Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers to working in the creative industries for (a) expectant mothers and (b) parents.
Answered by Matt Hancock
It is important that working parents have the choice and flexibility that enables them to fully realise their potential contribution to the creative industries workforce.
We will soon be hosting a Forum with industry leaders from across DCMS sectors, including the creative industries, which will aim to identify and share best practice around promoting diversity and social mobility in the workforce, to help ensure we have an economy that works for all.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in (a) drama, (b) music and (c) art.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to ensuring that as we build a country that works for everyone there is opportunity for all to experience and participate in all forms of arts and culture whatever their background.
This is why the Culture White Paper set out a range of commitments aimed at increasing diversity in arts participation. For example, the Cultural Citizens Programme which will provide young people from disadvantaged backgrounds meaningful opportunities to experience the arts. Pilots are taking place in Liverpool and Blackpool, Birmingham, and Barking and Dagenham offering a range of cultural activities so you people develop a lifelong love of the arts.
We have protected funding for Arts Council England (ACE) throughout the next spending period. This includes support for arts programmes which aim to increase access for under-represented groups such as the Creative People and Places programme, in which Arts Council England has invested over £41m to support access to the arts in areas with low engagement in arts and culture.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in (a) drama, (b) music and (c) art.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to ensuring that as we build a country that works for everyone there is opportunity for all to experience and participate in all forms of arts and culture whatever their background.
This is why the Culture White Paper set out a range of commitments aimed at increasing diversity in arts participation. For example, the Cultural Citizens Programme which will provide young people from disadvantaged backgrounds meaningful opportunities to experience the arts. Pilots are taking place in Liverpool and Blackpool, Birmingham, and Barking and Dagenham offering a range of cultural activities so you people develop a lifelong love of the arts.
We have protected funding for Arts Council England (ACE) throughout the next spending period. This includes support for arts programmes which aim to increase access for under-represented groups such as the Creative People and Places programme, in which Arts Council England has invested over £41m to support access to the arts in areas with low engagement in arts and culture.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment she has made of trends in levels of television programming by and for BME groups in the US and UK.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government has not made a comparative assessment of trends in the levels of television programming by and for BME groups in the US and the UK. The Government is committed to diversity and social mobility in the broadcasting sector. Ministers have hosted a number of roundtables to encourage the broadcasting industry, and other creative industries, to involve more people from BME groups in making content both in front and behind the camera and to ensure that their content and programming serves all audiences. The Government has, as part of the BBC's updated Royal Charter, given the BBC new diversity duties to ensure it better serves diverse audiences including BME groups.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve working-class representation in the film industry.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Government has been clear that more needs to be done within the creative industries - including the film industry - to improve diversity, and create a country that works for everyone. The Creative Industries Council (CIC) has developed its strategy for diversity and the British Film Institute (BFI) has introduced a range of measures to support diversity, such as diversity standards to improve the representation of diverse groups across all BFI Lottery funded activities; the BFI Film Academy, funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and the National Lottery, to help young people from diverse backgrounds develop a career in the film industry; as well as supporting over 9,000 school film clubs across the UK.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve diversity in employment in the creative industries.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Government is committed to improving diversity in employment in the creative industries, and we are working with a range of organisations and arm’s length bodies to achieve this. The Minister for Culture held the first of a series of diversity roundtables in September and we are supporting industry initiatives including the Creative Industries Council’s (CIC) new strategy sets targets for businesses to promote diversity in the sector; the British Film Institute’s (BFI) introduction of diversity standards to improve the representation of diverse groups in film production; and the launch of Project Diamond to monitor diversity of employment in the broadcasting sector.
Asked by: Natalie McGarry (Independent - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to increase the participation of people living with disabilities in (a) sports and (c) the arts.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Government recognises the importance of sport and physical activity to disabled people who take part at both grassroots and the elite level. Our new sport strategy, 'Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation', published in December 2015, emphasises the importance of getting people active, particularly those groups currently under-represented, including disabled people.
Between 2011 and 2017 Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport. It published its own strategy for England,Towards an Active Nation on 19 May, which sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. This includes a specific focus on disabled people who are less likely to regularly take part in physical activity.
We believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture - having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access. Arts Council England has also made a significant change in its approach to diversity by launching The Creative Case for Diversity, which asks the organisations it funds to make themselves and their work more reflective of the communities they serve. As part of Arts Council's investment in diversity and The Creative Case, four new strategic funds for diversity were announced in December 2015, totaling £8.6 million. This included a new £2.6 million Change Makers fund to build long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities, and Unlimited, which will support the development of a range of new work by deaf and disabled artists.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 8 of the Culture White Paper, published in March 2016, when his Department will require funded bodies in the arts and culture sectors to publish their strategies for increasing diversity.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Government believes that diversity is essential to the success of the cultural sectors. Arts Council England (ACE), as a funded body of the DCMS, published their Equality Action Plan in the summer of 2015. They also publish equality data annually. All National Portfolio Organisations and Major Partner Museums have submitted equality action plans to the Arts Council.
In addition, ACE launched their Creative Case for Diversity that requires National Portfolio Organisations to evidence how they contribute to diversity. This information will be used to assign a performance rating. Management agreements for other funded bodies are being renegotiated presently and will take into account the Government's aspiration on diversity.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on diversity in the broadcasting sector; what further steps he expects Ofcom to take to secure improvements in diversity in that sector; and whether he plans to encourage Ofcom to make use of its powers under Section 27 of the Communications Act 2003 and other relevant legislation.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
My Department has discussed diversity in broadcasting with Ofcom who are very much engaged in this important area of work. Last year Ofcom and the Equality and Human Rights Commission jointly published legal guidance in the report ‘Thinking outside the box’ which aimed to help those in the broadcasting industry to take action to increase diversity with confidence. Ofcom is currently developing an integrated online resource for industry, in collaboration with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Creative Diversity Network and other partners.
Ofcom is also considering a number of the proposals suggested by individuals and organisations interested in improving diversity across the broadcasting sector in light of its role under Section 27, and other legislation, and will engage further with industry once their plan is fully developed.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department plans to promote clearer pathways into the arts and cultural sectors to develop a more diverse leadership and workforce in those sectors.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
In the recently published Culture White Paper we made it clear that more needs to be done to encourage diversity in leadership positions. We will promote clearer pathways into the sectors, and we will work with Arts Council England to understand the barriers that prevent people from lower income households and under-represented groups from becoming professionals in the arts.
In December 2015, the Arts Council announced four new strategic funds for diversity, totalling £8.6 million. This included a new £2.6 million Change Makers fund to build long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities. Arts Council England has also made a significant change in its approach to diversity by launching The Creative Case for Diversity, which asks the organisations it funds to make themselves and their work more reflective of the communities they serve.