Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that every community has (a) arts and (b) music venues.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March 2022 we were delighted to announce the recipients of the £48 million first round of funding from the Cultural Investment Fund. This round of funding will go to more than 60 organisations, including those whose focus is on arts and music. The Cultural Investment Fund will invest up to £128.4 million of further capital in innovative cultural and creative projects, libraries, and museums across the country over the Spending Review period (2022/23–2024/25). Alongside this, the Cultural Development Fund represents the Department's largest existing ring-fenced funding explicitly for culture-led regeneration projects outside London, in line with our Levelling Up work. The successful applicants to the £30.2 million third round of the Cultural Development Fund will be announced in spring 2023, and will help to unlock economic growth in towns and cities across England through investment in cultural and creative activities, using creativity as a catalyst to make places more attractive to live, work and visit.
In addition, Arts Council England recently announced the outcome of its 2023-2026 Investment Programme, which will be investing £446 million each year in arts and culture across England. This funding will support a record 990 organisations across the whole of England and will give people across the country more opportunities to access high-quality arts and culture on their doorstep.
Arts Council England has also extended the Supporting Grassroots Live Music ‘time-limited priority’ until 31 March 2023, with a ring-fenced fund of £1.5 million. The fund is designed to support organisations across the country – including venues and promoters – with little or no prior experience of public funding applications.
In June 2022, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport co-published a refreshed National Plan for Music Education, which sets out our vision to enable all children and young people across the country to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents. As part of the plan, the Government announced a new investment of £25 million of capital funding to enable the purchase of musical instruments and technology, including adaptive instruments. The Department for Education also confirmed they will continue to invest £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years up to and including 2024/25, so that music hubs can continue to provide vital support to local schools.
This Government’s investment in arts and culture remains a key part of its levelling up work.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking ensure funding for (a) arts and (b) music is evenly distributed across the country.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March 2022 we were delighted to announce the recipients of the £48 million first round of funding from the Cultural Investment Fund. This round of funding will go to more than 60 organisations, including those whose focus is on arts and music. The Cultural Investment Fund will invest up to £128.4 million of further capital in innovative cultural and creative projects, libraries, and museums across the country over the Spending Review period (2022/23–2024/25). Alongside this, the Cultural Development Fund represents the Department's largest existing ring-fenced funding explicitly for culture-led regeneration projects outside London, in line with our Levelling Up work. The successful applicants to the £30.2 million third round of the Cultural Development Fund will be announced in spring 2023, and will help to unlock economic growth in towns and cities across England through investment in cultural and creative activities, using creativity as a catalyst to make places more attractive to live, work and visit.
In addition, Arts Council England recently announced the outcome of its 2023-2026 Investment Programme, which will be investing £446 million each year in arts and culture across England. This funding will support a record 990 organisations across the whole of England and will give people across the country more opportunities to access high-quality arts and culture on their doorstep.
Arts Council England has also extended the Supporting Grassroots Live Music ‘time-limited priority’ until 31 March 2023, with a ring-fenced fund of £1.5 million. The fund is designed to support organisations across the country – including venues and promoters – with little or no prior experience of public funding applications.
In June 2022, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport co-published a refreshed National Plan for Music Education, which sets out our vision to enable all children and young people across the country to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents. As part of the plan, the Government announced a new investment of £25 million of capital funding to enable the purchase of musical instruments and technology, including adaptive instruments. The Department for Education also confirmed they will continue to invest £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years up to and including 2024/25, so that music hubs can continue to provide vital support to local schools.
This Government’s investment in arts and culture remains a key part of its levelling up work.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to invest in capital projects to enhance (a) the arts and (b) music in local communities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March 2022 we were delighted to announce the recipients of the £48 million first round of funding from the Cultural Investment Fund. This round of funding will go to more than 60 organisations, including those whose focus is on arts and music. The Cultural Investment Fund will invest up to £128.4 million of further capital in innovative cultural and creative projects, libraries, and museums across the country over the Spending Review period (2022/23–2024/25). Alongside this, the Cultural Development Fund represents the Department's largest existing ring-fenced funding explicitly for culture-led regeneration projects outside London, in line with our Levelling Up work. The successful applicants to the £30.2 million third round of the Cultural Development Fund will be announced in spring 2023, and will help to unlock economic growth in towns and cities across England through investment in cultural and creative activities, using creativity as a catalyst to make places more attractive to live, work and visit.
In addition, Arts Council England recently announced the outcome of its 2023-2026 Investment Programme, which will be investing £446 million each year in arts and culture across England. This funding will support a record 990 organisations across the whole of England and will give people across the country more opportunities to access high-quality arts and culture on their doorstep.
Arts Council England has also extended the Supporting Grassroots Live Music ‘time-limited priority’ until 31 March 2023, with a ring-fenced fund of £1.5 million. The fund is designed to support organisations across the country – including venues and promoters – with little or no prior experience of public funding applications.
In June 2022, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport co-published a refreshed National Plan for Music Education, which sets out our vision to enable all children and young people across the country to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents. As part of the plan, the Government announced a new investment of £25 million of capital funding to enable the purchase of musical instruments and technology, including adaptive instruments. The Department for Education also confirmed they will continue to invest £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years up to and including 2024/25, so that music hubs can continue to provide vital support to local schools.
This Government’s investment in arts and culture remains a key part of its levelling up work.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential importance of the advertising sector for the creative industries.
