Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing half of all marketing spend to be included in the qualifying costs of Theatre Tax Relief.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading theatre sector. At Spring Budget 2023, the Government went further to support theatres by extending the 45 per cent (for non-touring productions) and 50 per cent (for touring productions) rates of TTR for a further 2 years.
Whilst the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, the Government is not planning to expand the scope of Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) to include 50 per cent of marketing spend. The objective of theatre tax relief is to support and incentivise production and that is why eligible expenditure is focussed on the costs that are incurred producing and closing the theatrical production, rather than marketing.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure surgical hubs are fully-staffed with (a) allied health professionals and (b) other staff.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Action is being taken to increase and support the existing NHS workforce capacity. The Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) surgical hub programme has published workforce guidance designed to assist providers and integrated care systems (ICSs) in planning the workforce requirements for new or expanded surgical hubs. The guidance outlines key enablers for successful workforce recruitment, retention and planning, as well as helpful operational tools such as e-rostering and staff passports. The guidance focuses on surgical and theatre teams as well as on the wider hub team including allied health professionals.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the cultural tax reliefs beyond 31 March 2025.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading creative industries and arts sectors.
The ‘cultural tax reliefs’ consist of theatre tax relief (TTR), orchestra tax relief (OTR) and museums and galleries exhibitions tax relief (MGETR).
There is no end date for the TTR or OTR.
MGETR will end on 1 April 2026. The sunset clause for MGETR was extended to this date at Spring Budget 2023, to enable museums and galleries to benefit from the extension of the 40% (for non-touring productions) and 45% (for touring productions) rates of the cultural reliefs. However, the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of (a) all children, (b) children educated in state schools and (c) children educated in private schools who have attended a live theatre performance by the end of (i) primary and (ii) secondary education.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department does not collect data on the number or proportion of children who have attended live theatre by the end of primary and secondary education.
Arts subjects, including drama, are an important part of a pupil’s school experience, with drama forming part of the National Curriculum for English.
As set out in the programmes of study for Key Stages 1 to 3, pupils should gain knowledge, skills and understanding of the artistic practice of drama and should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles. They should also have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
In addition, all pupils taking GCSE drama or an A level in drama and theatre studies are entitled to experience live theatre. This entitlement reaffirms the Government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education. Pupils should not be limited to watching a DVD or a peer performance; they should have the opportunity to sit in the audience and experience a live performance.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which institutions have received university title since 2018; what their titles are; when each received university title; what they were called before they received university title; and where each is located.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
According to the Office for Students (OfS) Register, nine providers have been granted the right to use ‘university’ in their title since 2018. The OfS Register is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/the-register/the-ofs-register/#/.
Information regarding these providers’ legal names, their trading names, their contact addresses, and the year the use of the word ‘university’ was granted, has been extracted from the OfS Register and is included in the table below.
Information on the names of providers prior to them receiving their university title is not available on the OfS register, but is included in the table.
Provider’s legal name | Provider’s trading name(s) | Previous name | Provider’s contact address | Date use of 'university' granted |
St. George's Hospital Medical School | St. George's, University of London | St. George's Hospital Medical School | St. George's Hospital | 2022 |
Royal Holloway and Bedford New College | Royal Holloway, University of London | Royal Holloway and Bedford New College | Egham Hill | 2022 |
Arts University Plymouth | Arts University Plymouth | Plymouth College of Art | Tavistock Place | 2022 |
The London School of Economics and Political Science | Not applicable | The London School of Economics and Political Science | Houghton Street | 2022 |
Ravensbourne University London | Not applicable | Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication | 6 Penrose Way | 2018 |
BIMM University Limited | BIMM University | BIMM Institute | 2 Bartholomew’s | 2022 |
Hartpury University | Not applicable | Hartpury College | Hartpury House | 2019 |
Northeastern University – London | Northeastern University London | New College of the Humanities | Devon House | 2022 |
Regent's University London Limited | Regent's University London | Regent's College | Inner Circle | 2020 |
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their definition of "cultural education" as referred to in the published terms of reference for the Cultural Education Plan Expert Advisory Panel.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The published terms of reference for the cultural education plan expert advisory panel, sets out that cultural education sits at the heart of an enriching and fulfilling curriculum for pupils. A broad and balanced curriculum includes arts and heritage in the range of subjects taught, and in wider co and extracurricular activities.
The breadth and depth of cultural education is demonstrated by, but not exclusive to, the following: visual arts, music, craft, dance, design, digital arts and gaming, drama and theatre, film and cinema, galleries, heritage, libraries, literature and poetry, live performance, museums, and archaeology, architecture and the built environment, and archives.
