Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority swimming pools have closed in last 10 years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
At the Spring Budget, the government announced a package of over £60 million to support swimming pools, which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers. It will also help provide investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.
Between September 2013 and September 2023, 294 swimming pools closed (across 162 sites owned by Local Authorities). Over a similar period from 2014 to 2023, 256 swimming pools were built by Local Authorities (across 144 sites). Facilities can close for a number of reasons, including being replaced by a new site or to align with the strategic objectives of the local authority.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to abolish the BBC licence fee.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We remain committed to reviewing the licence fee model ahead of the next Charter period to explore the potential for alternative ways to ensure the BBC remains appropriately funded over the long-term.
We will set out further detail on our plans regarding the future of the licence fee in due course.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will place in the Library of the House correspondence between the Department and the British Museum on the Parthenon Sculptures in the last two years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
The British Museum is prohibited by law from deaccessioning items from its collection, and we have no plans to change the law.
The only discussions the Department has had on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures occur within the formal meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property at UNESCO – the last one being attended by Government officials in May 2022.
The Department does not hold discussions on this matter with external parties, including with John Lefas, and consequently does not have additional material to place in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with external parties on the Parthenon Sculptures in the last two years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
The British Museum is prohibited by law from deaccessioning items from its collection, and we have no plans to change the law.
The only discussions the Department has had on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures occur within the formal meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property at UNESCO – the last one being attended by Government officials in May 2022.
The Department does not hold discussions on this matter with external parties, including with John Lefas, and consequently does not have additional material to place in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 had discussions with John Lefas on the Parthenon Sculptures in the last two years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
The British Museum is prohibited by law from deaccessioning items from its collection, and we have no plans to change the law.
The only discussions the Department has had on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures occur within the formal meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property at UNESCO – the last one being attended by Government officials in May 2022.
The Department does not hold discussions on this matter with external parties, including with John Lefas, and consequently does not have additional material to place in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of objects in museum collections deaccessioned in the last five years.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government does not keep such records as museums and galleries in the UK operate independently of the Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of their collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what museums are prevented by statute from deaccessioning objects in their collections; and whether she plans to extend those statutes to other institutions.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Some 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 human remains (less than 1,000 years old) and Nazi-era spoliation.
The Acts governing the national museums which have provisions prohibiting the trustees of the museums from disposing of items in their collection are listed below. The provisions are explicit and specific, setting out limited scenarios where disposal would be permitted. The Government has no plans to change these Acts.
Governing Legislation | Organisation |
British Museum Act 1963 | British Museum National History Museum |
British Library Act 1972 | British Library |
National Heritage Act 1983 | Victoria and Albert Museum Science Museum Royal Armouries Kew Gardens |
Merseyside Museums and Galleries Order 1986 | National Museums Liverpool |
Museums and Galleries Act 1992 | Tate National Portrait Gallery National Gallery Wallace Collection |
Imperial War Museum Act 1920 | Imperial War Museum |
National Maritime Museum Act 1934 | Royal Museum Greenwich (National Maritime Museum) |
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of returning the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece (a) on loan and (b) permanently.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
The British Museum, along with some other national museums, is prevented by law from deaccessioning objects in its collection. The British Museum has always said that it would consider any request for a loan of the sculptures to Greece – as it would any other object in its collection – as long as its normal conditions for loans are met.
The Government fully supports the position taken by the Trustees of the British Museum and has no plans to change the law.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether regulations exist that govern how close to existing residential properties telecommunication apparatus can be installed.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
When installing apparatus on both public and private land, operators must follow the provisions contained in the Electronic Communications Code. Further requirements for operators are set out in the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003. Operators must also comply with any applicable planning requirements, including any conditions, set out in relevant legislation.
Both fixed-line and mobile operators should also follow the relevant code of practice when deploying telecommunication apparatus so that it is placed appropriately, and local authorities and communities are engaged prior to installation. The codes of practice set out the required notification requirements where new apparatus to be installed by the operator, to indicate to nearby residents the intention to install apparatus as the proposed location.
Through Ofcom’s spectrum licence conditions, operators of radio equipment are also required to comply with the international guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields for the protection of the general public; operators are under a legal obligation to operate their radio equipment in accordance with the conditions of their licence.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding and sponsorship opportunities for the private sector to enable works to be undertaken to properties on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk list; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Heritage at Risk programme helps the Government to understand the overall state of England's historic sites by identifying places which are most at risk of being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.
There are several organisations which offer funding to private and commercial owners of sites on the Heritage at Risk Register, including Natural England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Historic England is also able to fund Heritage at Risk projects, including to fund private owners, where a project meets the eligibility and assessment criteria of its grant schemes.
Historically, approximately 7–10% of Historic England’s grants for Heritage at Risk have been given to private owners, helping with emergency repairs to historic buildings and protecting the livelihoods of skilled craft workers.