Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 49 of her Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22, what steps she has taken to tackle the increase in the mean gender pay gap in her Department between 2020 and 2021.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Following actions that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport set out in our gender pay gap report in 2021, the department’s mean gender pay gap reduced from 5.7% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising prices on the financial position of (a) arts organisations, (b) heritage organisations and (c) charities.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government continues to assess the impact of rising prices on arts, heritage and charitable organisations, and has taken action to support organisations in these sectors.
Arts Council England, the arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport responsible for funding arts organisations, continues to monitor the situation through regular conversations with National Portfolio Organisations. Relevant insights are then shared with DCMS through our regular engagement with Arts Council England.
The Heritage Pulse Survey, conducted by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Historic England, also regularly shares updates and insights on heritage organisations. The department will keep engaging constructively across both sectors to monitor the impact of higher costs.
The Government has acted to support arts, heritage and charitable organisations, including through the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, which continues to support all organisations with their energy bills until 31 March 2024.
We also recognise that charities are seeing higher levels of demand for their services. That is why in the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a package of over £100 million for charities and community organisations in England. This funding is split into two strands and is supporting organisations in need right now. The £76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund has closed for applications, and is awarding funding to frontline organisations supporting vulnerable individuals and households. The second strand, the £25 million VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, will support longer-term sustainability, and will launch later this year for applications.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people are employed by the National Citizen Service.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2022/23, NCS Trust had 170 employees. NCS Trust also has 12 young people on their Youth Advisory Board who are remunerated.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many participants in the National Citizen Service have parents who had achieved (a) at least one degree level qualification, (b) qualifications below degree level and (c) no formal qualifications in each year since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
NCS is open to all 16-17 year olds. Since its inception, over 800,000 young people have participated in the programme.
NCS Trust does not hold data on parents’ or guardians’ education level nor on participants’ perception of socio-economic background. NCS Trustdoes not hold data that aligns with the school classification outlined.
However, the NCS Trust does report annually on the proportion of participants who are eligible for Free School Meals (capturing those who have been ‘eligible within the last 6 years’). The table below outlines the available figures.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Total NCS participants | 39,566 | 57,789 | 75,696 | 92,996 |
|
|
| 23,467 | 95,549 |
Number of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 6,881 | 9,472 | 12,338 | 14,479 | 16,781 | 15,676 | 21,026 | 4,919 | 20,753 |
Percentage of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 17.39% | 16.39% | 16.30% | 15.57% | 16.92% | 15.67% | 22.84% | 20.96% |
|
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many participants of the National Citizen Service described themselves as coming from a lower socio-economic background in each year since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
NCS is open to all 16-17 year olds. Since its inception, over 800,000 young people have participated in the programme.
NCS Trust does not hold data on parents’ or guardians’ education level nor on participants’ perception of socio-economic background. NCS Trustdoes not hold data that aligns with the school classification outlined.
However, the NCS Trust does report annually on the proportion of participants who are eligible for Free School Meals (capturing those who have been ‘eligible within the last 6 years’). The table below outlines the available figures.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Total NCS participants | 39,566 | 57,789 | 75,696 | 92,996 |
|
|
| 23,467 | 95,549 |
Number of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 6,881 | 9,472 | 12,338 | 14,479 | 16,781 | 15,676 | 21,026 | 4,919 | 20,753 |
Percentage of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 17.39% | 16.39% | 16.30% | 15.57% | 16.92% | 15.67% | 22.84% | 20.96% |
|
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many participants in the National Citizen Service in each year since 2010 were entitled to Free School Meals at any point during their school years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
NCS is open to all 16-17 year olds. Since its inception, over 800,000 young people have participated in the programme.
NCS Trust does not hold data on parents’ or guardians’ education level nor on participants’ perception of socio-economic background. NCS Trustdoes not hold data that aligns with the school classification outlined.
However, the NCS Trust does report annually on the proportion of participants who are eligible for Free School Meals (capturing those who have been ‘eligible within the last 6 years’). The table below outlines the available figures.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Total NCS participants | 39,566 | 57,789 | 75,696 | 92,996 |
|
|
| 23,467 | 95,549 |
Number of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 6,881 | 9,472 | 12,338 | 14,479 | 16,781 | 15,676 | 21,026 | 4,919 | 20,753 |
Percentage of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 17.39% | 16.39% | 16.30% | 15.57% | 16.92% | 15.67% | 22.84% | 20.96% |
|
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many participants in the National Citizen Service attended (a) a state-run or state-funded school, selective on academic, faith or other grounds, (b) a state-run or state-funded non-selective school, (c) an independent or fee-paying school with a bursary, (d) an independent or fee-paying school without a bursary and (e) school outside the UK aged 11-16, in each year since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
NCS is open to all 16-17 year olds. Since its inception, over 800,000 young people have participated in the programme.
NCS Trust does not hold data on parents’ or guardians’ education level nor on participants’ perception of socio-economic background. NCS Trustdoes not hold data that aligns with the school classification outlined.
However, the NCS Trust does report annually on the proportion of participants who are eligible for Free School Meals (capturing those who have been ‘eligible within the last 6 years’). The table below outlines the available figures.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Total NCS participants | 39,566 | 57,789 | 75,696 | 92,996 |
|
|
| 23,467 | 95,549 |
Number of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 6,881 | 9,472 | 12,338 | 14,479 | 16,781 | 15,676 | 21,026 | 4,919 | 20,753 |
Percentage of participants eligible for Free School Meals | 17.39% | 16.39% | 16.30% | 15.57% | 16.92% | 15.67% | 22.84% | 20.96% |
|
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) libraries and (b) local councils on the potential presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) in their library buildings.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of RAAC planks on 1 May 2019.
Individual building owners and managers are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as this. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.
As buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed instances of RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.
The delivery of public library services, including the maintenance of the buildings through which that is done, is a responsibility for upper-tier local authorities under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has advised members to check whether any buildings in their estates have RAAC, to ensure it can be identified, assessed, and responded to accordingly. This is accessible on the LGA website and in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. If further buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish her Department's new public libraries strategy.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government is committed to supporting a sustainable future for public libraries in England, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is presently working on a new Government strategy for public libraries.
To inform this work, the Libraries Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay appointed Baroness Sanderson of Welton last September to lead a review of public libraries and to make recommendations for the Government to consider for inclusion in its new public libraries strategy. Her report was developed through engagement with a diverse range of library services and other organisations with an interest in libraries, and involved nine roundtable meetings held across the country.
Baroness Sanderson submitted her report in July, and the Department is currently considering her recommendations. We plan to publish her report alongside the Government’s response this autumn. Her recommendations will inform the drafting of the new Government strategy, which we intend to publish in 2024, following consultation with the libraries sector.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) in their archive buildings.
Answered by John Whittingdale
On 1 May 2019, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety issued a safety alert on the failure of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) planks. Local authorities, like other building owners, are advised to follow available professional guidance.
The National Archives, a non-ministerial department of HM Government, has been in contact with the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport team about this issue and has also conducted a write-round to the local Place of Deposit for Public Records network and the Chief Archivists in Local Government Group.
HM Government will consider the approach to any RAAC in other public sector estates on a case-by-case basis.