theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help educate (a) the public and (b) landowners on their legal obligations in relation to badger protection. \p Mary Creagh: The UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group, of which Defra is a member, recently re-launched its Operation Badger initiative. Operation Badger aims to increase awareness of the many types of criminal activity such as illegal trapping, poisoning, and sett disturbance that threaten badgers and to educate and encourage reporting of suspected crimes against badgers.

Advice on badger protection, legislation and planning is also available on GOV.UK.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43345 on WRAP: Finance, if he will provide the hyperlink to the grant agreement . \p Mary Creagh: The grant agreement contains commercially sensitive information and will not be published. Details of the grant will be published on the Grants register held at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-grants-data-and-statistics. This information is published retrospectively with data for the 2024/25 grant published later this year. Details of the 2025/26 grant will be published in 2026.
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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking through Fisheries Management Plans to help ensure the requirement under Article 6.3 of the Fisheries Act 2020 to restore fish populations to sustainable levels is met. \p Daniel Zeichner: Fisheries Management Plans are evidence-based plans developed in accordance with the Fisheries Act 2020. They set out short, medium and long-term actions to restore or maintain fish stocks at sustainable levels and meet the requirements of Article 6.3.

To date, Defra has developed and published six FMPs which are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/fisheries-management-plans#published-fmps which we are now beginning to implement. For example, last year we introduced legislation to better manage fly seine fishing in the English Channel, increased the minimum conservation reference sizes for brill, lemon sole, turbot and crawfish to protect the juveniles of these species.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research his Department has commissioned on the potential role of insect protein in (a) animal and (b) human diets in the last ten years. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra’s scientific research is exploring ways to reduce environmental impacts of livestock production, including research to better understand the role of insect protein in pig and poultry feed (not human diets) in addressing this aim. Examples include a scientific review of the opportunities for the inclusion of insect protein in pig and poultry feed within the UK (2021). Research also considered insect-based proteins (for food and feed), as part of a wider review of alternative proteins (2022). A life-cycle assessment of UK insect protein production compared the environmental impacts of insect, soy and fishmeal protein production for animal feeds in the UK (2023).

Defra has also committed funding via the Farming Innovation Programme and Farming Innovation Pathways for projects looking at insect protein in animal feed, including a themed competition addressing on farm protein.

The FSA report on the ‘The Future of Animal Feed’ was published in April 2023. The report analysed the production and supply of protein for the global livestock sector, focusing on the potential opportunities, and threats, of alternative feeds.

Under food law, it is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure food is safe. Edible insects, as novel foods, need authorisation from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), which requires provision of a safety case. Food businesses wanting an authorisation will develop the research and evidence to demonstrate the food is safe for consumption.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to (a) increase monitoring of sewage pollution and (b) improve compliance with regulations by water companies. \p Emma Hardy: Since 1 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991.

Ofwat is currently developing guidance, which it will publish in due course, to ensure water companies are meeting this duty. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 will introduce a matching duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way, further enhancing our monitoring of the storm overflow network and increasing transparency.

Furthermore, the Water (Special Measures) Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. This includes powers for Ofwat to set rules on remuneration and governance, and financial reporting, and new powers for the Environment Agency (EA) to impose automatic penalties, and penalties to the lower, civil standard of proof.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support farmers in developing sustainable farming practices. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government is committed to delivering net zero by 2050 and we will work in collaboration with farmers and others with a stake in our food system towards this.

The transition to more climate friendly practices will work hand in hand with food security and farm productivity. We will support farmers to adopt low carbon farming practices, increasing the carbon stored on their land while boosting profitability.

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. As part of this, we will optimise environmental land management schemes to make them work for farmers and nature, and introduce a land-use framework, helping to protect both the environment, food security and livelihoods.

We will also look carefully at how to enable the benefits of innovation in reaching net zero carbon targets and the integration of new technologies and best practice into farming practices.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Extended Producer Responsibility is a tax. \p Mary Creagh: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) decides the classification of taxes, while the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) determines how they are treated in fiscal forecasts. In earlier fiscal events OBR have treated pEPR fees as adjustment to departmental budgets as “there was previously not enough detail on the fees for this to be reflected as a tax in our receipts forecast”.

The OBR determination is a technical classification that has no effect on pEPR policy.

This technical classification does not affect the distribution of revenue to local authorities. Revenue from pEPR will be distributed directly by PackUK, the scheme administrator, to local authorities.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans his Department has should drought conditions (a) persist and (b) worsen. \p Emma Hardy: Water companies must show how they provide a secure supply of water to their customers and protect the environment during dry weather and droughts through their statutory drought plans. A drought plan is an operational plan that sets out what actions a water company will take as a drought worsens.

