Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether science and discovery centres fall within the remit of her Department.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Science and discovery centres are vital assets across local communities nationwide. Given the breadth of their mission, they do not fall under the exclusive purview of a single government department. Their work contributes significantly to the objectives of several departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
While their full scope extends beyond DCMS's direct remit, key aspects align closely with DCMS policy areas, such as the visitor economy, youth, and museums. For these areas, DCMS takes ownership over their respective policy domain, while collaborating closely with other government departments to support these institutions.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders to improve support for local museums in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State and her ministerial team engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts organisations and museums. In February 2025, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, with organisations across the North East already benefitting. This includes the £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, with over £1.2 million awarded to museums in the North East in October, and £483k specifically for the North East Museums group to support activities across Northumberland museums, including Hexham Old Gaol. This funding is additional to core museums funding delivered through Arts Council England, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, which sees over £3.3 million a year invested in the North East Museums group amongst others.
The Department continues to work with stakeholders to provide additional support for local museums and galleries in 2025/26, through the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) tackling maintenance backlogs, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, currently open for applications.
The Arts Everywhere Fund will also deliver £85 million of investment through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts and cultural organisations, including local arts centres, to address urgent estate issues, ensuring buildings and infrastructure are fit for future generations. In addition, Ministers have commissioned a formal review of ACE, the body responsible for distributing arts funding across England. The review is considering all aspects of ACE’s work and investment, and will report this Autumn.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders to improve support for local arts in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State and her ministerial team engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts organisations and museums. In February 2025, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, with organisations across the North East already benefitting. This includes the £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, with over £1.2 million awarded to museums in the North East in October, and £483k specifically for the North East Museums group to support activities across Northumberland museums, including Hexham Old Gaol. This funding is additional to core museums funding delivered through Arts Council England, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, which sees over £3.3 million a year invested in the North East Museums group amongst others.
The Department continues to work with stakeholders to provide additional support for local museums and galleries in 2025/26, through the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) tackling maintenance backlogs, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, currently open for applications.
The Arts Everywhere Fund will also deliver £85 million of investment through the Creative Foundations Fund to support arts and cultural organisations, including local arts centres, to address urgent estate issues, ensuring buildings and infrastructure are fit for future generations. In addition, Ministers have commissioned a formal review of ACE, the body responsible for distributing arts funding across England. The review is considering all aspects of ACE’s work and investment, and will report this Autumn.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on increasing the grant-in-aid funding available to (a) cultural institutions, (b) museums and (c) galleries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has had constructive conversations with HM Treasury to secure grant-in-aid funding for our institutions.
These successful conversations were borne out in February 2025, when we announced a £270m Arts Everywhere Investment package that included a 5% increase to the budgets of all national museums and galleries to support their financial resilience.
And as per our most recent Spending Review settlement announced in June 2025, there is significant planned funding for the UK’s world-leading culture and heritage sector. We will be investing in celebrated institutions including national museums and galleries, as well as organisations like Arts Council England, which support local projects across the country and ensure that the best of British culture is accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide funding to support the continued operation beyond June 2026 of (1) the National Glass Centre, and (2) the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art; and when they last discussed the future of those galleries with (a) Sunderland City Council, and (b) Sunderland Culture.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is aware of the challenges the National Glass Centre is facing. How these challenges are managed, and decisions about its future, are a matter for the University of Sunderland and its partners, as the owner of the building.
Sunderland Culture is currently in discussion with the University about the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s (NGCA) future programme. These talks include exploring how to continue the city-wide approach to displaying the collection, which is currently exhibited in City Hall and The Beam. The University is also looking to lease space within Culture House as a potential permanent home for the NGCA. In addition, Arts Council England (ACE), an arm’s-length body of government, is working with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland City Council to help preserve the city’s glass-making heritage and skills for future generations.
In January 2025 Sunderland Culture was awarded £5 million from the Government’s Cultural Development Fund for Glassworks, a new world class facility for glass making in Sunderland that will connect the city’s 1,350 years of glass-making heritage. ACE delivers the Cultural Development Fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 76809 on Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Public Bodies, how many appointments have been made to each of the respective Boards of her Department's public bodies since July 2024.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since 10 July 2024, 121 regulated appointments and reappointments have been made to the Boards of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s public bodies. This data only includes regulated appointments made to relevant boards as listed in the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019.
Board Name | Number | Board Name | Number |
Advisory Council on National Records and Archives | 8 | National Citizenship Service | 2 |
Arts Council England | 4 | Royal Armouries | 1 |
British Museum | 12 | Royal Museums Greenwich | 3 |
British Tourist Authority | 4 | S4C | 6 |
Charity Commission | 4 | Sport England | 4 |
Departmental Non-Executive Directors | 2 | Sports Ground Safety Authority | 1 |
Historic England | 3 | Tate | 7 |
Historic Royal Palaces | 3 | The National Archives | 3 |
Horniman Museum and Gardens | 3 | The National Lottery Community Fund | 4 |
Horserace Betting Levy Board | 1 | The Royal Parks | 3 |
Imperial War Museum | 4 | Theatres Trust | 4 |
Independent Football Regulator | 3 | Treasure Valuation Committee | 5 |
Museum of the Home | 4 | UK Anti-Doping | 3 |
National Gallery | 4 | UK Sport | 2 |
National Museums Liverpool | 1 | Victoria & Albert Museum | 7 |
National Portrait Gallery | 1 | Visit England Advisory Board | 3 |
Natural History Museum | 2 |
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Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) museums, (b) local arts and (c) cultural organisations have received funding from Arts Council England in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Between 2022-2025 four museums and nine arts and cultural organisations in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency received Arts Council England funding totalling £2,141,302. This includes a £1.8 million Museum Estate and Development Fund award to Spalding Gentlemen’s Society in 2024 towards the museum’s refurbishment and expansion.
Arts Council England funding in Lincolnshire, awarded between 2018 and 2025, totalled £20,184,867. This funding was distributed to 88 arts and cultural organisations, including 1 museum and Lincolnshire County Council, which is designated as a museum National Portfolio Organisation.
Further specific information can be found on the Arts Council England website at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/research-and-data/our-data
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Baroness Shafik has provided any advice, or been involved in discussions, about the funding of (1) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, (2) the Victoria and Albert Museum, and (3) other national museums, in her capacity as Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to HL10218:
Question: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Baroness Shafik will recuse herself from matters relating to the funding of (1) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, (2) the Victoria and Albert Museum, and (3) other national museums, in her role as Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister. HL10218
Answer: Baroness Shafik has been appointed to be the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister as a Direct Ministerial Appointment. This role is therefore subject to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, which sets out requirements on political activity.
The management of relevant outside interests for this role has been agreed in line with relevant guidance and processes.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) museums and (b) local arts and cultural organisations have received funding from Arts Council England in (i) Ribble Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Between 2023/24 and 2024/25 four arts and cultural organisations in the Ribble Valley constituency received Arts Council England funding totalling £81,281. For the same period, three museums and 114 arts and cultural organisations received Arts Council England Funding in Lancashire, with awards totalling £11,721,145.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to meet with representatives of (a) museums and (b) galleries to discuss the potential impact of proposals for the implementation of a new subscription contracts regime on those organisations.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department has regularly engaged with representatives from museums and galleries during the consultation on the implementation of the subscription regime (Consultation on the implementation of the new subscription contracts regime - GOV.UK). We are carefully considering the points they have raised about the impact of the proposals and will continue to engage closely with the sector.