Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to improve crime reporting in relation to national heritage, including through the development of a heritage crime marker to highlight protected sites and other cultural property in police call handling.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010; however, this Government recognises the significant impact crimes affecting heritage sites can have.
The Home Office is working closely with Historic England to prevent and tackle theft from historic buildings, monuments and sites, and through the established, expert Stolen Goods Working Group, is collaborating with policing and other partners, to deliver a programme of work that will make it harder for criminals to profit financially from acquisitive crime, including heritage crime.
The Home Office has encouraged the police, as part of their neighbourhood policing commitment, to work with communities to develop an understanding of the scale and extent of these crimes, whilst welcoming their commitment made last year to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry so more perpetrators can be bought to justice.
In addition, crime prevention advice is published by Secured By Design, the police security initiative, including advice on how to improve the security of buildings and their surroundings, here: Secured by Design - Secured by Design.
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, what steps she has taken to support traditional English sartorial culture and the related industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision, the government announced £2 million funding to support five London Fashion Weeks over the next two years. This will go specifically towards supporting emerging designer talent and increasing access to the sector, delivered through the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme.
DCMS also supports the UK Research and Investment (UKRI) £15 million Circular Fashion programme, launched in 2022 to bring the sector, academia and government together to understand and drive the fashion and textiles industry towards sustainable and responsible practices. This programme will be critical in developing this area of research and meeting the goal of transforming the fashion and textiles sector to adopt economically viable and scalable circular models by 2032.
The textiles, fashion and craft industries play an important role in the UK’s social and cultural heritage, and are a major driver of economic growth. The UK is famous for its unrivalled creativity and innovation and it has a track record for producing some of the world’s most influential designers. Recognising this contribution, we are committed to supporting future growth in the sector. DCMS continues to engage with the British Fashion Council, the Crafts Council and the wider industries to understand the challenges the sectors are facing and how the government can best provide support.
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, if she will take steps to ensure that cost is not a barrier to people accessing heritage visitor attractions in their area.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Many heritage visitor attractions are free to visit or offer schemes to support access, and DCMS-sponsored museums are free to enter for people of any age. The vast majority of the 400 sites in the National Heritage Collection, which is managed by English Heritage Trust on behalf of HM Government, are also free to enter. Where the charity does need to charge visitors an entry fee to support its work, it works to increase engagement with under-represented groups, so that everyone has the opportunity to connect with our shared heritage. English Heritage is also one of the largest providers of free school visits in the UK.
The National Lottery also runs ‘National Lottery Open Week’ which provides free admission for holders of a lottery ticket or scratch card at venues across the UK, including English Heritage Trust, Historic Royal Palaces, and National Trust properties.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with his Armenian counterpart on the protection of Armenian Christian cultural heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh in Open Door UK’s World Watch List, published on17 January 2024.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue and we take seriously reports of the destruction of churches and other sites of religious significance in both Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of their long-running conflict. Ministers and the British Embassies in Yerevan and Baku have raised the need to protect such sites with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments consistently and at the most senior levels. Open Door UK's World Watch List provides a sobering account of the extreme difficulties faced by many Christians around the world. We note the report's comments regarding Azerbaijan and regularly raise human rights issues with the Azerbaijani Government.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Azerbaijan on the (a) condition and (b) security of Armenian Christian (i) churches and (ii) other heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government is clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue and we take seriously reports of the destruction of churches or other sites of religious significance. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged over the course of the conflict. UK Ministers and the British Embassy in Baku have raised the topic of religious and cultural destruction with the Azerbaijani government consistently and at the most senior levels.
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, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that the visitor economy supports the maintenance and upkeep of heritage assets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The visitor economy has a significant and positive impact on the support and maintenance of our heritage assets. In 2021, despite COVID-19 restrictions, there were over 119 million domestic day visits to heritage sites, 15 million domestic overnight heritage trips, and 2.74 million international visits to heritage sites, demonstrating that heritage is a major driver for both international and domestic tourism, and a key source of income for local people. Twenty-eight per cent of international visits include a castle or historic house, according to VisitBritain research.
The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in 2021, set out the Government's commitment to the enhancement and conservation of the country’s cultural heritage. Our investment in supporting the conservation of tourism assets included the £67 million in capital funding for maintenance and restoration projects for historic sites and destinations through the Heritage Stimulus Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund Kickstarter funds. We have also established the Tourism Industry Council Working Group on Sustainability with the British Tourism Authority to drive forward this objective.
Following the Review into Destination Management Organisations, the new Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation programme will ensure that organisations work in collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally on shared priorities and targets. This includes marketing and promotion of local cultural heritage sites and destinations. There are now 30 newly accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships across England.
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, if she will develop a national register of (a) the condition and (b) maintenance requirements of heritage assets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The heritage assets most at risk of loss or irreparable damage are already captured through Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. This tool is used to map the assets at risk, and to improve the likelihood of solutions being found.
Significant funding is currently distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Historic England works to remove buildings from the Register, working with local decision-makers to alleviate risk by facilitating repairs, finding new uses for assets which are unoccupied but capable of reuse, and pursuing creative solutions to sustain those which are not. Historic England also targets the investment of its grants where reducing risk will bring the greatest benefits, an approach which has proved highly successful in its £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zones programme.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the national expansion of the blue plaques scheme on the cultural heritage of Hendon constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The blue plaque scheme plays an important role in championing local cultural heritage, and its expansion will ensure that more places around the country will be able to commemorate local people who made their mark on national (and international) life.
The national expansion will build on the success of the London scheme operated by English Heritage, which covers the Hendon constituency, and which is now more than 1,000 blue plaques strong. The London scheme remains open for nominations via the English Heritage website. There are 19 blue plaques in the London Borough of Barnet, including ones dedicated to the football manager Herbert Chapman, the music hall comedian Little Tich, and Juan Pujol Garcia, also known as Agent Garbo.
Public nominations for the national blue plaques scheme will be launched at the end of May and will invite nominations from people across England to celebrate inspirational figures who deserve commemoration. The scheme, which is being developed and led by Historic England, recognises that every place has a unique story to tell, and will help communities across England discover the history and cultural heritage on our doorsteps.
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: 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, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure an (a) adequate level of and (b) equitable distribution of funding for the maintenance of heritage assets across each area of the country with those assets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Significant public funding is distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through HM Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Historic England provides funding for heritage through various grant schemes, including £11.3 million annually for Heritage at Risk. Funding is allocated to achieve a equitable regional distribution. Historic England has also awarded public funding to 67 historic High Streets across England through the £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme, with the majority of this funding being used to repair and improve heritage assets. This investment has seen derelict and underused buildings restored to become new community and commercial spaces, with over half of the High Street Heritage Action Zones in priority 1 Levelling Up Areas.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund also provides funding for heritage projects with a community angle across the country, awarding more than £8.4 billion in Lottery funds to more than 46,000 heritage projects across the UK. The Heritage Fund has made awards in every parliamentary constituency in the UK.
More broadly, through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, HM Government is investing in many projects which benefit heritage across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the £150 million Community Ownership Fund is open to groups across the UK to take ownership of heritage assets which are at risk of being lost to the community. Many of these projects are benefiting heritage assets in areas across the country.