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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK comedy industry on (a) the economy and (b) society.

While the Department has not carried out any recent assessments of the impact of the UK comedy industry, the government recognises the sector as a vital performing art which forms part of this country's cultural landscape, enriching lives, and shaping our collective identity. British comedy also generates substantial economic returns, with a recent Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Live Comedy estimating that the live sector generates £1 billion annually.

Our arms-length body, Arts Council England (ACE) funds numerous organisations and venues that support comedy. Between the financial years covering 2010/11 to 2024/25 ACE has awarded £12,296,254 in funding where an applicant name, project title or subclassifier contains the word “comedy”. In addition, DCMS will be convening a roundtable discussion in the coming months to hear about issues currently impacting this sector.