Asked by: Michael Ellis (Conservative - Northampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has held with the BBC on the appearance of Major General Wasef Eriqat on BBC Arabic.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Ministerial team regularly meets with BBC leadership, including members of the Board, to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. In delivering that duty, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decisions around its editorial policies and guidelines are a matter for the BBC. Ofcom is the external independent regulator responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.
The Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear that the BBC’s accuracy and impartiality is critical to viewer trust. It is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive events, such as the terrorist acts committed in Israel on 7 October and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The Secretary of State has regularly stated that point in meetings with the BBC.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department will publish a response to the Technical consultation on a Community Wealth Fund in England, which closed on 19 October 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is grateful to all those who took the time to respond to the technical consultation. Officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are carefully considering all of the responses received. The government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether Bytedance would be required to divest ownership of TikTok under the terms of the provision on Foreign power acquisition of news media organisations added by the Government to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The new terms introduced in our amendments to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) are based on the Enterprise Act 2002, and will therefore only apply to newspapers and news magazines given the unique role these publications play in contributing to the health of our democracy by providing accurate news and information, helping to shape opinions and contributing to political debate.
These changes would not cover online news providers or online intermediaries, including social media platforms such as TikTok.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 with creative industry leaders to help ensure (a) growth and (b) sustainability in that sector.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and support another 1 million jobs by 2030. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we are committed to working with industry and the devolved administrations to ensure our creative industries continue to be the best in the world. The Sector Vision sets out our 2030 goals and objectives for supporting the creative industries.
As part of the Growth goal, we outline how we are supporting creative businesses to grow and scale-up through investment, innovation and export support - including through programmes like the Create Growth Programme and the Creative Clusters.
As part of the Maximising Impact goal, we set out an objective specifically for the environment: ‘Creative industries play a growing role in tackling environmental challenges, helping the UK reach the targets set out in the Powering Up Britain plan’. As part of this, the Creative Industries Council, which represents industry and worked with government to develop the Sector Vision, have published their Creative Climate Charter, which sets out key environmental principles for creative companies to aspire to. We will continue to work with industry and across government to address this objective.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles 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 the number of (a) musicians and (b) music groups that were scheduled to play in the UK that were refused entry due to immigration rules in the last 12 months.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Border Force does not hold the data requested.
The UK’s rules for touring creative professionals are comparatively more generous than in many EU Member States. The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work permits.
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
Sector specific guidance on creative professionals from non-visa national countries, including the EU and the US, visiting the UK for performance and work has been published by DCMS on GOV.UK can be found in the ‘Visiting the UK as a creative professional from a non-visa national country guidance’ on GOV.UK.
DCMS has worked across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries to support working and touring with confidence in the EU. Ongoing industry engagement continues at ministerial and official level. This includes several recent events with the sector focused on touring and export support, hosted in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade. These events help to provide tailored guidance to stakeholders within the music sector, alongside an opportunity for the sector to discuss with Ministers and officials touring challenges and opportunities.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what dates her Department's working group on creative and cultural touring has met since June 2022; and how many times a Minister has attended those meetings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Border Force does not hold the data requested.
The UK’s rules for touring creative professionals are comparatively more generous than in many EU Member States. The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work permits.
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
Sector specific guidance on creative professionals from non-visa national countries, including the EU and the US, visiting the UK for performance and work has been published by DCMS on GOV.UK can be found in the ‘Visiting the UK as a creative professional from a non-visa national country guidance’ on GOV.UK.
DCMS has worked across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries to support working and touring with confidence in the EU. Ongoing industry engagement continues at ministerial and official level. This includes several recent events with the sector focused on touring and export support, hosted in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade. These events help to provide tailored guidance to stakeholders within the music sector, alongside an opportunity for the sector to discuss with Ministers and officials touring challenges and opportunities.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 publish a strategy for the arts and creative industries.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and support another 1 million jobs by 2030. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we are committed to working with industry and the devolved administrations to ensure our creative industries continue to be the best in the world. The Sector Vision sets out our 2030 goals and objectives for supporting the creative industries.
As part of the Growth goal, we outline how we are supporting creative businesses to grow and scale-up through investment, innovation and export support - including through programmes like the Create Growth Programme and the Creative Clusters.
