Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Museums and galleries in the UK operate independently of the government. Decisions relating to their collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum.
National museums are prevented by law from “deaccessioning” objects in their collections unless, broadly, they are duplicates or unfit for retention. The two exceptions to this are when the objects are human remains that are less than 1000 years old, and objects that were spoliated during the Nazi-era.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings there have been of the cultural and creative touring working group to date.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises the importance of touring to the creative and cultural sectors, and is committed to helping them navigate the new rules under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The DCMS-led working group on creative and cultural touring, which involves sector representatives and other key government departments, is looking at the issues and options to help the sectors resume touring with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.
Membership of the Working Group includes a range of sector representative bodies, including: Association of Independent Music, the Music Managers’ Forum, Musicians’ Union, UK Music, BPI, LIVE, the Association of British Orchestras, UK Theatre, One Dance UK, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, the Creative Industries Federation, the Featured Artists Coalition, National Museum Directors’ Council, ACE, the British Fashion Council, the Production Services Association, Creative Scotland, Arts Councils for each of the nations, Logistics UK, the Road Haulage Association, #WeMakeEvents and the Council of Music Makers.
Sector representatives are encouraged to reach out to others to ensure the working group hears and understands the views and concerns of organisations and individuals right across the cultural and creative sectors.
Following the Secretary of State-chaired roundtable with the sector on 20 January, the Working Group has met four times. There have been a number of additional meetings across government and with the sectors affected to discuss in more detail the issues that have been raised during those meetings.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the membership is of the cultural and creative touring working group.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises the importance of touring to the creative and cultural sectors, and is committed to helping them navigate the new rules under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The DCMS-led working group on creative and cultural touring, which involves sector representatives and other key government departments, is looking at the issues and options to help the sectors resume touring with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.
Membership of the Working Group includes a range of sector representative bodies, including: Association of Independent Music, the Music Managers’ Forum, Musicians’ Union, UK Music, BPI, LIVE, the Association of British Orchestras, UK Theatre, One Dance UK, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, the Creative Industries Federation, the Featured Artists Coalition, National Museum Directors’ Council, ACE, the British Fashion Council, the Production Services Association, Creative Scotland, Arts Councils for each of the nations, Logistics UK, the Road Haulage Association, #WeMakeEvents and the Council of Music Makers.
Sector representatives are encouraged to reach out to others to ensure the working group hears and understands the views and concerns of organisations and individuals right across the cultural and creative sectors.
Following the Secretary of State-chaired roundtable with the sector on 20 January, the Working Group has met four times. There have been a number of additional meetings across government and with the sectors affected to discuss in more detail the issues that have been raised during those meetings.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to publish a response to the Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant report by the hon. Member for Devizes, published in September 2020.
Answered by John Whittingdale
This is an independent piece of work requested by the Prime Minister of the Member for Devizes (Danny Kruger). Mr Kruger and his office led the consultation process and he met with a wide range of stakeholders to inform his recommendations, including the Minister for Civil Society. The department is currently reviewing the recommendations and the Secretary of State will provide an update on the Government’s work in this area in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to allocate the £500 million funding from the Youth Investment Fund to local authorities.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and on the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.
The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.
The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recent announced Spending Review £30m of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.