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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support theatres and touring companies in the Midlands.

Since April 2016, Arts Council England (ACE) has invested more than £85,470,000 in theatre in the Midlands, including regular funding to their National Portfolio Organisations, National Lottery Grants for the Arts and Project Grants and Strategic funding. From the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, to the National Student Drama Festival in Leicester, ACE support a diverse range of work which has international appeal, is accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, and plays a key role as part of England’s vibrant arts and cultural ecology.

Between June 2016 and March 2018, Arts Council invested £2,737,902 in Strategic Touring in the Midlands region. This programme funded touring work focusing specifically on areas of low engagement with the arts and those that rely on touring for much of their arts provision. It also extended the reach of high-quality work by broadening the range of venues presenting it, as well as forging stronger relationships between audiences, promoters, venues, artists and producers.