Lords
Committee Stage
27 January 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, we will come to local growth plans and culture. Can the Minister confirm that the spatial development strategies will include cultural growth as something to look at?
My Lords, I will be quite brief and will make a point of principle to start with. If something is important enough to be an additional area of competence, it should have a dedicated commissioner to go with it, which is in line with what the Government have done so far. I say that at the outset.
The…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Grass-roots Music Venues
My Lords, there is plenty of time. We will hear from the Lib Dems next, then the Conservative Benches.
As noble Lords will know, I am very happy to agree with the noble Earl on the last point he raises: the incredibly damaging effect of Brexit on that sector in particular. He will like to know that, along with the EU, we have jointly recognised the value of travel and cultural artistic exchanges, inc…
Lords
Committee Stage
20 January 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, my Amendment 6 would rectify what is, at present, a significant omission from the list of areas of competence: cultural concerns. Amendment 51 is intended to ensure that this area has its own commissioner. I share Amendment 52 with the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, on a relat…
My Lords, I will be brief. I am grateful for all the support across the Committee that my noble friend Lady Prashar and I have had for our amendments. I am disappointed by the Minister’s initial response. I am very happy to meet her; it is essential that we do so between now and Report.
I will pick…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Heritage Craft and Building Sector
The Government are committed to supporting the heritage, craft and building sectors to protect, maintain and adapt heritage for future generations. Last year, I hosted a round table on challenges facing the heritage skills sector and met my noble friend Lady Smith of Malvern, the Minister for Skills…
I agree with the noble Earl about the need for specialist skills and the many organisations around the country that are doing excellent work in this area. I was hugely impressed by the offer at York Minster when I visited last year, and by the calibre and commitment of the apprentices and teaching s…
Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Broadcasting: Recent Developments
My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for securing this debate and for his passionate commitment to UK broadcasting. I declare my interest as deputy chairman of Telegraph Media Group and co-chairman of the ITV APPG. I have three points.
The first concerns BBC charter renewal. …
Lords
Proceedings
18 December 2025
UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations
My Lords, I congratulate the Government on getting us back into Erasmus+, something for which many of us have been asking for a long time. I add that it is a complete myth that working-class students did not make use of Erasmus when we were previously a member of Erasmus+.
I have just one question.…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 December 2025
Jobs Market: Wider Economic Implications
The noble Earl makes an excellent point. He is a fine ambassador for the creative sectors, for which I commend him. The Government are looking sector by sector at how we can support the development of skills. I am aware that we have had to work quite hard to protect some quite specialist skills, bec…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 December 2025
Business Improvement Districts: Town Centre Renewal
I agree with the noble Earl. I have not seen the report he refers to, but I will take a look at it. I am sure, as we discuss the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, that we will have lots of discussion about how to support communities as they promote arts and culture in their areas. A…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Visas: Highly Skilled People
My Lords—
I thank the noble Lord for that question. It is an issue that he has raised before, and one about which I am concerned. Indeed, I addressed it in my maiden speech. As I have already said, we announced on 14 October that we will aim to double the number of highly skilled people coming to the UK on th…
Lords
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
Forthcoming Fiscal Changes
As the noble Earl knows, alongside the Budget tomorrow, the Office for Budget Responsibility will set out the conclusions of its review of the supply side of the UK economy. I will not pre-empt those conclusions, but it is likely that the OBR will downgrade its historic assessment of the UK’s produc…
Lords
Oral Questions
24 November 2025
Fair Funding Review
I very much agree. I have seen on the front line how cuts to local government funding have affected so much the provision of social activities, culture and leisure in our communities. It is very important that local government has the ability to make provision for local communities in those areas. W…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 November 2025
Teachers: Music, Drama, Art and Design, and Dance
As the noble Earl says, in primary schools, teachers will often have a range of areas that they will teach. What is important is that teachers have access to the best understanding of how to teach music, with support from the music hubs. We will develop their understanding of best quality, excellent…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
Overseas Musicians Touring in the UK
The Government are certainly looking at that as part of the reset, because it is very important that we have movement between countries that is as frictionless as possible, particularly in areas where individuals can now apply for long-term visas, although obviously the amount of time that they can …
Lords
Proceedings
10 November 2025
Curriculum and Assessment Review
My Lords, the arts sector is hugely grateful that the EBacc has gone, and I think that needs to be said. However, does the Minister agree that it is going to take a lot of work to turn around the culture in relation to the arts in schools that has been in place since 2010 and, importantly, repair th…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Youth Mobility Scheme
My Lords, we are working with the EU towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme. We have agreed that any scheme will be subject to an allotted number of places and to a visa requirement, and time limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing s…
I very much appreciate the noble Earl’s question and from where it comes. I assure your Lordships’ House that discussions are actively under way, and we hope to bring forward responses with details of the scheme in the coming months.
Lords
Debate
27 October 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, my Amendment 102 would add cultural assets to the existing scheme of assets of community value. We addressed that scheme earlier in Amendment 87D from the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. I am grateful for the support of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, and my noble friend Lor…
I thank the Minister for that actually very interesting reply. I would be very grateful if she could write to me about the scheme she mentioned. I re-emphasise that this is about community assets; it is not about cultural assets as such. The whole intention of my amendment was to put them on an equa…
Lords
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 71 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, to which I have added my name. I support Amendment 82 as well.
First, I briefly pay tribute to those who have argued for the agent of change principle for much longer than I have, including the noble Bar…
Why will the Government not make it statutory? This is a very simple question.
Lords
Proceedings
22 October 2025
Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy
My Lords, this is certainly an important document. The first thing I noticed about it, though, was that it is being fronted by DSIT but not DCMS, which does not seem to be involved at all—when the creative industries are such an important aspect of the industrial strategy, and in particular the many…
Lords
Debate
22 October 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I rise briefly in support of the outlier Amendment 87D from the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. I have Amendment 102, likely to be heard on Monday, which seeks to extend the current assets of community value scheme to include cultural assets, so I have a particular interest in how the scheme …
Lords
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
Erasmus+
The noble Earl raises the most important point. Currently, 60% of our schools are struggling to recruit modern foreign language teachers. There is a genuine issue about how we ensure that not just students but their teachers and supporting staff have opportunities in this space. That is one of the b…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 October 2025
Musical Instrument Certificates
The availability of the musical instrument certificates simplifies international travel for musicians with instruments. It is important to note that they are valid for three years. Currently, the musical instrument certificates are the only CITES permit or certificate available to applicants at no c…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Youth Unemployment
The noble Earl is right that, as part of the curriculum and assessment review, Becky Francis is considering the large amount of evidence that has been provided, and she has been clear in the challenge that the Government have set her, and that she has set herself, that maintaining a strong knowledge…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
2 contributions
Music and Dance Schools: Affordable Access
My Lords, first, I must say how much we miss Lord Lipsey in this debate as he was totally committed to the cause that we are discussing today. I support those who have spoken eloquently in favour of the future of the music and dance scheme and scholarships. My wife was for several years managing dir…
Thank you. I acknowledge that and we will obviously take away some of the more detailed comments made. I have just had a note to tell me that the new PE and sport partnerships will support dance as well as sport in schools, if that is helpful.
Lords
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
Jobs Market
My Lords, within hospitality, there are still 78,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. That is unchanged on the quarter and is only 7,000 below the pre-pandemic level. Of course, there are global headwinds across the economy, but retail and hospitality are sectors where there h…