Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of records relating to the Royal Family eligible for release under the 30 year rule were withheld in (a) 2007, (b) 2017, (c) 2020, (d) 2022 and (e) 2024.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The total number of records relating to the Royal Family that have been withheld, or redacted, under section 37 of the Freedom of Information Act can be reported on, with the number of exemptions relating to the Royal Family made under section 37 for each of the years cited being as follows:
2007: 0
2017: 97
2020: 80
2022: 35
2024: 46
However, records transferred in these years would not date from 30 years previously as public records are now due for transfer 20 years after their creation. Under the timetable for transitioning to the 20-year rule between 2013-2022, records dating from 1987-1994 were processed between 2015-2018. Details of exemptions made under section 37 on this basis are as follows:
2007 (1977 records): 0
2015 (1987 records): 33
2016 (1990 records): 58
2017 (1992 records): 97
2018 (1994 records): 84
It should be noted, however, that The National Archives cannot determine how many Royal Family-related records may have been withheld under other exemptions because it is not possible to search the actual content of all records held by The National Archives to identify those that include information relating to a particular subject. This is because searches in The National Archives’ Discovery catalogue are based on the terms used in catalogue descriptions rather than the full content of records. As a result, searching for a broad term such as “Royal Family” will not necessarily identify all relevant records, as many records may instead be catalogued under the name of an individual, institution, title, event, or other descriptive term.
Consequently, TNA officials are unable to provide a comprehensive figure for such records or express them as a proportion of the total number of records relating to the Royal Family.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many records relating to Royal matters have been transferred from the National Archives to the Royal Archives in Windsor since 2010.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Archives has not transferred any records to the Royal Archives since 2010.
Since 2013, the law has required central government departments to identify records of historical value and transfer them for permanent preservation to The National Archives by the time they are 20 years old.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within her Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes information on the number of vacancies at UK-level, by industry, and by size of business as part of the vacancies and jobs in the UK release. Using that data, we see that in August to October 2025 there were 15,000 vacancies in arts, entertainment and recreation, 33,000 vacancies in information and communication and 76,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. Parts of these industries are included in DCMS sector definitions.
Compared to August to October 2024:
Arts, entertainment and recreation vacancies are down 14.0%
Accommodation and food service activities vacancies are down 16.5%
Information and communication vacancies are down 13.5%
DCMS uses a more granular industry classification (4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes) to define our sectors and ONS vacancy data is not publicly available at this level.
DCMS publishes official statistics in development estimating the number of vacancies, alongside skills shortages and skills gaps, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey. Two regular data releases have been published so far: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019 and DCMS Sector Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2022, UK, as well as additional analysis for the Creative Industries. The 2022 data showed that 25.5% of DCMS Sectors businesses in the UK had at least one vacancy open at the time of the survey. This was significantly higher than All Sectors (23.2%).
Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS’s Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. DCMS has published additional estimates by SOC code for the Creative Industries using the DfE’s Employer Skills Survey.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will support making the agent of change principle statutory to safeguard grassroots music venues from the impact of new residential developments and ensure that developers take full responsibility for mitigating noise and other environmental conflicts at the planning stage.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Grassroots music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform and supporting local economies and creative jobs.
This Government wants to enable new developments such as housing to co-exist with cultural infrastructure, including music venues. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should be integrated effectively with existing businesses and community facilities, such as music venues. Existing businesses and facilities should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established.
MHCLG intends to consult on the National Planning Policy Framework, including the agent of change principle, this year. DCMS are working with MHCLG to consider how the agent of change can be implemented as effectively as possible as part of this review, to ensure the principle works well for music venues.
In August 2025, the joint industry and HM government licensing policy sprint taskforce recommended stronger guidance or a mandatory requirement for licensing authorities to ensure that the agent of change principle is considered when making licensing decisions. The Government is reviewing the findings of the taskforce and the recent call for evidence on licensing, to inform how the agent of change principle could be considered in licensing.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the BBC Board on calls for the UK to withdraw from Eurovision coverage if the Israeli state broadcaster participates.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government. Therefore, the Government cannot intervene in the BBC’s day-to-day operations including on editorial matters.
Decisions on who to include in international events and competitions are for the organisers to take, within the framework of their own rules and regulations. It is for the EBU, in consultation with its members, to decide which countries are allowed to participate in Eurovision.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to publish a sustainable tourism plan.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth of a more sustainable and resilient tourism sector. We are in the process of developing a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy with the Visitor Economy Advisory Council which will map out plans to support the growth of the tourism industry. This will address continuing to work with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to promote regenerative tourism practices and an approach where residents are involved in decision making and benefit directly from tourism.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Royal Collection Trust on the potential merits of publishing a list of items which are held in right of the Crown.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have no plans to do so, nor are Ministers in discussions with the Royal Collection Trust, which is an independent charity, with control over its own collections, policies and management. The public can enjoy the Royal Collection across official royal residences, former royal residences, and through an extensive lending and touring exhibitions programme. Over 280,000 object records in the Collection can be accessed via the Royal Collection Trust website.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Royal Collection Trust on the ownership of the Royal Stamp Collection.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have no plans to do so, nor are Ministers in discussions with the Royal Collection Trust, which is an independent charity, with control over its own collections, policies and management. The public can enjoy the Royal Collection across official royal residences, former royal residences, and through an extensive lending and touring exhibitions programme. Over 280,000 object records in the Collection can be accessed via the Royal Collection Trust website.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14270 on Press: Regulation, what work her Department is undertaking on this issue; which other Departments have participated; and if she will publish the work completed to date.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS works with a range of other Departments, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Home Office, to support a free, plural, and financially sustainable press sector. This includes work to develop a Local Media Strategy and to deliver the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.
We will update Parliament in the usual way on any policy developments in this area and work will be published as appropriate.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support grassroots music venues.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's report on grassroots music venues outlines our commitment to working across the live music sector to support grassroots music.
We urge the live music industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy for stadium and arena shows, to support a sustainable grassroots music sector. I am writing to the major players in the industry to underline the importance of swift progress, and on the need to unblock any remaining barriers to an effective industry-led solution.
Following the Autumn Budget, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, which provides grants, including to music venues and festivals.