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, what information her Department holds on how many buildings containing (a) the National Archives, (b) other UK national archives, (c) local archives and (d) specialist archives contain reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks on 1 May 2019. Since then, individual organisations have been surveying properties and taking action in line with Institution of Structural Engineers guidance.
Government Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC on their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. This work is being co-ordinated by the Office of Government Property.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the National Records of Scotland are both under the jurisdiction of their respective devolved administrations, and their work is not overseen by the UK Government.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191885 on Sportsgrounds: Rubber, whether her Department has made an assessment of a potential variation of approach in addressing safety concerns for 3G pitches with rubber crumb in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in line with European Committee for Standardisation recommendations.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government takes seriously concerns regarding Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs), specifically the presence of rubber infill. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the regulatory framework for these matters now sits at a UK level (except for Northern Ireland, which will continue to follow EU REACH requirements).
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) commissioned an evidence project, under the UK REACH 2022/23 Work Programme, on intentionally added microplastics, including rubber infill. This will assess any risks they pose, and will inform any future regulatory actions in the UK.
The sports councils across the UK (Sport England, Sport Wales, sportscotland, Sport NI) are working together with leading sport bodies and respective governments to appropriately manage the transition away from rubber infill, and to identify suitable alternatives. The Group's latest statement on the issue can be viewed here.
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, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Continuity Fund (UK Sport).
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department agrees objectives and KPIs for UK Sport’s grant funding and their board allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department and its public bodies deliver all grant funding in line with the Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Olympic and Paralympic sports in the UK, including the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Continuity fund was set up by UK Sport specifically to help mitigate the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the operational and financial health of NGBs, and to help in navigating a significantly different operating environment. It was essential to ensuring that British sports and athletes arrived at the disrupted Tokyo 2020 Games in the best position possible and helped ensure that Great Britain and Northern Ireland won 64 medals at the Olympics and 124 medals at the Paralympics.
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, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund 2021.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport sets objectives for grant funding when designing grant schemes and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department and its public bodies deliver all grant funding with regard to the Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants.
The Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund was created to build a lasting legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North. In 2018, it was announced that three major cultural projects across the North of England would receive a share of the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund, totalling over £11 million of public investment.
Nearly £3.3 million has been invested to enhance the visitor experience at cultural attractions across the Lake District. This has supported (i) the development of the Windermere Jetty Museum, which houses a unique collection of over 40 historic lake boats and was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize; (ii) Dove Cottage, home to William Wordsworth for a decade, which has undergone restoration work; and (iii) Abbot Hall Museum, where essential works were carried out, and which reopened on 19 May 2023.
A total of £4 million has been invested to help transform the vacant former Bradford Odeon cinema into a 3,800-capacity live music, entertainment and events venue, due to open in 2024.
£4 million has been invested to support the creation of a new museum in Blackpool which will celebrate the town’s history as the UK’s first mass seaside holiday resort. ‘Showtown’ Blackpool is due to open in March 2024, with additional backing from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and notable philanthropic foundations.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings her Department has had with (a) authors, (b) scriptwriters and (c) playwright organisations in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Arts Council England, as national development agency for creativity and culture, engages with a range of organisations on a broad range of artforms, including in the theatre and literature sectors.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have, in the last 12 months, attended roundtable meetings convened by Arts Council England where author organisations have been in attendance.
Additionally, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Minister for Arts and Heritage, delivered a speech for the Northern Writers’ Awards on Tuesday 22 June, an event supported by the organisation New Writing North. Lord Parkinson also attended and provided a speech at the London Book Fair on 18 April. He attended a reading and literacy themed roundtable run as part of Baroness Sanderson of Welton’s independent review for public libraries which was attended by a representative of the Society of Authors, and has had meetings and engagements with a range of poets, playwrights and authors in the course of his ministerial engagement.
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, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the ALB - UK Sport- World Class Programme Funding.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department agrees objectives and KPIs for UK Sport’s grant funding and their board allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department and its public bodies deliver all grant funding in line with the Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants.
UK Sport World Class Programme funding supports the delivery of success at the world's most significant sporting events. It invests in world leading coaching, medical support and training facilities so that British athletes with potential to succeed on the world stage can arrive at an Olympic and Paralympic Games as one of the best prepared teams in the world. This funding helped to ensure that at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Great Britain and Northern Ireland won 64 medals at the Olympics and 124 medals at the Paralympics.
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, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Key Fund - Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund 2021.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department sets objectives for grant funding when designing the grant scheme and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. A full impact report for the ‘Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund - Social Investment Fund’ is expected in 2024, however an interim impact summary in 2020 demonstrated that the fund had supported 26 businesses across six different impact themes, within 10 of the 11 Northern Local Enterprise Partnerships, and leveraged £600,000 in non-governmental funding.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to promote the Twelfth of July celebrations in Northern Ireland as a tourist attraction.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Northern Ireland is a fantastic place to visit throughout the year, with a wealth of activities, culture, and beautiful scenery. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland himself spoke of the rich cultural tapestry of Northern Ireland as he enjoyed this year’s Twelfth festivities in Lurgan, Co. Armagh.
The people of Northern Ireland, as well as the hospitality industry, ensure the warmest of welcomes to visitors from all over the world. Tourism Northern Ireland, alongside Tourism Ireland, work to promote Northern Ireland to a domestic and international audience.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their reason for replacing the Union Jack flag flying above His Majesty's Treasury with a flag to celebrate Gay Pride.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Following instruction from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the government department responsible for informing other departments regarding flag flying protocol), for the assigned period the flag in recognition of Pride month was flown over 100 Parliament Street. This is the official and principal address and entrance for the following Departments:
HM Revenue and Customs
Department of Culture, Media and Sport
Department of Science, Innovation and Technology
The Union Flag was flown during the same period at 1 Horse Guards Road, the official and principal address and entrance for the following Departments:
HM Treasury
UK Export Finance
Northern Ireland Office
Cabinet Office
This has been confirmed with the operatives who manage the flags process for designated flying days.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve school attendance rates.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has a comprehensive attendance strategy to improve school attendance. Recent guidance has been published setting out how schools, trusts and Local Authorities are expected to work together to improve attendance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
The guidance is clear that schools should develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of high attendance, have a clear school attendance policy and have effective day to day processes in place to follow up absence. The guidance sets out that schools are expected to use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance, at individual and cohort level, as soon as possible so that all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.
The Department has employed expert attendance advisers who are playing an important role working closely with Local Authorities and a number of multi-academy trusts with higher levels of persistent absence to review their current practice and support them to develop plans to improve.
The Department has launched a £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot to deliver intensive one to one support to a group of persistently and severely absent pupils. The pilot will run for three years supporting a total of 1,665 pupils. The findings from this pilot should enable schools, trusts, and Local Authorities to address persistent and severe absence more effectively.
The Secretary of State has also established an Alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and other relevant services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence.
The Department launched new attendance hubs with the Ofsted Outstanding Northern Education Trust. There are now 10 lead schools sharing their effective practice on attendance with up to 600 partner schools, reaching hundreds of thousands of pupils. This is alongside intensive support to Children in Need through Virtual Schools Heads.
Schools and Local Authorities can also use a range of measures to provide support for and/or sanctions against parents when their child’s irregular attendance in school becomes a problem. These measures are used to reinforce parents’ responsibilities and to support them in improving their child’s attendance at school.