Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of her Department's spending on supporting music goes to (a) gospel music and (b) other individual music genres; and what was the cost to the public purse of her Department's support for gospel music in each of the last five years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Gospel music and other individual musical genres receive public support through a wide variety of sources, including Arts Council England. Decisions made by the Arts Council about the allocation of funding are taken at arm's length from the Government. Its decisions are made in line with the Arts Council’s ten-year strategy, Let’s Create, which sets the direction for all the artforms it supports.
Neither the Department for Culture, Media and Sport nor the Arts Council England holds aggregated data for funding for gospel music as a specific sub-genre. Liverpool Lighthouse is a new inclusion in the Arts Council England National Portfolio and incorporates the National Gospel Music Centre. Liverpool Lighthouse will host the first Liverpool Gospel Music Festival which will take place on 9 September 2023.
Other National Portfolio Organisations, such as Punch and Pegasus Opera engage with the gospel community and have supported several gospel-focused projects through the National Lottery Project Grants programme.
Arts Council England holds data regarding a number of other sub-genres its musical investment supports. Data for Lottery and Grant-in-Aid funding in 2022/23 for these sub-genres was as follows:
Music -Subclassifier | 2022/23 |
Brass bands | £1,729,589 |
Choral | £2,345,593 |
Classical | £96,311,624 |
Experimental | £7,737,713 |
Folk | £1,903,573 |
Jazz | £7,264,868 |
Media Arts | £800,960 |
Opera | £67,730,537 |
Popular | £26,257,424 |
South Asian | £6,764,995 |
World | £7,362,628 |
Total | £226,209,504 |
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring large music venues to charge a ticket levy to fund investment in (a) musicians and (b) grassroot music venues.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which play an absolutely crucial role in our world-leading music sector, and are key to developing the future talent pipeline.
That is why we are supporting them to develop the next generation of British talent, by providing an additional £5 million to Arts Council England’s successful Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund, as announced in the Creative Industries Sector Vision on 14 June. This fund will enable venues to increase support for young, emerging and more diverse artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support venues to become more financially resilient and develop new income streams.
This is in addition to other government support provided to the live music sector, including over £3 million during the pandemic from the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund, and through Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund since 2019.
Contemporary, operatic, and classical music subsectors receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including Arts Council England. Decisions made by the Arts Council about the allocation of funding are taken at arm's length from Government. Decisions are made in line with the Council’s ten-year strategy, which sets the direction for all of the artforms and sub-sectors it supports, including opera, contemporary, and classical music.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry, including live venues of all sizes across the country. The Department works closely with interested parties and across Government to ensure the live music sector continues to thrive. Whilst industry-led discussions on the proposal of a ticket levy are ongoing, we have no plans to enforce large venues to impose a ticket levy.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing the same level of funding to grassroots music venues that host contemporary music as provided for opera and classical music.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which play an absolutely crucial role in our world-leading music sector, and are key to developing the future talent pipeline.
That is why we are supporting them to develop the next generation of British talent, by providing an additional £5 million to Arts Council England’s successful Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund, as announced in the Creative Industries Sector Vision on 14 June. This fund will enable venues to increase support for young, emerging and more diverse artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support venues to become more financially resilient and develop new income streams.
This is in addition to other government support provided to the live music sector, including over £3 million during the pandemic from the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund, and through Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund since 2019.
Contemporary, operatic, and classical music subsectors receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including Arts Council England. Decisions made by the Arts Council about the allocation of funding are taken at arm's length from Government. Decisions are made in line with the Council’s ten-year strategy, which sets the direction for all of the artforms and sub-sectors it supports, including opera, contemporary, and classical music.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry, including live venues of all sizes across the country. The Department works closely with interested parties and across Government to ensure the live music sector continues to thrive. Whilst industry-led discussions on the proposal of a ticket levy are ongoing, we have no plans to enforce large venues to impose a ticket levy.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Wales will meet with the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss reductions to the budget of the Welsh National Opera resulting from decisions made by Arts Council England.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
In November 2023, Arts Council England (ACE) announced the outcome of its 2023-2026 Investment Programme. This will support 985 organisations, including the Welsh National Opera’s (WNO) activities in England. The decisions made by ACE about the allocation of funding for this Investment Programme were taken at arm’s length from the Government. This is in accordance with the well-established process, which is published on ACE’s website and made clear in the guidance for applicants. As such, central government does not review individual decisions.
The WNO will still receive £4 million per year during the 2023-2026 Investment Programme. They are also receiving a one-off investment of £3.25 million as part of ACE’s Transform Programme.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they provided for community choirs in each of the past three years.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises the huge contribution cultural groups and organisations make, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. Local choirs are an important part of many people’s lives across the UK, providing a creative outlet and strong sense of community, as well as an accessible, enjoyable cultural experience enjoyed by people of all ages.
The Government supports the arts financially, including choirs and singing, through its arm’s-length body Arts Council England.
