Every parliamentary written question tabled by Adam Jogee this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–35 of 35 · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Media and Sport, what proportion of dormant assets funds will be allocated to youth services.
In November 2024, the government announced an even split of £350m between the four Dormant Assets causes. Since then an additional £90m has been split between Youth and Financial Inclusion.
Media and Sport, what plans she has to continue funding tennis facilities following the conclusion of the Park Tennis Project.
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed at least £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) other communities have access to covered tennis facilities to enable year-round play.
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed at least £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to improve the provision of public libraries in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires the Secretary of State to “superintend and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in England”. To assist this function the department regularly monitors and reviews changes to local authority library service provision, and engages with local authorities to discuss issues related to their respective library service.The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024-25.The Secretary of State announced in February 2025 a further £5.5 million of the Libraries Improvement Fund for 2025-26 to enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology. Staffordshire County Council has previously received around £465,000 from this fund to support projects at Burton and Wombourne libraries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase access to the arts for children and young people in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
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.
Media and Sport, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council in relation to the ceramics industry in North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.
We have no record of any such representations.
Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on generating new funding streams for arts and culture initiatives in (a) Staffordshire and (b) the United Kingdom.
On top of significant public investment such as the £444 million per year of funding via Arts Council England’s National Portfolio, and the approximate £100 million per year through their National Lottery project grants, on 20th February the SoS announced an additional package of investment of over £270 million through the Arts Everywhere Fund for arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector to boost growth and cement Britain’s place as a cultural powerhouse.The Arts Everywhere Fund includes, for example, £85 million of support via the Creative Foundations Fund to support urgent capital works; a fifth round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund worth £25 million; and a fourth round of the Libraries Improvement Fund worth £5.5 million. This investment will support organisations across the country, including those based in Staffordshire.Alongside investment, we are looking at the way the arts and culture sector receives support to help strengthen it further, by reviewing Arts Council England and exploring how we can better encourage philanthropy to attract more funding to the places that need it most. We want to ensure that the UK has the best framework for philanthropy and that partnerships between government, philanthropists, businesses and civil society are maximised. DCMS will continue to work closely with our partners in the philanthropy sector, and with colleagues across government, including HMT, HMRC and the Office for Investment.
Media and Sport, what discussions (a) she and (b) her Department has had with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee since July 2024.
The work of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee is delivered by the Cabinet Office, not by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. While my officials are in regular contact with the Secretariat team in the Cabinet Office and offer their support, any questions relating to the activity of, and approach taken by, the Committee should be addressed by the Cabinet Office.
Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
The Department continues to closely monitor the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator, EMB. Since 2010, the Government has returned over £350 million to listed churches, synagogues, mosques and temples through the grant scheme. This has helped protect our listed places of worship and enabled them to continue their work as centres of worship and community assets.
Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to reduce food waste in her Department.
As a tenant for each of our offices including our London and Manchester HQs, DCMS does not manage food provision or waste in our offices. For our London HQ this service is provided by our landlords, the Government Property Agency.
Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the (a) strength and (b) success of the creative industries in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
This Government recognises and welcomes the success of the creative industries in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and is committed to supporting our world-leading creative industries, and their growth in regions across the UK.The Office for National Statistics includes Newcastle-Under-Lyme as part of the Stoke-On-Trent ‘Travel To Work Area,’ and indicates that 3,777 people were employed in the creative industries in 2021, an increase of 5% since 2017.The second wave of the £50 million Creative Clusters competition will be announced in the coming months, which will provide Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and the surrounding area, the opportunity to further develop themselves as a creative cluster. This would build on many of the strengths already present in the region, including video games, digital production and crafting.
Media and Sport, if she will visit (a) the New Vic Theatre and (b) the Philip Astley Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
I will ask my officials to keep both the New Vic Theatre and the Philip Astley Centre in mind when planning future visits.