Both Defra and the Environment Agency operate an incident response structure that they use to manage a drought.

Emergency measures such as the need for water restrictions through standpipes and rota cuts are included in water companies’ emergency plans. Local authorities take a lead role in local resilience.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve consumer access to minimally processed foods. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. A key priority for the food strategy is to improve consumer access to healthy food, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives.

We are forming a partnership across the food system, Government and the four nations to leverage expertise, while building on existing evidence and analysis, such as Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy. The food strategy is being developed in alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change and the Health and Growth missions. Through the lens of a new food strategy, there is an opportunity to deliver a healthier, fairer, more sustainable and more resilient 21st century food system that grows the economy, feeds the nation, nourishes individuals, and protects the planet, now and in the future.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on whether electronic identification technology for animals will be used in England and Wales of requirements to use low frequency electronic identification technology for animals in Northern Ireland. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK and to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.

On 2 June, Defra announced its decision to use Low Frequency electronic identification technology for cattle in England.

Under the Windsor Framework, should Northern Ireland introduce electronic ID for cattle, it will be required to use the same Low Frequency technology in line with EU requirements.

Wales are yet to decide on which technology to implement.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of research presented to the Scottish Government on Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology in livestock. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra is aware of research papers published by Scot EID and have gathered further evidence through our own research and extensive engagement with farmers and industry.

Defra and the Welsh Government commissioned Harper Adams University to conduct an independent study of the two types of EID technology. This found fewer challenges associated with low frequency than ultra-high frequency technology. The findings of this study have now been published and can be found on Defra Science Search pages.

Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK. This is to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.
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Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of air quality levels in Maidenhead constituency. \p Emma Hardy: Local authorities review and assess air quality in their areas and publish an annual report on their actions to improve local air quality including local monitoring data.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have reported continued reductions in concentrations of NO2 and PM10 over recent years and continued compliance with the Air Quality Objectives set by central Government. The council has begun to monitor local concentrations of PM2.5 and are likely to report on this pollutant later this year; Defra’s modelling for PM2.5 shows that background concentrations are also well below the annual mean Air Quality Objective in this council’s area.

The most recent national air quality compliance assessment for 2023 presented air quality modelling data and measurements from national air pollution monitoring networks across the UK. The assessment was published in September 2024 on Defra’s UK-AIR website. No exceedances were reported of the limit and target values for NO2, PM10 or PM2.5 in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the Environmental Land Management scheme. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government inherited an Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which was uncapped, despite a finite farming budget. We reached the upper limit in March.

Now is the right time for a reset via the reformed SFI offer: supporting farmers, delivering for nature and targeting public funds fairly and effectively towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. We will work with the farming sector to prioritise funding for future years so we can target those who will benefit most before reopening SFI to new applicants. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory food waste reporting in Austria on (a) food waste reduction levels, (b) businesses and (c) food inflation. \p Mary Creagh: The Government has announced its plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis, one of which is agri-food.

As part of this work, evidence for action from right across the economy will be considered and evaluated in terms of what interventions may be needed, including introducing a mandatory food waste reporting requirement for large food businesses.

No assessment of the potential impact of mandatory food waste reporting in Austria has been made.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43343 on Domestic Waste: Recycling and Waste Disposal, if he will publish that guidance. \p Mary Creagh: WRAP, supported by Defra, and with input from local authorities, recently published Good Practice Guidance to help local authorities deliver quality waste and recycling services to citizens in England. Further guidance topics, including on residual waste collection, are intended to be published shortly.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide long-term protections for badger populations. \p Mary Creagh: The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 prohibits the deliberate killing, injuring or capturing of a wild badger and any interfering with badger setts; and The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits certain methods of control. Additionally, badger persecution is one of the seven UK wildlife crime priorities, and a UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group is in place. This is police led and comprises a range of members including Defra who meet regularly to tackle offences such as badger baiting which is rightly illegal in this country. The government’s view is that anyone found guilty of these offences should be subject to the full force of the law.

We have also started work on a comprehensive new bovine TB eradication strategy to drive down TB rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament. As part of this, we have launched the first badger population survey in over a decade to estimate badger abundance and population recovery and are developing a national wildlife surveillance programme to unlock a data-driven approach to deploying TB vaccines and other eradication measures. We are also establishing a Badger Vaccinator Field Force to rapidly scale up vaccination efforts, helping to reduce TB rates and protect badgers.
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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department will allocate to councils in England to carry out recommendations of flood investigation reports under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in (a) 2025/26, (b) 2026/27 and (c) 2027/28. \p Emma Hardy: Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, lead local flood authorities must investigate flood incidents to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, publish the results and notify relevant risk management authorities. These investigations help to improve knowledge and raise awareness of local flooding and inform local flood strategies and investment.

