Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NHS trusts who (a) suspended or (b) paused pilots of Palantir Foundry on that company's suitability for NHS contracts.
Answered by Will Quince
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not held discussions with National Health Service trusts running pilots of Palantir’s Foundry software.
The use of Foundry by trusts is an operational issue for NHS England. Foundry pilots have been delivering benefits such as enabling trusts to improve hospital discharges and theatre utilisation and to reduce waiting lists through identifying errors.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 ensure the adequacy of funding for cultural activities for (a) adults and (b) children in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality arts and culture opportunities and activities, regardless of their background or where they live.
With the encouragement of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England has developed Priority Places and Levelling Up for Culture Places to address historic imbalances in investment. As part of this, priority places receive dedicated Arts Council staff resources to build capacity locally. The London Borough of Enfield is a Priority Place.
Since 2019/20, Arts Council England has invested almost £4 million in the Enfield North constituency. This funding includes £227,000 to ‘Building Enfield's Creative Capacity', a collaborative project delivering programmes of creative activity between July 2023 and March 2024 which celebrates Enfield’s industrial heritage and explores its future industrial identity through specialist art commissions, participatory workshops, open studios, exhibitions, public artworks, and community theatre co-produced with local people. In addition, Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme remains open for funding bids from anyone operating arts and cultural activities for the local community in Enfield North.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
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 impact of increases in the use of automated technology by secondary ticketing websites on consumer choice.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a specific criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music, theatre, etc.).
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to ban ticket touting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator the Advertising Standards Authority.
We believe there is a role for a responsible secondary ticketing market, and ultimately, ticket pricing strategies are a matter for event organisers and ticketing platforms, providing they comply with relevant legislation, particularly regarding transparency to customers on how tickets are priced, in order to help consumers make a fair and informed decision.
Policy on secondary ticketing is jointly owned within Government by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT). DBT has lead responsibility for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst DCMS leads on the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music, theatre, etc.).
Our joint overarching policy aim has been to address abuses in the ticketing market and improve consumers’ opportunities to buy tickets for recreational, sporting, and cultural events, whilst ensuring there are no unintentional consequences for the operations of the events sector and primary and secondary ticketing market.
Our policy aims are delivered through a mixture of targeted legislation (primarily the Consumer Rights Act 2015), backed up by robust action by enforcement agencies, and encouraging industry-led approaches, largely through the exploitation of technological developments (e.g. use of blockchain and ‘ticketless tickets’ on mobiles). Our approach is underpinned by the findings of an independent review of consumer protection measures in the market, undertaken by Professor Michael Waterson, published in May 2016.
Professor Waterson specifically considered the idea of banning the secondary ticketing market entirely. His conclusions, with which we agreed in our response to the review, are that:
i) a ban would not lead to the absence of secondary ticketing, but would simply drive it underground/offshore, with implications for raised levels of fraud;
ii) several primary operators have chosen to link up with secondary agencies suggesting their implicit approval of such activities;
iii) a significant proportion of tickets on secondary sites are priced below face value, offering a useful service to consumers and allowing more people to attend the event.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings her Department has had with (a) authors, (b) scriptwriters and (c) playwright organisations in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Arts Council England, as national development agency for creativity and culture, engages with a range of organisations on a broad range of artforms, including in the theatre and literature sectors.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have, in the last 12 months, attended roundtable meetings convened by Arts Council England where author organisations have been in attendance.
Additionally, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Minister for Arts and Heritage, delivered a speech for the Northern Writers’ Awards on Tuesday 22 June, an event supported by the organisation New Writing North. Lord Parkinson also attended and provided a speech at the London Book Fair on 18 April. He attended a reading and literacy themed roundtable run as part of Baroness Sanderson of Welton’s independent review for public libraries which was attended by a representative of the Society of Authors, and has had meetings and engagements with a range of poets, playwrights and authors in the course of his ministerial engagement.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 53 of the consultation document entitled Disability Action Plan: Consultation, published in July 2023, what steps her Department is taking to encourage autism-friendly programmes in the cultural and heritage sectors; and whether she (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the effectiveness of those programmes.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with its arm’s-length bodies, such as Arts Council England (ACE), the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and Historic England (HE), to ensure that the cultural and heritage sectors are accessible to everyone, including those who are autistic.
