Written questions by Adam.

Media and Sport, with reference to the guidance entitled Libraries as a statutory service, published on 21 February 2025, whether her Department was informed by Leicester City Council of its plans for a consultation on the future of its library service before that consultation was launched.

Department officials have met with City Council officers on several occasions to understand their public library proposals, as well as their consultation plans and to remind the Council of its statutory duty. This included a meeting on 24th March 2025. The City Council’s consultation on ‘Proposals for Leicester city libraries and community centres’ opened on 2nd April 2025.The guidance set out in Libraries as a Statutory Service encourages, but does not mandate, councils to inform the department when it is considering changing its library service, before public engagement or consultation.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) arts and (b) creative activities on the health of (i) children and (ii) babies in socially deprived communities.

DCMS has carried out a range of work to research the impact of arts and creativity upon health. For instance, through the Culture and Heritage Capital (CHC) Programme, the Department has recently published a new study that monetises the impact of culture and heritage engagement on health and wellbeing. This draws on evidence for a range of groups, including children and young people. While the report is not specifically about children from socially deprived communities, its findings are striking. For example, one model within the research finds that general engagement with culture and heritage for adults aged 30-49 has annual health and wellbeing benefits worth £992 per person and £8bn to wider society each year. Specifically for children, another model finds that participating in art can have benefits worth £134 per child per year in terms of improvements to quality of life and self esteem, worth £120mn per year to society.The research highlights one of the many reasons that Government invests to support arts and creativity, including activity with children and young people. For example, one third of organisations supported through Arts Council England's National Portfolio Investment Programme (334 Organisations) report that they deliver “creative health” activity, including 121 who support the health of children and young people.