The Local Government Settlement provides funding for local authorities and the services they deliver. This includes the management of local flood risk and flood investigations.

Flood investigations could be used to identify and support new flood projects, which could secure funding from the government’s record £2.65 billion investment programme.

Defra has worked with lead local flood authorities to develop non-statutory guidance for carrying out flood investigations. The guidance was published in April 2025 and provides a best practice framework for producing clear and consistent reports. It can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities/investigating-a-flood-guidance-for-lead-local-flood-authorities.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce traceable labels on nitrous oxide canisters to identify the point of sale. \p Mary Creagh: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given by the Home Office on 9 May 2025 to PQ 49048.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging arrangements on levels of costs for small scale (a) cider and (b) perry producers using glass bottles; and what steps he is taking to support small businesses through these changes. \p Mary Creagh: The Government wants to see all businesses take steps to reduce packaging use, ensure packaging is easy to recycle, and where appropriate move to re-use systems. However, the Government also recognises the importance of protecting small producers from direct cost obligations. This is why the regulations include a de-minimis threshold of £2 million turnover and 50 tonnes which exempts approximately 70% of the producers supplying packaging in the UK from paying scheme fees.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of large-scale solar farms on (a) agricultural land use and (b) landscape character in South Northamptonshire constituency. \p Mary Creagh: Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of large-scale solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on (a) long-term food production capacity and (b) the natural environment. \p Mary Creagh: Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:

It is recognised that solar can, when delivered in line with relevant planning policy, have a positive impact on the natural environment, and large-scale solar farms can contribute significant gains for local biodiversity with intelligent design and planning.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the status is of Natural England's national landscape areas of outstanding natural beauty proposed designations for (a) the new Yorkshire Wolds, (b) the new Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, (c) extensions in the Surrey Hills and (d) extensions in the Chilterns; and whether changes have been made to the (i) timetable and (ii) target dates since July 2024. \p Mary Creagh: The work considering the Yorkshire Wolds National Landscape and the Surrey Hills National Landscape extension is live and progressing in line with information shared on the project websites. There have been no major changes to timetables since July 2024, timelines are shaped by evidence received through consultation so can be subject to change. We are currently working towards submissions of a Designation Order to the Secretary of State for the Surrey Hills and the Yorkshire Wolds projects. The work on the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge National Landscape and the Chiltern National Landscape extension has been stopped.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to the public purse was of the (a) event and (b) reception held at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 31 July 2024; how much was spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) food; and what alcoholic drinks were served. \p Stephanie Peacock: On 31 July 2024, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport hosted a stakeholder reception in Manchester attended by 193 senior representatives from across the breadth of the DCMS sectors. This included individuals and organisations from the arts, culture, sport, heritage, civil society, and creative industries

The purpose of the event was to provide an opportunity for the new Secretary of State and departmental ministers to engage directly with a wide range of stakeholders, to hear their views, establish relationships, and work together to ensure that the benefits of our creative industries, sporting excellence and rich cultural heritage are felt by everyone, no matter where they live.

Such engagement is an established and valuable part of ministerial responsibilities and helps to inform ongoing policy development and delivery. The event and reception cost a total of £9,725.83 which included event production costs and low-cost catering of £1,248.90 for 193 people. No alcohol was served.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available for (a) local heritage and (b) arts organisations in South Northamptonshire constituency. \p Chris Bryant: In the South Northamptonshire constituency, Arts Council England has provided over £600,000 of funding between 2021-2025.

This includes 11 awards across combined arts, music and theatre, totalling more than £290,000. “The Play’s The Thing” Theatre Company received £39,366 for their biennial ‘Taking the Stage’ symposium, celebrating the role of women in the performing arts.

Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice has also supported four individual artists with a total of £47,113 across theatre and visual arts. ItsCreative People and Places funding stream has awarded £321,703 per annum to ‘Made with Many’ for 2022-25 – to produce events and activities that put the community at the heart of commissioning artists and producing new and exciting events, through conversations with local people and community decision-making panels.

Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £18.2m to 95 projects in South Northamptonshire. Examples of organisations and projects they have supported include £11.6m in support of Silverstone Heritage and a grant of £233,800 supporting much needed repairs to the roof of the Grade I listed All Saints' Church, Middleton Cheney.

