Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

International Funding

Thursday 24 September 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister stated the UK will focus on spending that reflects the needs of UK artists and creative professionals.
  • Government decided the UK would not continue participation in the Creative Europe fund after the transition period.
  • Minister indicated an alternative to the Creative Europe fund will be part of the comprehensive spending review.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Philippa Whitford SNP
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The UK's transition period is ending, and the culture sector has raised concerns about access to international funding. The EU membership was not a requirement for certain programmes.

Question

What steps he is taking to help maintain access to international funding for the culture sector after the transition period?

Answer from Caroline Dinenage

By taking back control of our money, we are able to focus on spending that reflects the needs and ambitions of UK artists and creative professionals. This includes considering alternatives to former international funding programmes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide concrete steps or details about specific alternative programmes being considered.

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Q2 Philippa Whitford SNP
Brexit Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The culture sector has been severely impacted by the COVID pandemic, and many organisations are struggling to survive. Despite this, the Government decided to end UK membership in Creative Europe.

Question

As we have already heard from Members in this Chamber this morning, the culture sector has been hit hard by the covid pandemic and many organisations are struggling to simply survive. EU membership is not a requirement of the programme, so why are the Government ending the UK's membership of Creative Europe?

Answer from Caroline Dinenage

Creative Europe funds co-operation across cultural and audio-visual sectors, as the hon. Lady knows. The value of it is roughly £4 million a year. The Government decided that the UK would not continue to participate, but UK beneficiaries will continue to benefit from the programmes for the lifetime of their project, which in many cases runs beyond 2020. In the meantime, we are working in partnership with the devolved Administrations on domestic alternatives, which will be considered as part of the forthcoming spending review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide specifics about why UK's participation was ended and details on domestic alternatives were vague.

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Q3 John Nicolson SNP
Brexit Foreign Affairs Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The decision to withdraw from the Creative Europe programme was criticised for erecting barriers to cultural exchange. Non-EU members such as Norway, Ukraine, and Tunisia continue to participate in the programme.

Question

That was simply not good enough from the Minister. The preamble to the constitution of UNESCO states: 'since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed', and that is the guiding principle of so many cross-border cultural initiatives such as Creative Europe. The decision to end our participation in the programme not only erects barriers to cultural exchange but sends a loud and clear message to our closest neighbours that Britain is closed for collaboration. With non-EU members such as Norway, Ukraine and even Tunisia participating, can the Minister explain the UK Government's decision to withdraw from Creative Europe as anything other than narrow-minded Brexit isolationism?

Answer from Caroline Dinenage

I have already explained that we intend to find an alternative to the Creative Europe fund, which will be set out as part of the comprehensive spending review. I do not really like having lectures from the hon. Gentleman about what is “good enough”. This Government have worked round the clock with the sector to provide £1.57 billion of support in the form of a cultural recovery package, £97 million of which has gone to Scotland, and yet—guess what?—only £59 million of that has so far been announced for disposal. What have they done—trousered the rest of it?

Not addressed: The questioner's specific ask was not addressed; instead, the answer focused on criticising the opposition and questioning their actions with respect to funding.

How: Criticised Opposition, Questioned Use Of Funds

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