Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cultural assets and infrastructure are formally incorporated into regional economic growth and investment strategies, particularly in the North of England.

Cultural assets and infrastructure are a vital catalyst for achieving good growth in every postcode. We will continue to support regional partners and mayors to reflect local priorities and incorporate cultural infrastructure into local growth plans. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill made culture a competence for strategic authorities, signalling the important role mayors play in supporting their region’s cultural ecosystem.

The 2025 Creative Industries Sector Plan identifies twelve city regions and creative clusters with the highest potential for growth, including four MSAs in the North of England - the North East, Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire - who have each received £25m to support local creative sector growth as part of the £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund.

To support cultural infrastructure further, we have announced a £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere investment package, including up to £425 million through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts venues to address urgent infrastructure needs. The first round of the Creative Foundations Fund awarded £26 million to projects across the North of England, including support for The Lowry in Salford and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.

Additionally, Arts Council England is embedding local priorities in the 2028-2033 National Portfolio Investment Programme round, which opened on 20th October. New regional advisory boards will provide ACE with insight into local priorities, opportunities and challenges, including issues such as economic growth, health and wellbeing, skills, placemaking and community cohesion.