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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the arts and culture in London.

Through the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund (CRF), HM Government supported London's vibrant cultural sector against the impact of COVID-19. London-based groups and venues received just over a third of total CRF funding – £494 million in grants and loans – supporting over 1,200 organisations. That included 21 organisations in Ealing, such as Colour Sound Experiment Ltd (just under £500,000) and Marquee Entec Ltd (£524,000). The Southbank Centre, the Royal Opera House and Historic Royal Palaces were just a few of the many other acclaimed London institutions which received significant amounts of CRF funding, demonstrating our commitment to supporting our iconic cultural and heritage venues through the pandemic.

In addition to this, Arts Council England – the arm’s length body which is responsible for distributing public funding – is committed to supporting arts and culture in the capital. Around a third of its investment through the 2023–26 Investment Programme will be directed to organisations in London, amounting to £143.7 million. The new Investment Programme includes a wider spread of investment to outer London boroughs, meaning more Londoners will benefit from creative and cultural investment. Arts Council England will also continue to prioritise a number of London boroughs in its existing set of priority places (Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Croydon, Enfield, and Newham).

I am pleased that, through this Investment Programme, Arts Council England is supporting 56 cultural organisations in the capital for the first time. These organisations will sit alongside our acclaimed institutions such as the Royal Opera House, London Transport Museum, the National Theatre, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and Southbank Centre, which will continue to receive funding. Organisations leaving the portfolio are eligible to apply for support from Arts Council England’s £12.6 million Transition Programme. This fund will provide those leaving the portfolio with up to 12 months’ funding at the current levels from the point of notification. Both the amount of money available, and the length of transition, have been extended.