Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department allocated to Hull to prepare for its status as 2017 City of Culture; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Between February 2015 and the Spring Budget 2016, £15m of Government funding was allocated by Her Majesty’s Treasury for projects relating to Hull hosting UK City of Culture 2017, and investing in the city’s cultural economy for the future.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Coventry City Council on the future funding for free music festivals in Coventry; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
We announced, in December last year, that Coventry would be the UK City of Culture 2021. To support this the government will invest £8.5 million in Coventry’s plans to showcase the city which will include a wide range of arts and cultural events.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future funding to support the arts in Coventry.
Answered by Michael Ellis
My Department announced, in December last year, that Coventry will be the UK City of Culture 2021. This will be a great year of arts and cultural events and will put the city firmly on the map as a cultural centre.
Arts Council England (ACE) will contin 34ue to support the City through its funding programmes, and recently announced £5 million in Lottery funding to support Coventry 2021. In addition, Coventry and Warwickshire now have 12 ACE National Portfolio Organisations, of which six are new entrants. Over the four year funding period, 2018-2022, ACE expect to deliver approximately £73 million of funding to support these organisations.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the response of stakeholders to the 2011 report of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on football governance and (b) other aspects of that governance.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The football authorities in England have responded to the governance challenges put to them by the Commons Digital Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2011. The Football Association has reformed its Board and Council to meet the requirements of the UK Sports Governance Code published in 2016. The Code requires all sport National Governing Bodies to have in place appropriate levels of transparency, accountability and financial rigour. Working with the football authorities and supporter groups, the Government’s Expert Working Group on supporter interests, has improved the relationship between clubs and fans.
The FA has introduced a club licensing system in the National League System covering the areas of legal; ownership and control; integrity; finance; and grounds and security of tenure. The Premier League and English Football League that take responsibility for these matters for clubs in their competition now require business cases and proof of funds from owners. Salary caps and transfer embargoes, together with financial fair play rules has made the financial state of clubs in this country better than at any time over the last 20 years. However we are not complacent and we will continue to work with football to ensure its governance meets the future challenges of the game.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on tackling video game addiction among young people; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
It is important that young people enjoy video games as part of an active and balanced lifestyle that includes time for exercise and socialising in the real world. Through our Internet Safety Strategy we are working closely with the games industry, agencies such as the Video Standards Council and others to improve online safety in games, including promoting healthy and responsible gaming. More broadly, to better understand the relationship between social media and the mental health of children and young people up to 25 years old, the Chief Medical Officer will be leading a systematic review to examine all relevant international research in the area.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the speed of the internet supply in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Margot James
According to Thinkbroadband, 97% of premises in Coventry and 96.8% of premises in the West Midlands area have access to Superfast broadband speeds. Both figures stand above the UK average of 95.6%.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on adequacy of funding for live music venues in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.
Answered by Margot James
No such discussions have taken place. The live music industry is a vital part of the UK’s music ecosystem, contributing £1bn to the economy in 2016. We have undertaken a number of measures to support live music, most recently announcing that the Agent of Change principle will be included in the National Planning Policy Framework, helping to protect music venues when new housing is built.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has held with (a) representatives of the Football Association and (b) Cabinet colleagues on an (i) English or (ii) British bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Ministers have regular discussions with the Football Association, and with Cabinet colleagues, on a number of topics. The matter of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup is a question for the home nations’ football associations to first consider. The Football Association announced on 1st August that they would be carrying out a feasibility study on the merits of such a bid. My officials stand ready to contribute towards any government related aspects of the feasibility study as required.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for public libraries in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. Local authorities currently receive their funding from a number of sources, including grants from central government, council tax and other locally generated fees and charges for services.
It is for individual local authorities to decide how to use their funds, including how best to provide a public library service that meets local needs within available resources. In 2016/17 Coventry City Council made a net investment of £4.7m in its library service, while across the West Midlands the net investment in public libraries by local authorities was £74.5 million.
DCMS will continue to work across central and local government to encourage investment in libraries to ensure that they continue to support delivery of local and national priorities and needs.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support sports facilities in Coventry.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sport England, the government's arm's length body responsible for supporting grassroots sport, is making a series of investments in sports facilities in Coventry.
Since 2013, it has invested £6,824,538 of Exchequer and National Lottery funding in the Coventry local authority area in sports facilities and projects to get more people active.