Since 2020, Historic England provided £56,000 towards re-roofing the Brewhouse at Sulgrave Manor. They also provided financial support for the Peterborough Diocese Places of Worship Support Officer for 10 years up to 2024 and £4,000 for Weedon Lois Castle site.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. Since August 2022, a total of £228,640.15 has been awarded to 33 Listed Places of Worship in the South Northamptonshire constituency area.

This year, the Secretary of State also announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund. This will include support to museums, heritage, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts, heritage and culture for communities.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to increase access to the arts for children and young people in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Chris Bryant: The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Cabinet colleagues across the whole of her portfolio. DCMS officials regularly discuss access to the arts for children and young people with their counterparts across His Majesty’s Government including with the Department for Education.

The government, through the recently announced Dormant Assets Scheme Strategy, has allocated £132.5 million in England towards youth. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.

In addition, our arms-length body, Arts Council England (ACE) coordinates public funding which supports a number of creative programmes and activities for children and young people across Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. This includes Shaw Education Trust’s ‘Young Curators’ programme, which gives high school students in Newcastle-under-Lyme the opportunity to learn hands-on about curation and host their own exhibitions in the local art gallery.

Since 2024, ACE has invested nearly £8 million into programmes and projects in the Staffordshire region (excluding the Stoke-on-Trent City Council area) which have had a focus on children and young people. This figure includes almost £3 million of support for organisations in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase access to the arts for people over the age of 60 in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Chris Bryant: Arts Council England is the DCMS arms-length body with responsibility for distributing arts funding. Arts Council England provides both Grant-in-Aid and lottery funding which supports a number of creative programmes and activities for older people across Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. This includes project grants to music organisation Madula, who host weekly drum circles for older residents in the area to learn from international artists in a social environment. Castle Hill Creatives, a group of artists which provide events and exhibitions in Torrington have also worked with older and isolated people to create sculptural lanterns for the Stoke Lanterns event that took place in March 2025.

Beyond project grants, Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places projects are designed to work on intergenerational projects with people across the area. In Stoke-on-Trent, this is run by Appetite and in Staffordshire Moorlands, projects are run by Outside.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of arts and culture on (a) society and (b) education in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (ii) Staffordshire. \p Chris Bryant: The government strongly believes in the benefits that the arts and culture can bring to the UK, both in terms of their social and economic impact. According to DCMS Economic estimates, the cultural sector contributed an estimated £35.0bn in 2023, accounting for 1.5% of UK GVA.

Newcastle-under-Lyme currently has three National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) receiving public funding of almost £1.5 million per annum. In total, Arts Council England (ACE) funding to organisations and individuals in Staffordshire since 2024 is over £12 million. This includes a major award of £1.7m towards the restoration of Tamworth Castle, through the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND).

An example of this positive impact is the ACE funded New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which delivers community programmes that are a strong example of how investment into creative infrastructure can benefit communities. Their ‘Tale Trail’ experience is a first introduction to the arts for 88% of the children who attend, with 87% of children attending the theatre’s programmes showing improved markers for school readiness. These positive outcomes are also reflected in the theatre’s work with dementia patients, with self-reported health ratings nearly tripling following interactions with the ‘Dementia and Creativity’ programme.

ACE is also delivering Music Hubs, which are supported by Department for Education funding. Staffordshire Music Hub offers a wide range of instrumental lessons and access to rehearsal spaces for children and young people.

DCMS is committed to promoting the culture of Staffordshire, including in its heritage buildings, ensuring these buildings serve the needs of local communities. Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded nearly £100 million to 760 projects across Staffordshire. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has identified Stoke-on-Trent as one of twenty places as part of their Heritage Places UK-wide initiative which aims to provide long term place-based investment that boosts pride in place and connects communities and visitors with heritage.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department plans to make available through the Creative Foundations Fund for grassroots music venues; and how she plans to consider their needs in funding decisions. \p Chris Bryant: The Creative Foundation Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.

Funding will be distributed to arts and cultural organisations across England following an open application process led by Arts Council England (ACE). All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full application and funding committed by Arts Council England by 31 March 2026. The fund has been designed to address the varying scales of need being experienced by different organisations, with funding being distributed to ensure maximum impact across the country. We expect the fund to support a mix of projects of varying sizes across the English regions, subject to applications received.

This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.