As part of the Maximising Impact goal, we set out an objective specifically for the environment: ‘Creative industries play a growing role in tackling environmental challenges, helping the UK reach the targets set out in the Powering Up Britain plan’. As part of this, the Creative Industries Council, which represents industry and worked with government to develop the Sector Vision, have published their Creative Climate Charter, which sets out key environmental principles for creative companies to aspire to. We will continue to work with industry and across government to address this objective.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken recent steps to support independent cinemas.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that cinemas are a hugely important part of the UK’s fantastic film industry and has been supporting them throughout the uncertainties of the past several years with the pandemic and rising energy costs.
We supported more than 200 independent cinemas through the pandemic, who received £34.4 million from the Culture Recovery Fund as well as benefiting from other pan-economy measures. The Government has also delivered an £18 billion package of support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme supporting businesses - including cinemas, arts venues, and charities - through the winter.
The Government’s £500m Film and TV Production Restart Scheme also helped keep the cameras rolling at the other end of the screen supply chain. The scheme supported over 100,000 jobs and productions worth more than £3 billion. To build on this, and support the industry to not only survive but thrive, further actions have been taken. This includes the Government’s current £1.6 million annual funding of the British Film Commission, the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the continued success of our screen sector tax reliefs. This has been further bolstered at Spring Budget 2024 with the new UK Independent Film Tax Credit, with films with budgets up to £15 million being eligible for an increased benefit of 53% - which is estimated to increase spending on independent films by 70% before 2032.
The British Film Institute (BFI), a DCMS Arms Length Body, is also conscious of the pressures faced by the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support that connect cinemas, festivals and creative practitioners. You can also read more about the National Lottery funding the BFI makes available to bring film to a wider UK audience, including through BFI FAN, at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 support the (a) growth and (b) development of the creative industries in South Wales.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we are committed to working with industry and the devolved administrations to ensure our creative industries continue to be the best in the world. As part of this, we invited Creative Wales to become a member of the Creative Industries Council to ensure they are represented in discussions about the UK’s creative industries.
Culture and the creative industries are devolved policy areas. The UK Government has provided opportunities to support Welsh creative businesses through the following programmes:
The UK-wide Film & TV Restart scheme which supported 1,259 individual film and TV productions and £3.06 billion in production expenditure through the pandemic. Wales received £287.5 million – the largest share of funding of any nation after England (c.9%).
The £56 million Creative Clusters programme was announced in the 2018 Sector Deal: and supported R&D across the Cardiff Clwstwr one of 9 first-wave of clusters across the UK. The Clusters programme has generated approximately £252 million of private co-investment, creating or safeguarding over 4000 jobs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 help (a) support and (b) increase (i) creative and (ii) cultural exports.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In June 2023, the Government and the Creative Industries Council launched the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which sets out our long term strategy for supporting and growing the creative industries. The Sector Vision can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-vision
The Government is delivering on its plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030.
Since 2010, the Government has introduced a range of tax reliefs across the creative industries, from film and television, to animation, video games, orchestras, theatres and more. The Chancellor announced further support at the Spring Budget, with £1 billion of additional tax relief over the next five years. This has led to significant growth in the creative industries over the last 14 years, helping to double the economic value of the creative industries and create more than one million new jobs since 2010.
Our tax reliefs are driving inward investment, helping unleash job creation and economic growth across the country. The Government’s generous screen sector tax reliefs have driven a record breaking spend of £6.3 billion on film and high-end TV production in 2022, of which £5.4 billion - 86% - was inward investment.
Our tax reliefs have also helped drive an increase in cultural and creative service exports. DCMS works with other departments including FCDO and DBT, industry bodies and trade associations to promote the creative industries overseas, from delivering creative trade missions to HMG-backed funding schemes. Examples include the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, delivered by the British Film Institute, which provides grants to develop, distribute and promote independent UK and UK co-produced screen content in international markets and the Music Export Growth Scheme, which provides grant funding to support UK-based independent music SMEs to develop export campaigns to grow their international business and export revenue. My department is also committed to ensuring that the interests of the creative industries are pursued in the UK’s ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreements, including on audiovisual services, intellectual property rights and supporting the movement of creative professionals.