Answered by Paul Scully
Advertising is a thriving sector that makes a significant and valuable contribution to the UK economy and creative industries. It is a key revenue source for many creative industries, underpinning the provision of key services that are positively transforming people’s lives. The Advertising and marketing sub-sector contributed £5.1 billion to UK exports in services worldwide in 2020. This was a 27.3% increase from the previous year. The UK is second in Portland’s Soft Power Index and the advertising sector plays a leading role in this ranking. The creative industries provide a distinctive image of our country and our cities, helping them to stand out from competitors. As a home to some of the most influential international advertising agencies, the UK advertising sector makes a significant contribution to the country’s soft power by creating awareness of, and familiarity surrounding, the nation’s products, services, cultural outputs and distinctive image abroad.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 promote UK hospitality and tourism to potential overseas customers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2021, the government published two key documents which have been key to promoting the UK hospitality and tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tourism Recovery Plan (TRP) and the Hospitality Strategy. The TRP sets out the role of the UK Government in assisting and accelerating the tourism sector’s recovery from COVID-19. The Tourism minister has continued to co-chair the Tourism Industry Council (TIC) meetings, to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.
The Hospitality Strategy set out twenty-two commitments to support the sector across a range of policy areas, grouped into three themes: Reopening, Recovery, and Resilience. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, and BEIS officials continue to work with the Council and the sector to deliver the strategy commitments.
The Government will continue to work with VisitBritain to promote the UK as a tourist destination domestically and internationally. In 2022, VisitBritain ran its Welcome to Another Side of Britain marketing campaign. The £14 million GREAT-funded campaign put the spotlight on Britain’s cities, hit hard by the absence of international visitors, as well as on messages of welcome and reassurance.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help promote the UK hospitality and tourism sectors.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2021, the government published two key documents which have been key to promoting the UK hospitality and tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tourism Recovery Plan (TRP) and the Hospitality Strategy. The TRP sets out the role of the UK Government in assisting and accelerating the tourism sector’s recovery from COVID-19. The Tourism minister has continued to co-chair the Tourism Industry Council (TIC) meetings, to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.
The Hospitality Strategy set out twenty-two commitments to support the sector across a range of policy areas, grouped into three themes: Reopening, Recovery, and Resilience. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, and BEIS officials continue to work with the Council and the sector to deliver the strategy commitments.
The Government will continue to work with VisitBritain to promote the UK as a tourist destination domestically and internationally. In 2022, VisitBritain ran its Welcome to Another Side of Britain marketing campaign. The £14 million GREAT-funded campaign put the spotlight on Britain’s cities, hit hard by the absence of international visitors, as well as on messages of welcome and reassurance.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote UK holiday destinations to people abroad.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Many events took place in 2022 which attracted tourists to different locations across the UK, from the Commonwealth Games to Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and a variety of UNBOXED events. These sporting and cultural events provided attractive incentives for domestic tourists to explore destinations across the country and for international tourists venturing overseas post-pandemic to make the UK a destination of choice.
Earlier this year, VisitBritain ran its Welcome to Another Side of Britain marketing campaign. The £14 million GREAT-funded campaign put the spotlight on Britain’s cities, hit hard by the absence of international visitors, as well as on messages of welcome and reassurance to targeted markets with the greatest potential for quickly driving back value - including Europe and the US.
2023 is shaping up to be another year of exciting major events across the UK which will attract many international tourists. From HRH King Charles’ coronation in May; to the major international music event, Eurovision, which will be hosted on behalf of Ukraine in Liverpool; and sporting events such as the Golf Open and the World Snooker Championships, these historic events will continue to shine a spotlight on the UK and continue to support the UK’s tourism sector to thrive.
The Government will work with VisitBritain to market these events to our key international markets, with a campaign in the new year.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of income parents of children aged (a) under 5 and (b) 5-11 spend each year on average on childcare including holiday clubs in the Cities of London and Westminster constituency.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not hold the data requested. However, the most recent Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents provides some data on parental spend on childcare. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021.
The survey shows the average cost of childcare per week for parents of 0 to 14-year-old children by region. It also shows the cost by day for school-aged children during holiday periods. This data is not available at local authority or constituency level.
The department is aware that childcare is a key concern for parents and that is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We continue to look at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use the government-funded support they are entitled to.
The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on early education entitlements and continues to support families with the cost of childcare through Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit.
In the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the department also announced it is investing over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides enriching activities and healthy meals for disadvantaged children during school holidays.
In July, the department announced further measures to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. This included a new £1.2 million campaign via the childcare choices website to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. Childcare Choices is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote the UK as a destination for major international conferences, exhibitions and events.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to promoting the UK as a destination for major international conferences, exhibitions and events. The UK will host the Eurovision Song Contest next year in Liverpool, on behalf of last year’s winner Ukraine. The event will be a great opportunity to showcase the UK’s visitor economy and host people from all over the world.
VisitBritain’s Business Events Growth Programme forms a key part of the government’s commitment to grow the business events sector. In 2022/23, the programme is on course for a record year of successful applications across a wide distribution of British cities, supporting events in the UK’s strongest growth sectors. So far this financial year, there have been 25 confirmed applications for potential and confirmed events in 11 cities across the UK.
The Tourism Recovery Plan sets out our long-term vision for growing the sector and our commitment to providing strong government advocacy for business events. The Tourism Industry Council’s Events Industry Board working group advises on how industry and the government can collaborate to support the sector’s growth.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 27 September to Question 51628 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Cities of London and Westminster constituency have one or more buildings classified in Category D of condition need; how long each of those buildings has been classified in that category; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is preparing detailed analysis of the data collected for the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme and plan to publish the details by the end of the year.
The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme, were published in May 2021 in the report ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’.
The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
The Department has no plans to make a statement.