Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their definition of "public body" for the purposes of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill; and whether this definition includes arts organisations.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Bill applies to a broad range of public bodies to protect community cohesion and ensure a consistent approach to foreign policy. Specifically, the Bill applies to public authorities, as defined in section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. Bodies should already be aware if they are bound by section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 as this legislation has been on the statute book for 25 years and places wide-ranging obligations on them.
The definition may include some arts organisations such as some museums and galleries in receipt of significant public funding when they are undertaking certain public functions. As with any general definition in legislation, there are instances where the application of a definition depends on the specific facts of a case and it is ultimately for the courts to decide.
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, how many (a) museums, (b) theatres, (c) art galleries, (d) sports venues and (e) other public buildings for which her Department is responsible have reported RAAC in their roofs; and what estimate she has made of the cost of remediation in each such area.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Individual building owners are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as the one relating to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The Department for Culture Media & Sport is in regular contact with our arm’s-length bodies about all aspects of building management, including RAAC. We are aware of one instance of RAAC in an arm’s-length body and have advised it, and other organisations in the cultural and sporting sector for which DCMS does not have direct responsibility, to follow the latest guidance from the Office of Government Property and Institution of Structural Engineers.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to tackle the practice of museums marginally editing non-copyrighted media in order to charge people to use that media.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Museums operate independently from the Government, and are responsible for managing their own commercial activities, which can include maintaining databases of images and other media. It is for museums to determine appropriate terms and conditions, in accordance with their internal policies.
Depending on their operating models, different museums will adopt differing approaches to monetising their spaces and collections to reinvest in their public programmes, expanding their reach and impact.
Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an (a) assessment of the impact on the economy and (b) estimate of the number of recipients of (i) audio-visual (A) tax relief and (B) expenditure credit, (ii) museums and gallery exhibition tax relief and (iii) theatres and orchestras tax relief since 2010.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
a) An evaluation of the creative industry tax reliefs covering Film Tax Relief, High-end Television Tax Relief, Animation Tax Relief and Children’s Television Tax Relief was published in 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industry-tax-reliefs-evaluation
An evaluation of the video games tax relief was published in 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/video-game-tax-relief-evaluation
A qualitative evaluation capturing the wider impacts of the Museums and Galleries relief was conducted in 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-relief-for-museums-and-galleries-qualitative-research
The government keeps the tax system under review.
b) The number of recipients of the creative industry tax reliefs is published in HMRC’s Creative Industries Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-august-2023
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: 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 ensure that important items from national collections are shared with museums and galleries around the country.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Museums with national collections have a long history of loaning objects from their collection and touring exhibitions across the country. The 15 museums and museum groups directly sponsored by DCMS report annually on their UK loans and regional engagement, encouraging strategic dialogue between national collections to lend and foster collaborations, with data from 2022/23 showing that over 1,100 UK venues received loans. Non-national museums are also supported to borrow, through public funding, via Arts Council England, to organisations like the Touring Exhibition Group.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Mayor of London concerning the location of the memorial for victims of the transatlantic slave trade.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has had no discussions with the Mayor of London concerning this matter. At the recent Budget, HM Government provided £10 million to National Museums Liverpool, to help in part with its planned expansion of the International Slavery Museum.
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, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing children's access to (a) music, (b) drama, (c) dance and (d) other arts and cultural activities out of school.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers in both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education have regular discussions on a range of subjects, including the development of their joint Cultural Education Plan, as committed to in the DfE’s Schools White Paper, which aims to support for all children and young people (aged 0–18) to access a broad range of high-quality cultural education subjects, activities, and experiences in and out of school. This includes encouraging engagement and partnerships between schools and cultural providers out of school, such as public libraries, theatres and museums.
The Government also published a new National Plan for Music Education in June 2022. This refreshed plan, The Power of Music to Change Lives, aims to level up music opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of circumstance, needs or geography, in addition to raising the profile and time spent on music lessons in school. We are making £25 million of new funding available to purchase hundreds of thousands of musical instruments and equipment for young people, including adaptive instruments for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities so more young people can find and explore a passion for music.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic benefit to creative industries in Northern Ireland of the tax measures announced in the Spring Budget.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the cultural and economic value of the UK’s world-leading creative sector. At Spring Budget 2024 the Government went further to support the sector through the creative sector tax reliefs, which companies in Northern Ireland benefit from.
The announcements include a new tax credit for independent UK films with budgets of less than £15 million and a 5 percentage point increase in tax relief UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV.
The Government also announced that from 1 April 2025, orchestras, museums, galleries and theatres will benefit from tax relief set permanently at 45% (for touring productions and all orchestra productions) and 40% for non-touring productions).
These measures will apply UK-wide.