The Arts Council does not have a specific category for identifying investment in ‘community choirs’. We are therefore unable to provide precise funding figures for this specific activity. The Arts Council does, however, hold details of funding to organisations which provide a focus on choral/opera music and community engagement. Organisations which fall into this category have received the following National Lottery Project funding over the last three years:
2020/21 £348,903
2021/22 £238,080
2022/23 £432,840
The Arts Council’s investment in music remains high: of the 985 organisations included in the 2023–26 National Portfolio, 139 are classed as ‘music' and will receive around £65 million per year.
Asked by: Lord Watts (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will address the uneven funding between (1) contemporary music, and (2) opera or classical music, to ensure that grassroots music venues are well supported.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which play an absolutely crucial role in our world-leading music sector, and are key to developing the future talent pipeline.
That is why we are supporting them to develop the next generation of British talent, by providing an additional £5 million to Arts Council England’s successful Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund, as announced in the Creative Industries Sector Vision on 14 June. This fund will enable venues to increase support for young, emerging and more diverse artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support venues to become more financially resilient and develop new income streams.
This is in addition to other government support provided to the live music sector, including over £3 million during the pandemic from the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund, and through Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund since 2019.
Contemporary, operatic, and classical music subsectors receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including Arts Council England. Decisions made by the Arts Council about the allocation of funding are taken at arm's length from Government. Decisions are made in line with the Council’s ten-year strategy, which sets the direction for all of the artforms and sub-sectors it supports, including opera, contemporary, and classical music.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a comparative assessment of the impact of levels of public subsidy for (a) contemporary, (b) opera and (c) classical music on music venues.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Contemporary, operatic, and classical music venues receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including Arts Council England.
Decisions made by the Arts Council about the allocation of funding are taken at arm's length from government. It takes these decisions in line with its ten-year strategy, which sets the direction for all of the art forms and sub-sectors it supports, including opera, contemporary, and classical music. The Arts Council has also commissioned further independent analysis on how to best support opera.
Arts Council England produces a robust analysis of its investment, including a breakdown by discipline and geography.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to support orchestras.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government is proud to champion our world-class orchestras and musicians, and help them to thrive. Through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, more money is going to more orchestral organisations in more parts of the country than ever before.
The Arts Council’s new national portfolio is supporting 139 organisations classed as ‘music’ by investing c.£65 million of public funding. The Arts Council’s investment in classical music remains high, in particular in orchestral music organisations, with 23 such organisations being funded – an increase from 19 in the last round; and at around £21 million per annum, which is around £2 million more than previously. Moreover, these numbers are likely to underestimate the level of music activity being funded as some organisations will fall into combined arts or non-discipline-specific categories. The Arts Council’s investment in orchestras, opera, and other classical organisations through the new portfolio constitutes nearly 80% of all its investment in music.
Organisations such as the Multi-Story Orchestra, Orchestras for All, ParaOrchestra, The People’s Orchestra, and Pegasus Opera are joining the National Portfolio for the first time – bringing down barriers to classical music, celebrating the power it can have in people’s lives, and inspiring the next generation of performers – while long-established organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, and the Hallé Orchestra continue to receive funding.
Furthermore, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at Spring Budget 2023 that the Government will extend the current headline rates of relief for the Theatre and Orchestra Tax Relief for two years. The rates for Orchestra Tax Relief will remain at 50% for expenditure taking place from 1 April 2023, reducing to 35% from 1 April 2025 and returning to 25% from 1 April 2026.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the English National Opera on the funding decisions made by Arts Council England.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly meet stakeholders from across the sector and across the country to discuss a range of topics. This includes the English National Opera.
The decisions made by Arts Council England about which institutions to fund, and by how much, in its 2023–26 Investment Programme were taken at arm's length from HM Government. This is in accordance with the well established process, which is published on the Arts Council’s website and made clear in the guidance for applicants. As such, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not, nor should it, review individual decisions.
We are pleased that both Arts Council England and the English National Opera are working together on possibilities for the future. Arts Council England has set a provisional budget of up to £24 million to support the English National Opera, subject to successful application, for 2024–26. This is in addition to the £11.46 million of funding already awarded to the ENO for the period April 2023 to March 2024 while it develops its future plans. Further detail was published in the joint statement on 12 April 2023 and can be accessed online. DCMS officials are helping to convene relevant parties and support finding a way forward.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Arts Council England on the potential impact of reductions in funding for English National Opera.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly meet Arts Council England, as an arm’s length body of the Department, to discuss a number of topics.
The decisions made by Arts Council England about which institutions to fund, and by how much, in its 2023–26 Investment Programme were taken at arm's length from HM Government. This is in accordance with the well established process, which is published on the Arts Council’s website and made clear in the guidance for applicants. As such, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not, nor should it, review individual decisions.
We are pleased that both Arts Council England and the English National Opera are working together on possibilities for the future of the organisation. Arts Council England has set a provisional budget of up to £24 million to support the English National Opera, subject to successful application, for 2024–26. This is in addition to the £11.46 million of funding already awarded to the ENO for the period April 2023 to March 2024 while it develops its future plans. Further detail was published in the joint statement on 12 April 2023 and can be accessed online. DCMS officials are helping to convene relevant parties and support finding a way forward.