This plan will focus on how the department can support access and participation in a wide range of arts subjects and activities, particularly for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups. It will also further support young people who wish to pursue careers in our creative, cultural, and heritage industries.
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 Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support arts and music organisations following the UK's departure from Creative Europe.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government recognises the great value of the UK’s world-leading creative sectors. The creative industries continue to thrive and are a key high-growth sector of our economy, as well as bringing great joy and wellbeing to people’s lives. The sector contributed £108 billion to the economy in 2021, accounting for 6% of UK GVA, and employed 2.3 million people – 7% of the total UK workforce – with employment growth increasing at almost five times the rate of the economy more widely since 2011.
Since leaving the EU, the UK is no longer part of the Creative Europe programme. The Government decided not to seek continued participation in the Creative Europe programme, but to look at other, more targeted ways of supporting the UK’s cultural and creative sectors.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund delivers on a commitment to match EU funding across all four nations of the UK and gives local people control of how their money is spent, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and enabling them to invest in the cultural organisations that particularly matter to them.
Similarly, the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund invests in local infrastructure projects which improve life for people across the UK, focusing on regeneration, local transport, and supporting cultural, creative and heritage assets. The second round of the Fund was announced in January 2023, and included more than £16 million for a new Production Village in Hartlepool, for instance, providing new jobs and opportunities in the creative industries and boosting the local economy.
Arts Council England supports the Four Nations International Fund, launched in 2021. This supports people working in the arts and creative industries across the UK, together with their counterparts in Europe and beyond.
This is in addition to support given through the Government's extension of the higher rates of theatre and orchestra tax relief for a further two years, as announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. Collectively, the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra and museums tax reliefs is estimated to be worth £350m over the five-year forecast period.
To support independent screen content – including film – to grow internationally, the Government launched the UK Global Screen Fund in April 2021 with initial funding of £7 million. We have committed a further £21 million to this Fund over the period 2022–25 to develop, distribute, and promote independent UK screen content in international markets.
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 Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has of the potential merits of the UK participating in Creative Europe.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government recognises the great value of the UK’s world-leading creative sectors. The creative industries continue to thrive and are a key high-growth sector of our economy, as well as bringing great joy and wellbeing to people’s lives. The sector contributed £108 billion to the economy in 2021, accounting for 6% of UK GVA, and employed 2.3 million people – 7% of the total UK workforce – with employment growth increasing at almost five times the rate of the economy more widely since 2011.
Since leaving the EU, the UK is no longer part of the Creative Europe programme. The Government decided not to seek continued participation in the Creative Europe programme, but to look at other, more targeted ways of supporting the UK’s cultural and creative sectors.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund delivers on a commitment to match EU funding across all four nations of the UK and gives local people control of how their money is spent, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and enabling them to invest in the cultural organisations that particularly matter to them.
Similarly, the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund invests in local infrastructure projects which improve life for people across the UK, focusing on regeneration, local transport, and supporting cultural, creative and heritage assets. The second round of the Fund was announced in January 2023, and included more than £16 million for a new Production Village in Hartlepool, for instance, providing new jobs and opportunities in the creative industries and boosting the local economy.
Arts Council England supports the Four Nations International Fund, launched in 2021. This supports people working in the arts and creative industries across the UK, together with their counterparts in Europe and beyond.
This is in addition to support given through the Government's extension of the higher rates of theatre and orchestra tax relief for a further two years, as announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. Collectively, the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra and museums tax reliefs is estimated to be worth £350m over the five-year forecast period.
To support independent screen content – including film – to grow internationally, the Government launched the UK Global Screen Fund in April 2021 with initial funding of £7 million. We have committed a further £21 million to this Fund over the period 2022–25 to develop, distribute, and promote independent UK screen content in international markets.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will introduce a medal for armed forces personnel who were prisoners of war.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no plans to recommend the introduction of a prisoner of war medal. Armed Forces personnel who were prisoners of war would have been awarded the relevant Campaign Star, or Medal, for the theatre in which they served, and an individual who performed a particular act of distinction could have been considered for a gallantry award. Any consideration of a separate medal for prisoners of war would be a matter for the independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee, a sub-committee of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medal, rather than the MOD.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish a list of the number of (a) theatres operating and (b) theatre closures in each year since 2010.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department does not systematically collect or publish data on the number of theatres operating across the country, but its advisory arm's-length body, The Theatres Trust, maintains a database of over 1,000 theatres in operation, which can be found online at https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk.