Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they were first advised of the theft in September 2025 of artefacts from the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery archive.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.
Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the funding increase by Great British Energy for renewable schemes in Wales announced on 10 December 2025, which body will be responsible for administering this funding to renewable schemes in Wales.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Welsh Government will administer the additional funding provided by Great British Energy. This will fund solar panels for schools, leisure centres and museums across Wales, as well as supporting a new scheme which will help public sector and communities complete projects such as solar canopies and battery energy storage.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the survival of local museums in a) England and b) Worcestershire.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government supports museums nationwide through direct funding of National museums, funding of the Arts Council, and the administration of tax schemes like the Museums VAT Refund Scheme, and the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief. In October the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced 75 recipients of a new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund to keep our local museums open and serving communities, protecting opening hours and jobs and telling our national story at a local level. Earlier this year, DCMS also announced a further £25 million this year to support museums across England with urgent infrastructure through the Museum Estate and Development Fund. Together, these two interventions double the c. £44 million that Arts Council England (ACE) is already investing annually into core support for local museums.
Two museums in Worcestershire, the Museum of Royal Worcester, and Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, were awarded £228,343 and £239,922 respectively from the Museum Renewal Fund, and ACE have invested more than £3m in six museums across Worcestershire since 2021.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to continue the Museum Renewal Fund past March 2026; and whether that fund remains open for new applications.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Museum Renewal Fund, announced in February, closed to applicants in May 2025. 75 museum groups were awarded a total of £20 million in October, to keep our local museums open and serving communities, protecting opening hours and jobs and telling our national story at a local level. The department keeps its funding and support for different sectors under regular review, and decisions pertaining to future budgetary allocations will be taken in the usual manner, through departmental business planning.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of concert ticketing companies that allow disabled customers who are using accessible seating to have one accompanying person with them.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department does not hold information on the proportion of concert ticketing companies that allow disabled customers who are using accessible seating to have one accompanying person with them.
However this Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability or location, can access the creative industries and cultural opportunities. We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF), which as well as aiming to bolster the grassroots music ecosystem, aims to promote inclusivity within the sector. For example, through support from the SGMF, a music venue in Bristol has become the first grassroots music venue in the country to secure an Attitude is Everything Gold Award, a widely-coveted Industry award, given only to those that show a significant and ongoing commitment to improving accessibility.
The Government also supports the Arts Councils of each UK nation and Ireland working together with partners, such as the British Film Institute, in launching All In, a free, UK wide arts access scheme. This scheme will help remove barriers for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people in music venues, festivals, theatres, museums, galleries, libraries and more. This initiative introduces the UK and Ireland’s first set of industry standards to improve access to arts and culture as well as launch new digital tools to support accessible ticket booking.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity has also appointed David Stanley as Disability and Access Ambassador for arts and culture - to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the sector for disabled people, helping to ensure businesses are doing all they can to support disabled customers.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with universities and cultural institutions on the potential merits of establishing scholarships or research funding for communities impacted by Britain's colonial legacy.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst no such discussions have taken place directly, the Department is in contact with National Museums Liverpool (NML) on the development and refurbishment of the International Slavery Museum, which is being co-produced working closely with Liverpool’s communities. Current proposals include a space for a new National Centre for Teaching Black History, which will continue NML’s partnership with the University of Liverpool by developing a research lab with the Centre for the Study of International Slavery and supporting organisations, through the Transatlantic Slavery & Legacies in Museums Forum.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the resilience of (a) cultural and (b) community venues in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We recognise the challenges that cultural and community venues face. The government is committed to supporting these venues across the country which is why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year, committing £270 million to support cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, both the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund and the £25 million Museum Estate Development Fund are supporting non-profit cultural organisations to undertake urgent capital works, building repairs, retrofits and equipment upgrades improving safety, energy efficiency, accessibility and long-term viability of venues in communities across the country.
The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions.
On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and cultural venues through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes; of which £11.5 million of that funding has been in Surrey.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made in increasing the accessibility of major cultural institutions for people with disabilities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Equality Act 2010 sets out the core legal obligations for cultural venues in the UK regarding disability access. Under this Act, venues must implement "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. These adjustments cover both physical modifications, such as installing ramps and accessible toilets, and changes to services and policies. The latter includes provisions like permitting assistance dogs, offering information in formats that are accessible, and providing aids like sign language interpretation or audio description. DCMS-funded Capital funds, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund all fund renovations across major cultural institutions designed to repair and modernise buildings, including improvements to access and interpretation for visitors with disabilities.
The Creative Foundations Fund is a major government investment supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. The Creative Foundations Fund has a specific aim relating to access, supporting capital projects that address equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to: improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances, installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets and installing signage that meets best practice guidelines.
The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). DCMS is supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on (a) museums, (b) theatres, and (c) other cultural venues.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We recognise the challenges that museums, theatres and cultural venues face, including rising energy costs. The Government is committed to supporting these sectors, and that’s why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year which will commit over £270 million to support arts and cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, through the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund, and the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, theatres, museums, galleries and other arts and cultural venues can access grants to address urgent issues with their estates. This includes works to improve the energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of their buildings and equipment, ensuring their infrastructure is fit for future generations to benefit from.
The department regularly assesses pressures faced by sectors for which ministers are responsible. Recognising that our regional museums - many of which run multiple sites or large estates - are facing increased operating costs, the government has introduced a new, £20 million Museum Renewal Fund this year.
The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. Museums and Galleries Exhibition tax relief was also made permanent.
On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and culture through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to theatres, museums and cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes.
DCMS will continue to engage constructively across the arts and cultural sectors to monitor the impact of rising energy costs.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has been made of the value of artwork sold by local authorities in England since 2010.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold information on the value of artworks that may have been sold by local authorities since 2010, as local authorities are responsible for the management of their own assets, which are held and displayed in a variety of ways. The Museums Association provides clear guidance to the sector on responsible collections management and the acquisition and disposal of collections. These guidelines, endorsed by major sector organisations, prohibit financially motivated disposals of museum artefacts.
The government is committed to working collaboratively with councils, as co-funders of culture. As the government’s recent Pride in Place strategy makes clear, communities deserve vibrant public spaces, and the government is investing new money in shared community assets, including through our £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, supporting regional museums to improve public access to Collections.