ACE provides regular funding to disability-led organisations across the country through its National Portfolio Organisation investment programme. This programme includes organisations that support neurodivergent creatives and autism-friendly programming – for example, Unanima Theatre: a new joiner to the 2023–26 investment programme, which has an exclusively learning disabled and autistic cast who draw on their lives and experiences when creating work.
More broadly, ACE has worked to increase the investment in disability-led organisations across the National Portfolio; within the current portfolio there are now 32 such organisations. ACE monitors each organisation throughout the funding period, in this case 2023–26, to ensure they deliver the plans and activity agreed with ACE.
NLHF regularly funds projects that focus on autism. In 2022, it awarded £245,104 to The National Autistic Society which celebrated and preserved the stories, voices and memories of autistic people. In the same year, VocalEyes was awarded £99,814 to launch a digital heritage volunteering initiative providing neurodiverse people with valuable heritage volunteering experience and contributing to vital access and inclusion work in the sector. As a funding body, NLHF expects funding recipients to report back on expected outcomes and the intended effectiveness/impact of the programme.
Finally, HE has recently launched a new funding round for its Everyday Heritage Grants programme, with neurodiversity and disability identified as groups of people HE is particularly keen to engage and fund. HE will be measuring funded projects looking at the impact on wellbeing outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has received concerning cuts to opera funding in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is important that people across the country have access to a diverse range of cultural opportunities. Arts and cultural bodies receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including through Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Arts Council of Wales, which as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body works within a strategic framework agreed with the Welsh Government.
In addition to the £4.6 million it received from the Arts Council of Wales each year, the Welsh National Opera will receive £4 million of public funding through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, and was also successful in its application to Arts Council England's ‘Transform Programme’, through which it will receive an additional one-off payment of £3.25 million. This means the Welsh National Opera will receive over £15 million of public funding from Arts Council England between 2023 and 2026.
Cultural organisations across the UK such as the Welsh National Opera are also benefiting from the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra, museums and galleries exhibition tax reliefs announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. They will encourage investment in productions across the UK, support cultural organisations to tour, drive economic growth, and allow the sector to maintain its international competitiveness and reputation.
Arts Council England remains committed in its support for opera, and its 2023–26 Investment Programme has 13 organisations (an increase from the previous round) receiving a share of £30 million per annum (a figure which counts just 50% of the Royal Opera House grant, as that organisation is also home to the Royal Ballet). This represents around 40% of the Programme’s total investment in music (around £76 million p.a. when including 50% of the Royal Opera House’s funding).
Since decisions about which organisations to fund, and by how much, are made by Arts Council England at arm’s length from Government, and are a devolved matter in relation to Wales, the Department has no plans to meet any of the organisations or other Ministers named in relation to the Welsh National Opera.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has to meet with the (1) Secretary of State for Wales, and (2) Welsh Government ministers, to discuss funding cuts to the Welsh National Opera.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is important that people across the country have access to a diverse range of cultural opportunities. Arts and cultural bodies receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including through Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Arts Council of Wales, which as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body works within a strategic framework agreed with the Welsh Government.
In addition to the £4.6 million it received from the Arts Council of Wales each year, the Welsh National Opera will receive £4 million of public funding through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, and was also successful in its application to Arts Council England's ‘Transform Programme’, through which it will receive an additional one-off payment of £3.25 million. This means the Welsh National Opera will receive over £15 million of public funding from Arts Council England between 2023 and 2026.
