To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that the visitor economy supports the maintenance and upkeep of heritage assets.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The visitor economy has a significant and positive impact on the support and maintenance of our heritage assets. In 2021, despite COVID-19 restrictions, there were over 119 million domestic day visits to heritage sites, 15 million domestic overnight heritage trips, and 2.74 million international visits to heritage sites, demonstrating that heritage is a major driver for both international and domestic tourism, and a key source of income for local people. Twenty-eight per cent of international visits include a castle or historic house, according to VisitBritain research.

The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in 2021, set out the Government's commitment to the enhancement and conservation of the country’s cultural heritage. Our investment in supporting the conservation of tourism assets included the £67 million in capital funding for maintenance and restoration projects for historic sites and destinations through the Heritage Stimulus Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund Kickstarter funds. We have also established the Tourism Industry Council Working Group on Sustainability with the British Tourism Authority to drive forward this objective.

Following the Review into Destination Management Organisations, the new Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation programme will ensure that organisations work in collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally on shared priorities and targets. This includes marketing and promotion of local cultural heritage sites and destinations. There are now 30 newly accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships across England.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will develop a national register of (a) the condition and (b) maintenance requirements of heritage assets.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The heritage assets most at risk of loss or irreparable damage are already captured through Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. This tool is used to map the assets at risk, and to improve the likelihood of solutions being found.

Significant funding is currently distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Historic England works to remove buildings from the Register, working with local decision-makers to alleviate risk by facilitating repairs, finding new uses for assets which are unoccupied but capable of reuse, and pursuing creative solutions to sustain those which are not. Historic England also targets the investment of its grants where reducing risk will bring the greatest benefits, an approach which has proved highly successful in its £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zones programme.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage and Museums and Galleries: Children
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing people under of the age of 16 with free access to (a) museums, (b) galleries and (c) heritage assets.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DCMS sponsored museums are already free to enter for people of any age. HM Government also operates a VAT refund scheme (known as section 33a), for other museums offering free entry across the UK, with 159 museums currently benefiting from it.

Many museums, galleries and heritage sites also offer free or discounted entry to young people specifically, both through general admission or educational events and activities inside and outside school. For example, English Heritage, which manages the National Heritage Collection, offers free entry to pre-booked schools and other learning groups at any of the 400+ historic places in its care.

HM Government recognises and celebrates the critical role that museums and heritage organisations have in delivering education and supporting the national curriculum, and funds Arts Council England and Historic England to deliver the Museums and Schools and Heritage Schools programmes.


Written Question
Football: Governing Bodies
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to introduce a Football Governance Bill.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Football Governance Bill was introduced to Parliament on 19 March 2024.

This delivers on the Government's longstanding commitment to protect the national game. By establishing an Independent Football Regulator we are safeguarding the future of clubs for the benefit of communities and fans.


Written Question
Arts: Children
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing children's access to (a) music, (b) drama, (c) dance and (d) other arts and cultural activities out of school.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ministers in both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education have regular discussions on a range of subjects, including the development of their joint Cultural Education Plan, as committed to in the DfE’s Schools White Paper, which aims to support for all children and young people (aged 0–18) to access a broad range of high-quality cultural education subjects, activities, and experiences in and out of school. This includes encouraging engagement and partnerships between schools and cultural providers out of school, such as public libraries, theatres and museums.

The Government also published a new National Plan for Music Education in June 2022. This refreshed plan, The Power of Music to Change Lives, aims to level up music opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of circumstance, needs or geography, in addition to raising the profile and time spent on music lessons in school. We are making £25 million of new funding available to purchase hundreds of thousands of musical instruments and equipment for young people, including adaptive instruments for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities so more young people can find and explore a passion for music.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure an (a) adequate level of and (b) equitable distribution of funding for the maintenance of heritage assets across each area of the country with those assets.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Significant public funding is distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through HM Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Historic England provides funding for heritage through various grant schemes, including £11.3 million annually for Heritage at Risk. Funding is allocated to achieve a equitable regional distribution. Historic England has also awarded public funding to 67 historic High Streets across England through the £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme, with the majority of this funding being used to repair and improve heritage assets. This investment has seen derelict and underused buildings restored to become new community and commercial spaces, with over half of the High Street Heritage Action Zones in priority 1 Levelling Up Areas.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund also provides funding for heritage projects with a community angle across the country, awarding more than £8.4 billion in Lottery funds to more than 46,000 heritage projects across the UK. The Heritage Fund has made awards in every parliamentary constituency in the UK.

