Written questions by Turner.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to make it easier for musicians to tour in the EU.

Supporting creative and cultural touring is a manifesto commitment for this Government and delivering on it requires coordinated action across Whitehall, given the range of policy areas involved, including mobility, customs and logistics. Enabling artists and their crews to tour more easily supports shared economic growth, job creation and artistic innovation across Europe.We recognise the practical challenges that current arrangements present for musicians and their crews, particularly smaller and emerging artists. Building on the Common Understanding Commitment reached at the inaugural UK-EU Summit, we are exploring with the EU Commission and EU Member States how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent.DCMS Ministers are working closely with Cabinet colleagues to ensure a coherent, cross-Government approach. We are also engaging regularly with the sector to understand the operational impacts and identify workable solutions. Engagement with the EU and Member States will continue in pursuit of practical and proportionate progress, whilst respecting regulatory frameworks on both sides.

Media and Sport, what payments were made by Historic England to local authorities in the West Midlands in each of the last ten years by (a) type of payment and (b) local authority.

In 2016/17, no funding was given to local authorities within the West Midlands.In 2017/18, a regional grant of £105,582 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.In 2018/19, a regional grant of £272,311 was given to Birmingham Local Authority.In 2019/20, 2 regional grants: £272,311 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £6,326 given to Coventry Local Authority.In 2020/21, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £166,904 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £165,609 given to Coventry Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £24,111 to Dudley Local Authority and £18,489 given to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2021/22, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £310,829 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £55,760 given to Dudley Local Authority. A Covid-19 Recovery Fund grant of £100,000 was given to Birmingham Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £607,858 to Dudley Local Authority and £563,849 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2022/23, 4 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £20,034 given to Birmingham Local Authority and £9,840 to Dudley Local Authority. 2 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants given: £467,760 to Dudley Local Authority and £441,569 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2023/24, 5 grants were administered. 2 regional grants: £7,180 given to Coventry Local Authority and £55,240 to Sandwell Local Authority. 3 High Street Heritage Action Zones grants were given: £534,000 to Coventry Local Authority, £942,271 to Dudley Local Authority, and £582,332 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2024/25, 2 regional grants: £177,302 to Coventry Local Authority and £67,708 to Sandwell Local Authority.In 2025/26, 2 grants were administered. One regional grant of £50,150 was given to Coventry Local Authority. One Heritage at Risk Capital Fund grant of £200,000 was given to Sandwell Local Authority.

Media and Sport, what the funding allocation is for the Midlands Regional Office of Historic England for the (a) 2025-2026 financial year and (b) 2026-2027 financial year.

DCMS funding allocation is given to Historic England, it is then an operational decision for them how much funding is allocated to each region. Historic England have confirmed that, for 2025/26 the Midlands region operation budget is £2,507,700. The funding allocation for 26/27 is not yet determined.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce the barriers for disabled people accessing cultural events.

The Government supports the Arts Councils of each UK nation and Ireland and the British Film Institute in launching All In, a free, UK wide arts access scheme. This scheme will help remove barriers for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people in music venues, festivals, theatres, museums, galleries, libraries and more. It will introduce the UK and Ireland’s first set of industry standards to improve access to arts and culture as well as launch new digital tools to support accessible ticket booking. Work so far has included consultation with potential users, as well as feasibility studies to inform how the scheme can address access barriers faced by disabled audience members.The Office for Equality and Opportunity has also appointed David Stanley as Disability and Access Ambassador for arts and culture - to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the sector for disabled people, helping to ensure businesses are doing all they can to support disabled customers.We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF), which as well as aiming to bolster the grassroots music ecosystem, aims to promote inclusivity within the sector. For example, through support from the SGMF, a music venue in Bristol has become the first grassroots music venue in the country to secure an Attitude is Everything Gold Award, a widely-coveted Industry award, given only to those that show a significant and ongoing commitment to improving accessibility.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of National Archives documents misplaced while on loan to Departments.

Section 4(6) of the Public Records Act 1958 gives departments the right to recall records that they have transferred to The National Archives. In 2018, The National Archives put in place a framework for safeguarding public records that establishes firm controls around such recalls. Officials at The National Archives are unaware of any records going missing since the establishment of this framework.

Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on the establishment of the community wealth fund.

The government announced in November 2024 that it is allocating £87.5 million of dormant assets funding to the Community Wealth Fund and is committed to ensuring it delivers meaningful benefits to disadvantaged communities across England. DCMS and MHCLG are working to shortly publish the government response to the Community Wealth Fund technical consultation. This will set out the final design of the Community Wealth Fund, including further information on how beneficiary communities will be selected, and other elements of its delivery.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26736 on Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Bidfood, what contracts (a) under the value of £12,000 and (b) tendered before 2015 and subsequently extended (i) the BFS Group Limited and (ii) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited holds with (A) her Department and (B) agencies of her Department.

Core Department: DCMS does not hold any active contracts, nor any contracts since 1st April 2015 with BFS Group Limited and its subsidiaries. To the best of our knowledge, we do not hold any information on Bidfood contracts tendered before 2015, noting that we do not hold consistent contract records before 2015, as this is prior to the migration to our previous electronic contract management software.Executive Agencies: DCMS does not hold executive agency contractual information.

Media and Sport, what contracts (a) BFS Group Limited and (b) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited hold with (i) her Department and (ii) agencies of her Department.

All Government Awarded contracts are published on Contracts Finder (for awarded contracts above £12,000) and Find a Tender services for above threshold contracts.Details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder and https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search.