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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to visit (a) museums and (b) art galleries in the East Midlands.

We want to ensure that East Midlands museums and galleries continue to thrive and engage with diverse audiences. To that end, museums and galleries in the region receive public funding from a variety of sources, including Arts Council England, National Heritage Lottery Fund, local authorities and others, as well as benefiting from a range of tax reliefs and grants. For instance, three regional museums and galleries in Derby and Nottingham were awarded funding from the £4 million DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund this year, and we look forward to seeing their projects take shape. East Midlands museums and galleries have continued to find innovative ways to use their buildings and objects to best effect and improve their audiences’ engagement and experience.