Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many schools engaged with Historic England’s Heritage Schools Programme in each region in the most recent academic year for which data is available.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The most recent academic year for which DCMS holds data is September 2023 - July 2024. 582 schools have engaged with Historic England’s Heritage Schools Programme, with approximately 116,400 children participating.
The regional breakdown is as follows:
Region | No. of schools | Approx. no. of children benefitting |
East | 90 | 18,000 |
Midlands | 221 | 44,200 |
North East & Yorkshire | 135 | 27,000 |
North West | 48 | 9,600 |
South West | 88 | 17,600 |
Total | 582 | 116,400 |
There was no delivery in London and the South East in the 2023-24 academic year, however Historic England are supporting Surrey Museums to run a Heritage Schools programme in their area this year.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 16 June 2025 to Question 59074 on Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme: Lancashire, which three projects received funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in Fylde constituency in the 2023-25 financial year.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The three projects in the constituency of Fylde that have benefited from Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme investment during the 2024/25 financial year are:
Park View Road Playing Fields,
William Pickles Sport Ground
Roseacre Road Playing Fields
The two projects in the constituency of Fylde that have benefited from Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme investment during the 2023/34 financial year are:
Staining Village Hall
Cottam Hall
All projects received grant awards for new goalposts.
On 9 June 2025, the Government published an updated list of completed MSGF projects across the UK, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2021-to-2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 9 June 2025 on Grassroots Sport Facilities, HCWS689, how many projects have been funded by the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of where they live, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
Our Muli-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme invests in new and upgraded facilities across the UK to benefit communities and help get people active. In 2024/25, Fylde received £10,108 across three projects, and Lancashire received £1,872,565 across 49 projects. In March, DCMS confirmed an additional £100 million investment over the coming year (of which £98m falls in Financial Year 2025/26). .
Beneficiaries of this 2025/26 funding are still to be confirmed and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 4 June 2025 to Question 55112 on Music Venues: Finance, what steps her Department is taking to ensure equitable access to the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund in (a) Fylde constituency, (b) regions with fewer existing grassroots music venues and (c) all English regions.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Supporting Grassroots Music Fund is open to applications from rehearsal and recording studios, promoters, festivals, and venues for live and electronic music performance, from across the whole of England. Arts Council England supports and encourages applicants from across England including through its network of area-based relationship managers.
The Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to support grassroots music. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy.
As part of the Spending Review 2025, the Government has announced a significant increase in funding for the Creative Industries. The Government’s industrial strategy is prioritising the creative industries and we will set out actions to drive music sector growth in the upcoming Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 4 June 2025 to Question 55112 on Music Venues: Finance, whether she plans to increase levels of Supporting Grassroots Music Fund funding beyond 2025-26; and whether she has considered creating a multi-year funding stream for grassroots venues.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Supporting Grassroots Music Fund is open to applications from rehearsal and recording studios, promoters, festivals, and venues for live and electronic music performance, from across the whole of England. Arts Council England supports and encourages applicants from across England including through its network of area-based relationship managers.
The Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to support grassroots music. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy.
As part of the Spending Review 2025, the Government has announced a significant increase in funding for the Creative Industries. The Government’s industrial strategy is prioritising the creative industries and we will set out actions to drive music sector growth in the upcoming Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 encourage young people to engage with (a) Scouts, (b) Girlguiding and (c) other youth organisations in Fylde.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives, including the important role that Scouts and Girlguiding play in providing young people with opportunities to take part in new activities, make new friends and build skills for life. I have met with both organisations in my capacity as Minister for Youth.
In a written statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced DCMS’ commitment to provide over £28 million to increase access to more and better enriching activities for young people. This includes £7.5 million funding to increase access to uniformed youth groups in areas of unmet demand and reach more young people from harder to reach communities, who are underrepresented in these organisations. Over £2.4 million of this funding has been awarded to the Scouts and over £1.4 million to Girlguiding in 2025/2026. It is the organisation's decision on how best to allocate the funding to meet objectives.
We are also co-producing a new National Youth Strategy with young people and the sectors that support them. The strategy will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny, provide them with meaningful choices and chances and rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector. The Strategy will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 22 May 2025 to Question 52734 on Night-time Economy, how much funding from the Creative Foundations Fund has been allocated to listed nightclubs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received.
This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria her Department plans to use to determine the eligibility of arts and cultural organisations applying for funding through the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received.
This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has set targets in relation to increasing (a) creative opportunities and (b) skills development for the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received.
This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ensure that (a) rural and (b) small arts venues will be able to apply to the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received.
This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.