Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the document entitled Government’s Principles of Engagement, published on 14 March 2024, remains active; and whether those principles should guide engagement with stakeholders and the public during government consultations.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Principles of Engagement was published under the 2022 to 2024 Conservative government. Responsibility for decisions and due diligence around who departments engage with sits with those departments and the appropriate policy areas.

It is for individual government departments to decide to use these principles, or their own due diligence processes around engagement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what opportunities her department has for independent cinemas to apply for national support schemes.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Independent cinemas play an important role in our communities, providing an accessible form of culture for people across the UK. Independent cinemas can apply for various public funding schemes through DCMS's Arm's Length Bodies if they meet the eligibility criteria. For example, through the British Film Institute, cinemas can access support for audience-facing projects through the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund; and can join the BFI Film Audience Network and apply for funding to support projects that bring audiences together for screenings of UK independent and international films. Cinemas based in not-for-profit mixed arts venues in England may also meet the eligibility criteria for Arts Council England's Creative Foundations Fund; we estimate this applies to approximately 13% of the 218 full-time independent cinemas in the UK. This sector will also benefit from permanently lower business rates multipliers for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure venues, starting this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to increase local roads maintenance funding.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government has committed a record level of funding for local authorities to repair, renew and fix potholes; totalling over £2 billion annually by 2029-30. This is double the amount provided by the previous government – and it ensures that we will exceed our manifesto commitment to fix an additional 1 million potholes in each year of this Parliament.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, further to the Westminster Hall debate of 14 January 2026 titled ‘impact of Science and Discovery Centres on national science and technology priorities', whether science and discovery centres now fall within the remit of her department.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Science and Discovery Centres are primarily cultural institutions and visitor attractions which would normally fall under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) remit.

Where they carry out research, they are funded for those activities, for example through UK Research and Innovation or other funders.

DSIT is engaging with DCMS to discuss how government’s relationship with these important institutions can best be supported.