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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to form a cross-departmental group for craft drawing together the responsibilities in this area of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade.

The Government is committed to supporting the creative industries, including the craft sector, which is why we put them front and centre of our Industrial Strategy, including publishing the Creative Industries Sector Plan last year. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with all other relevant government departments to support the craft sector and deliver on the Sector Plan. DCMS currently has no plans to form a cross-departmental group for craft, however DCMS and Skills England jointly run a Creative Sector Skills Forum, which has a rolling cast list and includes representation for the crafts sector depending on the agenda. This includes the Crafts Council, Heritage Crafts and Officials from DWP and DfE as needed.