Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of using guidance for Local Growth Plans to encourage Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local authorities to map, protect and grow cultural infrastructure as part of place-based regeneration.

Local Growth Plans are produced and owned by Mayoral Strategic Authorities, providing a long-term, 10-year strategic framework for growth in their region. Local Growth Plans must set out an economic overview; shared local growth priorities agreed with the government; and a pipeline of investment opportunities. Alongside this, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act introduced culture as an area of competency.

Our guidance on Local Growth Plans is clear that Mayoral Strategic Authorities have the flexibility to consider their own local sectoral strengths, challenges, and opportunities, and this includes the particular cultural strengths of their own areas.