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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff in her Department work on the (a) promotion and (b) preservation of industrial heritage; whether industrial heritage sites are eligible to apply for funding through Historic England; what criteria are used to assess such applications; and what proportion of the (i) £15 million allocated to the Heritage at Risk Fund and the (ii) £4.85 million allocated to the Heritage Revival Fund in 2025–26 will be directed towards industrial heritage projects.

Within the Department for Culture, Media & Sport there is a small team that oversees Historic England, a team delivering heritage policy, and a team leading on the designation of listed buildings and monuments. Whilst it does not have dedicated staff dealing specifically with industrial heritage, it is part of a wider workstream.

Historic England, the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, is responsible for managing and protecting heritage, including industrial heritage.

The £15 million Heritage at Risk Capital Fund and the £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund do not have a pre-allocated proportion for industrial heritage. Funding decisions are based on criteria including Heritage Significance, Level of Risk, Community Benefit, Financial Need, Project Viability.

Industrial heritage sites can apply for Historic England funding, with sites such as Woodhorn’s Iconic Mining Heritage which received £997,265 Heritage at Risk Capital Funding and the Pump House, Ellesmere Port, which received £252,282 Heritage at Risk Capital Funding.