Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to form a cross-departmental group for craft drawing together the responsibilities in this area of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to supporting the creative industries, including the craft sector, which is why we put them front and centre of our Industrial Strategy, including publishing the Creative Industries Sector Plan last year. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with all other relevant government departments to support the craft sector and deliver on the Sector Plan. DCMS currently has no plans to form a cross-departmental group for craft, however DCMS and Skills England jointly run a Creative Sector Skills Forum, which has a rolling cast list and includes representation for the crafts sector depending on the agenda. This includes the Crafts Council, Heritage Crafts and Officials from DWP and DfE as needed.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of teaching of craft in schools; and whether the Curriculum and Assessment Review will impact the current arrangements for craft teaching.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review final report and the government response were both published on 5 November 2025.
The response included a commitment to revise the art and design programmes of study to exemplify the knowledge and skills that pupils should develop, including through their own creative practice, and to encourage teaching of a broader range of artists and media. This will include consideration of craft, which is covered in the existing national curriculum.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to encourage the introduction of further university level non-academic heritage craft skills courses across the country.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government recognises the importance of heritage craft skills and supports their development through apprenticeships, vocational qualifications and partnerships with sector bodies.
Higher education institutions in England are autonomous and independent, and so they are responsible for determining the courses they offer. The government does not intervene in academic content. However, we encourage collaboration between universities, further education providers and heritage organisations to embed practical craft skills where appropriate, including through vocational and foundation degrees.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the current status is of funding for level 2 and level 3 building crafts and other heritage craft skills diploma courses; and whether they will reinstate level 3 funding for courses including stone masonry and joinery.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 12 January 2026, the department’s consultation on post-16 pathways at level 3 and below closed. We are currently reviewing the responses and will provide a government response in due course and set out how we will transition to the new system.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which departments have responsibility for the heritage crafts sector and associated skills; and whether they plan to consider the appointment of an expert to coordinate policy in that area.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department of Education, and the Department for Works and Pension have overall responsibility for devising and delivering skills policy across Government. The Department for Culture Media and Sport works across Government to ensure heritage crafts and skills are appropriately considered in policy.
Historic England, Government’s advisor on heritage and Arms Length Body of DCMS, advises the Government on heritage skills and craft policy and contributes to a number of cross Government working groups, including the Construction Skills Delivery Group. DCMS has no plans to appoint further experts.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funds to microbusinesses in the heritage craft industry to support apprentices' salaries and training periods under makers as part of their increased allocation for apprenticeships, including for skills on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employer satisfaction with apprenticeships is very high: 83% of employers are satisfied with their apprenticeship programme; and 77% report improved productivity.
The government is investing an additional £725m to transform the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy, and provides a range of financial support to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in all sectors to take on apprentices.
We pay £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in care. Employers are also not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
Additionally, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the start of the next academic year in August. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care.
To help prospective apprentices find apprenticeship opportunities, they can search and apply for apprenticeships on our Find an apprenticeship service which is used by thousands of employers.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will provide an update on the status of the listed places of worship grant scheme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will close on 31 March 2026 or when the budget for the year is spent.. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most. Our evaluation of the Scheme showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. There will therefore not be further funding rounds of the current scheme.
However, on 21 January we announced the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund. This will have an annual budget of £23m starting in 2026/27. This provides certainty for the remaining years of the Spending Review until 2029/30, providing £92m over the period. Support will be targeted at places of most need. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce measures addressing AI-generated digital replicas of an individual's likeness or voice, particularly in relation to the entertainment industry.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that individuals, including those in the entertainment industry, wish to have control over the use of their voice or likeness in AI-generated content.
Government intervention requires careful consideration given the complex legal landscape.
The Government sought views on the issue in its copyright and AI consultation. It is considering all feedback received through the consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to their curriculum and assessment review, what will be the status of arts subjects compared to other subjects within the Progress 8 accountability framework.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is revitalising arts education as part of the reformed national curriculum. Our proposed improvements to the ‘Progress 8’ model would recognise the value of subjects, including the arts, which strengthen our economy and society, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum.
The government will consult on the proposed Progress 8 model. This proposed model includes English and mathematics slots, which follow the same rules as the current Progress 8, and two new science slots. There are four breadth slots, two of which must be filled by GCSE (or relevant AS level) qualifications from two of three categories: humanities, creative and languages. The creative category includes art and design, music, drama, dance, design and technology. The department will consult on an additional category for science subjects. We are interested in views on the impact of these breadth slots on pupil subject choices for GCSEs and technical qualifications.
The final breadth slots will take the two highest point scores in any two subjects, including English language or literature (if not counted in the English slot), other GCSE qualifications, or any technical awards from the department’s approved list. These final two slots will operate in the same way as the current open slots.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make recording studios eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme from April 2026.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at the Budget in October 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from April 2026.
Since these new multipliers were announced in the previous Budget, the Government has been clear that the intention was for their scope to broadly reflect the scope of the current 40 per cent RHL business rates relief, which is centred around RHL properties that are “reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public”.
On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. As music studios are not generally reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public, the Government has no plans to make recording studios eligible for the new multipliers.
Nevertheless, the Government values the music industry and understands that recording studios are a vital part of the infrastructure of the industry. The Music Growth Package will see Government funding for the sector more than doubled from £4.1 million to up to £10 million a year for the next three years.