More broadly, through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, HM Government is investing in many projects which benefit heritage across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the £150 million Community Ownership Fund is open to groups across the UK to take ownership of heritage assets which are at risk of being lost to the community. Many of these projects are benefiting heritage assets in areas across the country.


Written Question
Arts: Digital Technology
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps with her international counterparts to support the digital creative arts.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has set out a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030. This builds on our record of introducing tax reliefs across the creative industries, including the digital creative arts.

In order to deliver this, in the Creative Industries Sector Vision we set out a focus on increasing exports. We are therefore taking steps to ensure that the UK’s trade policy reflects industry priorities and delivers access to priority markets. In addition to maximising creative exports, we have committed to increasing creative industries’ international exposure and strengthening global cultural relationships to both unlock these opportunities and tackle key issues facing our creative sectors.

DCMS is working closely with the British Council and the UK cultural sector to promote our digital creative arts internationally. The UK’s leadership in this area is commended by our international counterparts, as well as in multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20.

We also work with international counterparts on a number of fronts to support the creation of a pipeline of talent in the digital arts, including through funding internationally-focused education and skills programmes that foster collaboration across continents and build on our existing relationships overseas. For example, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) programme, Inside Pictures, is supported by DCMS and enables high potential, mid-career TV and film specialists to continue their professional development through an international training programme operating in both London and LA.

DCMS recognises the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the creative industries, including digital creative arts. It is important that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes risks to the creative and cultural sectors and to copyright-holders. As set out in the Government’s AI White Paper consultation response, critical to this work will be close engagement with international counterparts.


Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Advertising
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing further restrictions on advertising on the packaging of alcoholic drinks.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which operates independently of government, is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media such as print, radio and TV, as well as online. It administers the Advertising Codes of Practice, which are drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP).

The Advertising Codes impose a wide range of restrictions to ensure that alcohol advertising is responsible and not targeted at children. These include that adverts must not link alcohol with social or sexual success, imply that it is indispensable or include elements that appeal particularly to people under 18. Online platforms have also introduced stringent measures to monitor alcohol ads and ensure safe advertising, such as age gating and age verification.

The packaging of alcoholic drinks is overseen by the Portman Group, the social responsibility body and regulator for alcohol labelling, packaging and promotion in the UK, which operates its Codes of Practice to ensure that alcohol is marketed in a socially responsible way, only to those aged 18 and over, and in a way that does not appeal particularly to those who are vulnerable.

The Government’s Online Advertising Programme aims to increase protections for children and young people under 18 from online exposure to advertisements for products and services that are illegal to be sold to them, and we will consult further in due course.


Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Advertising
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to place further restrictions on the advertisement of alcohol.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which operates independently of government, is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media such as print, radio and TV, as well as online. It administers the Advertising Codes of Practice, which are drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP).

The Advertising Codes impose a wide range of restrictions to ensure that alcohol advertising is responsible and not targeted at children. These include that adverts must not link alcohol with social or sexual success, imply that it is indispensable or include elements that appeal particularly to people under 18. Online platforms have also introduced stringent measures to monitor alcohol ads and ensure safe advertising, such as age gating and age verification.

The packaging of alcoholic drinks is overseen by the Portman Group, the social responsibility body and regulator for alcohol labelling, packaging and promotion in the UK, which operates its Codes of Practice to ensure that alcohol is marketed in a socially responsible way, only to those aged 18 and over, and in a way that does not appeal particularly to those who are vulnerable.

The Government’s Online Advertising Programme aims to increase protections for children and young people under 18 from online exposure to advertisements for products and services that are illegal to be sold to them, and we will consult further in due course.


Written Question
Youth Services: Staff
Friday 19th January 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will develop a skills and workforce plan for youth services.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people.

While local authorities are responsible for delivering youth provision, the Government has worked closely with local authorities to update statutory guidance to support this delivery. The Government additionally provides significant funding to support youth services, with over £1.1 billion provided to the youth sector from DCMS In England between 2015 and 2021.

Furthermore, over this Spending Review Period, DCMS is investing over £500 million in youth services to deliver the National Youth Guarantee, a government commitment that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This includes a significant number of interventions. For example, the Youth Investment Fund is delivering grants to build, renovate and expand youth centres, and the Million Hours Fund has created more than a million hours of youth activities in antisocial behaviour hotspots.