Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support infrastructure for visual artists, including the retention and capital development of artists' studios.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government acknowledges the economic significance of visual artists and is committed to providing support, including addressing infrastructure requirements. The £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund incorporates the £245 million Creative Foundations Fund, which is dedicated to supporting arts and cultural venues, including galleries and artists' studios, in addressing critical capital needs.

Arts Council England (ACE) provides support for artist spaces through both direct funding and the facilitation of strategic partnerships. This includes significant investments, such as co-founding the Creative Land Trust, which ensures long-term, affordable space for artists and creatives in London by bringing together a number of key funding partners and networks. ACE has supported the organisation with £2 million since 2019, and their goal is to build a portfolio of more than 1,000 studios across London, offering spaces to creatives at affordable rates, equipping those that use them to have greater impact and benefit within communities.

Furthermore, ACE funds numerous workspaces that are part of its National Portfolio Organisation Investment Programme, such as The Auxiliary in Middlesbrough which has received funding of £542,898 since 2022.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they intend to make at the United Nations Security Council regarding the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, in relation to the protection of cultural property in Iran and the wider region.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK remains fully committed to the 1954 Hague Convention. We continue to monitor developments in Iran and the wider region and we work with partners across the UN system to reinforce compliance with international humanitarian law, including obligations relating to the safeguarding of cultural heritage.