Speeches by Nandy.

“I do not want to pre-empt the work that we are doing through the working groups, but that is one of the key questions that we are working through at the moment. The way that we have established the process is that there are three roundtables, the third of which we are shortly about to chair and hold. Then, we will take…”

“The Permanent Secretary will be able to talk about the capital settlement that we got in the spending review, but this was a point that we particularly pressed with the Treasury because, obviously, there comes a tipping point where either buildings are not viable or it costs far more to do the work. Early investment is…”

“Yes, definitely. I was really pleased to be at the first Beyond The Music conference in Manchester and to have discussions with the people who have been involved, working very closely with the excellent Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who is really passionate about this, and Bev Craig, the leader of the coun…”

“Yes, definitely, and we really see the value of them. My dad was on the board of the National Theatre, and when I was growing up in Manchester, as kids we would often spend the weekends that we had with him in the National Theatre. That was a wonderful opportunity for a child growing up in Manchester. It is my second h…”

“First, I thank you and the Chair for your kind words about Minister Bryant. He is currently settling into his new role at the Department for Business and Trade. Can I also put on the record my absolute agreement about the need for therapy after so many of those terrible puns? As a Government, we see film as one of the …”

“It is a really fair point. This is something we have asked Margaret Hodge to look at specifically as part of her review of the Arts Council. It happens not just in art but in sport as well. One of the challenges we have had is that with the funding available for grassroots sport you often have somebody applying for tha…”

“This is something that I am really passionate about. In my town of Wigan, Mike Danson, who is the owner of Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic, is somebody who grew up there and still calls Wigan his home. He does not live in Wigan any more, but he cares passionately about the place. He came in to save our football club …”

“That is really helpful. I absolutely take your point about language. The other thing we have been looking at is around investment in film infrastructure, and particularly around cinemas, which are often the only cultural institution in many parts of the country. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh, Jo Platt…”

“Yes.”

“I will address this directly, because it came up so much during the parliamentary debates. There was a concern among some parliamentarians, particularly in the House of Lords—I have met with all those people who voiced concerns—that the Government was somehow trying to kick this into the long grass. I make a commitment…”

“There is a technical issue that we were discussing yesterday. Susannah, it might be better if you answer.”

“We take this incredibly seriously, but it is one of the areas that we obviously have to take great care with because of the implications of making that shift. We have been working very closely with Ofcom, which has been looking into the issue and is due to produce a report.”

“There is. Obviously, some of our public service broadcasters have had some very challenging circumstances recently, so we have been looking at the immediate issues in front of us. At Channel 4 there is a very important role for the new chair and chief executive when they are appointed, to deal with some issues they hav…”

“Yes.”

“I was. As you all know, it was a difficult spending review. We inherited a difficult financial environment, and our sectors are often vulnerable in that sort of situation. I was really pleased that we were able to come out roughly flat in terms of our spending settlement—around £9 billion over the spending review perio…”

“Yes. The financial situation facing the country is still very challenging and we are going to have to make trade-offs and choices. At the moment, we are looking at that through business planning and I have met with several members of the Committee and heard representations from many parliamentarians about their priorit…”

“I have previously said that if we have to act to put this on a statutory footing, we will, but we would of course prefer that the industry gets there itself. The 50% target remains. I have already had a conversation with the new Minister for music, Ian Murray, who is very committed to this, and we will continue to take…”

“It absolutely is. Without undermining the incredible work that Minister Bryant did, that was my request as the Secretary of State. As you would imagine with Minister Bryant, the 10-point plan for music then became a 110-point plan for music, but we are working at pace to make sure we are in a position to announce somet…”

“Jo, one of the things that I have been told when I have been briefed on the issue is that there are alternative ways to apply for the majority of grants. If that is not working, I would be really happy to take that up with the Arts Council. I was particularly struck by what you just said about the application process n…”

“I cannot today, Paul, but I have heard your point loud and clear and we are doing everything we can. We will redouble our efforts to make sure that we do this quickly, but we do it right.”