Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle low pay for visual artists.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Low pay and precarious work can deter people from less advantaged backgrounds from creative careers, including in the visual arts. We will continue to back the industry's Good Work Review action plan to improve job quality and support the self-employed. We have also committed to appointing a Creative Freelance Champion by the end of 2025, who will advocate for freelancers within Government and on the Creative Industries Council. Further information on support for freelancers can be found on the Arts Council England’s website.
Arts Council England has also taken steps to encourage fair pay in England’s cultural sector, including through terms and conditions on grants, and guidance documents such as the attached Fair Pay Guidance.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure opportunities for artists are spread more evenly across the country.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government prioritises making creative careers accessible for everyone and we are working closely with the arts sector to address barriers.
With regards to improving access to creative careers, the government has committed to delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries and arts. We have also invested £500,000 to expand the King’s Trust Creative Futures programme, which is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are, or at risk of being, not in education, employment or training (NEET).
In February this year we announced a review of Arts Council England which will examine how the Arts Council can be best positioned to unlock creativity and cultural excellence in every corner of the country - making sure its structure and decision-making truly work for all communities.
Further, Arts Council England (ACE) is targeting 54 areas in England where cultural engagement and investment have been historically low through its Priority Places programme. In the 2024/25 financial year, ACE invested almost £27 million through National Lottery Project Grants (NLPG) into Priority Places.
In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government has committed to revitalising arts education through a reformed curriculum and through support for teachers. A new National Centre for Arts and Music Education will improve social mobility by ensuring high quality arts education is an essential part of the broad and rich curriculum every child deserves. It will achieve this through three key areas: supporting excellent arts teaching, developing sustainable partnerships and promoting arts education.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to careers and address socioeconomic divides in the arts.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government prioritises making creative careers accessible for everyone and we are working closely with the arts sector to address barriers.
With regards to improving access to creative careers, the government has committed to delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries and arts. We have also invested £500,000 to expand the King’s Trust Creative Futures programme, which is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are, or at risk of being, not in education, employment or training (NEET).
In February this year we announced a review of Arts Council England which will examine how the Arts Council can be best positioned to unlock creativity and cultural excellence in every corner of the country - making sure its structure and decision-making truly work for all communities.
Further, Arts Council England (ACE) is targeting 54 areas in England where cultural engagement and investment have been historically low through its Priority Places programme. In the 2024/25 financial year, ACE invested almost £27 million through National Lottery Project Grants (NLPG) into Priority Places.
In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government has committed to revitalising arts education through a reformed curriculum and through support for teachers. A new National Centre for Arts and Music Education will improve social mobility by ensuring high quality arts education is an essential part of the broad and rich curriculum every child deserves. It will achieve this through three key areas: supporting excellent arts teaching, developing sustainable partnerships and promoting arts education.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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 24 November to question 92054 on Independent Football Regulator: Political Parties, if she will publish the data on the additional political donations made by David Kogan.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All political donations required to be declared by the Governance Code on Public Appointments are publicly disclosed on the Electoral Commission donation register. The additional donations, beneath the thresholds required by the Governance Code, disclosed by Mr Kogan when he appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 07 May 2025, are recorded in the transcript of that hearing.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Prime Minister plans to recuse himself from the appointments process for non-executive board members of the independent football regulator.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Governance Act 2025 is clear that decisions regarding the appointment of Non-Executive Members of the Independent Football Regulator are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her department is providing to local authorities to help them increase levels of library use ahead of the national year of reading in 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work.
This is part of the broader programme of government support for the National Year of Reading including the £5 million funding for secondary schools to purchase books the Chancellor announced during her budget speech.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will set out what steps were taken in the Autumn Budget 2025 in respect of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
No decision on the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was made during Autumn Budget 2025. Funding after March 2026 will be considered as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport works through the output of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they are using to inform regulatory decisions on adult gaming centres.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government makes use of a wide range of the best available evidence to inform gambling policy decision making, including policy around the operation and regulation of Adult Gaming Centres. This includes data collected by the Gambling Commission and local government, academic research, data provided by industry and evidence from those with lived experience of gambling harm.
The Government will continue to carefully consider all available evidence before making any decisions around previously announced reforms to the Adult Gaming Centre sector.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is committed to supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse.
Our domestic abuse charter provides comprehensive advice to employees and their managers including how to identify abuse, actions to take, and links to organisations providing advice and support.
There is currently no dedicated line manager training on responding to domestic abuse. A training product for managers is currently under development in the Cabinet Office. Once available, we will promote the take-up of this training product in our department.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide a breakdown of the costs incurred by her Department, from 4 July 2024 to date, in the establishment of the Independent Football Regulator.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Details on DCMS’s public spending can be found in DCMS’s Annual Report and Accounts, available on GOV.UK. Spending on the passage of the Football Governance Act and the establishment of the Independent Football Regulator is a subset of the reported spend of the Sport and Gambling Directorate. All relevant costs relating to the creation of the Independent Football Regulator will be recovered from clubs via a levy, ensuring that there is nil cost to the public purse.