Cultural organisations across the UK such as the Welsh National Opera are also benefiting from the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra, museums and galleries exhibition tax reliefs announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. They will encourage investment in productions across the UK, support cultural organisations to tour, drive economic growth, and allow the sector to maintain its international competitiveness and reputation.
Arts Council England remains committed in its support for opera, and its 2023–26 Investment Programme has 13 organisations (an increase from the previous round) receiving a share of £30 million per annum (a figure which counts just 50% of the Royal Opera House grant, as that organisation is also home to the Royal Ballet). This represents around 40% of the Programme’s total investment in music (around £76 million p.a. when including 50% of the Royal Opera House’s funding).
Since decisions about which organisations to fund, and by how much, are made by Arts Council England at arm’s length from Government, and are a devolved matter in relation to Wales, the Department has no plans to meet any of the organisations or other Ministers named in relation to the Welsh National Opera.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet with the Welsh Government to discuss the cuts to the Welsh National Opera by Arts Council England.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is important that people across the country have access to a diverse range of cultural opportunities. Arts and cultural bodies receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including through Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Arts Council of Wales, which as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body works within a strategic framework agreed with the Welsh Government.
In addition to the £4.6 million it received from the Arts Council of Wales each year, the Welsh National Opera will receive £4 million of public funding through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, and was also successful in its application to Arts Council England's ‘Transform Programme’, through which it will receive an additional one-off payment of £3.25 million. This means the Welsh National Opera will receive over £15 million of public funding from Arts Council England between 2023 and 2026.
Cultural organisations across the UK such as the Welsh National Opera are also benefiting from the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra, museums and galleries exhibition tax reliefs announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. They will encourage investment in productions across the UK, support cultural organisations to tour, drive economic growth, and allow the sector to maintain its international competitiveness and reputation.
Arts Council England remains committed in its support for opera, and its 2023–26 Investment Programme has 13 organisations (an increase from the previous round) receiving a share of £30 million per annum (a figure which counts just 50% of the Royal Opera House grant, as that organisation is also home to the Royal Ballet). This represents around 40% of the Programme’s total investment in music (around £76 million p.a. when including 50% of the Royal Opera House’s funding).
Since decisions about which organisations to fund, and by how much, are made by Arts Council England at arm’s length from Government, and are a devolved matter in relation to Wales, the Department has no plans to meet any of the organisations or other Ministers named in relation to the Welsh National Opera.
Asked by: Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet with Arts Council England to discuss funding cuts for the Welsh National Opera.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is important that people across the country have access to a diverse range of cultural opportunities. Arts and cultural bodies receive funding through a wide variety of sources, including through Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Arts Council of Wales, which as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body works within a strategic framework agreed with the Welsh Government.
In addition to the £4.6 million it received from the Arts Council of Wales each year, the Welsh National Opera will receive £4 million of public funding through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, and was also successful in its application to Arts Council England's ‘Transform Programme’, through which it will receive an additional one-off payment of £3.25 million. This means the Welsh National Opera will receive over £15 million of public funding from Arts Council England between 2023 and 2026.
Cultural organisations across the UK such as the Welsh National Opera are also benefiting from the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra, museums and galleries exhibition tax reliefs announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. They will encourage investment in productions across the UK, support cultural organisations to tour, drive economic growth, and allow the sector to maintain its international competitiveness and reputation.
Arts Council England remains committed in its support for opera, and its 2023–26 Investment Programme has 13 organisations (an increase from the previous round) receiving a share of £30 million per annum (a figure which counts just 50% of the Royal Opera House grant, as that organisation is also home to the Royal Ballet). This represents around 40% of the Programme’s total investment in music (around £76 million p.a. when including 50% of the Royal Opera House’s funding).
Since decisions about which organisations to fund, and by how much, are made by Arts Council England at arm’s length from Government, and are a devolved matter in relation to Wales, the Department has no plans to meet any of the organisations or other Ministers named in relation to the Welsh National Opera.