We understand that there are varying needs across the music sector, and the Creative Foundations Fund is one of the ways that we are supporting music venues. We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_284

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) nightclubs and (b) electronic music organisations her Department (i) consulted in the development of the Arts Everywhere Fund and (ii) is consulting in the development of the 12-point plan for music. \p Chris Bryant: The £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund is made up of multiple funds which will support arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector. The Creative Foundations Fund will invest £85 million to support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. This fund is specifically designed to support not-for-profit arts organisations within the funding remit of Arts Council England. Eligible organisations must be not-for-profit and show that their primary aims are cultural and their activities fall within the remit of ACE. They must have delivered cultural activity in the last 12 months and be able to demonstrate that the investment is business-critical to delivering creative or cultural activity. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website. The fund was developed in partnership with Arts Council England (ACE), drawing on its knowledge of the arts and culture sector.

We are continuing to support ACE’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26. This provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

The Government’s industrial strategy is prioritising the creative industries, and we will publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan to set out measures to drive growth in the sector. DCMS is developing a music plan which will build on the Creative Industries Sector Plan, and on which we will work in partnership with representatives from across the music sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_285

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 50857 on Universal Studios: Bedfordshire, whether government guarantees are contingent on planning permission being awarded. \p Chris Bryant: The proposals remain subject to a planning decision from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. As outlined when the Government announced the deal, further details will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_286

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 50857, on Universal Studios: Bedfordshire, whether (a) Parliament and (b) select committee chairs will be informed of a contingent liability on the Consolidated Fund, relating to government commitments being made to Universal Studios from the announced deal. \p Chris Bryant: Further details on Government infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course and due process will be followed should any contingent liability arise.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_287

Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK comedy industry on (a) the economy and (b) society. \p Chris Bryant: While the Department has not carried out any recent assessments of the impact of the UK comedy industry, the government recognises the sector as a vital performing art which forms part of this country's cultural landscape, enriching lives, and shaping our collective identity. British comedy also generates substantial economic returns, with a recent Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Live Comedy estimating that the live sector generates £1 billion annually.

Our arms-length body, Arts Council England (ACE) funds numerous organisations and venues that support comedy. Between the financial years covering 2010/11 to 2024/25 ACE has awarded £12,296,254 in funding where an applicant name, project title or subclassifier contains the word “comedy”. In addition, DCMS will be convening a roundtable discussion in the coming months to hear about issues currently impacting this sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_288

Chris Hinchliff:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national support scheme for the insurance of (a) thatched and (b) listed residential properties to help homeowners (i) manage increases in insurance costs and (ii) preserve heritage buildings. \p Chris Bryant: The government acknowledges that homeowners can face challenges in managing increased insurance costs and preserving heritage buildings, such as thatched properties.

The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national support scheme for the insurance of thatched and listed residential properties. However, Historic England, the government's statutory advisors on the historic environment, commissioned analysis from industry experts to understand the causes behind these increases. The research revealed that fewer companies are offering insurance for highly listed (Grade I and II*) buildings, leading to reduced competition. The report found that the increased cost of materials and labour, which influence rebuild valuations, amongst other factors. These impacts are largely dictated by market forces and the Government is not considering intervention at this stage.

A range of policies and programmes the Government offers centrally and through its Arms Length Bodies, including repair and restoration grants, skills initiatives, and streamlining and simplifying the planning system, are designed to reduce the costs of works to listed buildings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_289

Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on artists. \p Chris Bryant: The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Service providers and those delivering public functions should note and follow the ruling. It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need within the ruling. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers and is currently consulting on its code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This consultation will close on 30 June 2025. The Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court's judgment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_290

John Cooper:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available. \p James Murray: We do not currently operate any of the systems listed in the question. At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis, and these people are still actively working on temporary and priority projects.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_291

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total tax revenue collected from (a) business rates and (b) corporation tax was in the Slough constituency in the most recent period for which data is available. \p James Murray: Data on the amount of business rates collected for 2023-24, which is the more recent publicly available data, is published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) online here. Table 9 contains data at the local authority level:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/collection-rates-for-council-tax-and-non-domestic-rates-in-england-2023-to-2024.

HMRC publish total Corporation Tax (CT) receipts online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporation-tax-statistics-2024. HMRC do not hold data on the amount of CT paid by companies in individual parliamentary constituencies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-11 conversation_292

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the merger of the Valuation Office Agency into HM Revenue and Customs on (a) Ministerial accountability and (b) the ability of Ministers to amend valuation practices. \p James Murray: Moving the VOA’s functions into HMRC will strengthen direct accountability to Ministers, helping to improve the experience of taxpayers and businesses and support the delivery of the government's commitments to reform business rates and modernise the tax system.

The Valuation Office Agency has a legal responsibility to provide independent and impartial advice on property valuations based on appropriate evidence and methodology. It does this using internationally recognised valuation approaches for property taxation. It will continue to do this following the merger with HMRC.