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 adequacy of funding provided by Arts Council England for cultural activities in the South East.

His Majesty’s Government is deeply committed to supporting access to high-quality arts and culture across the country, including through public funding to organisations in the South East of England via Arts Council England.

Through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 National Portfolio, public funding is being provided to 139 organisations (an increase from 105 in the 2018–22 portfolio) in the South East of England across theatre, dance, museums, visual arts, literature and libraries. The total investment in the South East through the national portfolio is £45.6 million per year – an increase of over £5 million per year from the last portfolio.

Between 2020/21 and 2023/24, Arts Council England will have invested over £360 million of public money in arts and cultural organisations in the South East of England. This includes £12,439,377 through the Government’s Cultural Development Fund, Libraries Improvement Fund, and Museum Estate and Development Fund, administered by Arts Council England. Arts and cultural organisations in the South East also benefited from over £106 million through the Culture Recovery Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.