world's first major summit on AI safety. This summit focused on the risks created or significantly exacerbated by the most powerful frontier AI systems, and looked to ensure that this technology is developed and adopted safely and responsibly. The summit brought together the governments of leading AI nations, technology companies, researchers, and civil society groups. DCMS Ministers and officials also attended the industry-led AI Fringe, which ran alongside the AI Safety Summit, and engaged with representatives from across the creative industries on issues such as research and development for AI in the arts and intellectual property.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding is available for arts and culture in rural areas.
Answered by John Whittingdale
As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, HM Government is committed to ensuring that funding for arts and culture is more fairly distributed across the country. Arts Council England’s 2023–26 investment programme (the ‘National Portfolio’), worth over £444 million per year, has seen investment to cultural organisations in rural areas increase to £44.6 million, benefiting 110 organisations across the country.
In local authority areas identified as predominantly rural, there has been a 22% increase in investment in National Portfolio Organisations and Investment Principles Support Organisations. Urban areas with significant rural portions have seen an increase of 37%.
Cultural opportunities are also provided in rural areas by organisations based in neighbouring urban areas – for instance, through touring. Public library services in the Arts Council’s National Portfolio with a base in urban areas are also important to cultural opportunities in rural locations. The National Rural Touring Forum has also had its funding increased to help build capacity in this important part of the sector.
Arts Council England has also supported approximately 30 Cultural Compacts across England – including in rural and Levelling Up priority areas – and has provided these existing Compacts with further funding to build capacity and long-term cross-sector relationships. (Cultural Compacts are partnerships between the cultural and heritage sectors, Local Authorities, and wider local partners such as universities, health agencies, and the private sector, with the aim of enhancing creatives’ contribution to local development.)
Additionally, arts and cultural organisations in rural areas are able to access Arts Council England’s project grants, an open access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects. This supports thousands of individual artists and community and cultural organisations, with over £105 million of funding awarded in 2022/23.
Meanwhile, DCMS’s £86 million Museum Estate and Development Fund has supported several museums in rural areas, including The Food Museum in Stowmarket which presents the agricultural history of East Anglia, the industrial museums Papplewick Pumping Station and Coldharbour Mill, Shandy Hall, the rural home of the writer Laurence Sterne, and Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum.