Thursday Volume 608 21 April 2016 No. 147 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 21 April 2016 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2016 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1041 21 APRIL 2016 1042 which amounts to treachery when we lose them forever? House of Commons It is disgraceful. When will his Government take responsibility? Thursday 21 April 2016 Mr Vaizey: The amount of cash going to local authorities is going up. The hon. Gentleman should look to his The House met at half-past Nine o’clock own Benches first, because it is Labour local authorities that are overwhelmingly closing local libraries, and it is PRAYERS Conservative ones that are keeping them open. Mr Speaker: Order. Members should not be standing [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] while the exchanges take place. I can perfectly well see them, and I may or may not come to them in due Mr Speaker: On the front page of today’s Order course. Paper, it is noted that, on 23 April 1916, Lieutenant and Adjutant the Hon. Michael Hicks-Beach, Viscount Quenington, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry, Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab): I Member for Tewkesbury, died of wounds received in join the Minister in wishing Her Majesty a very happy action at Quatia in Sinai, Egypt. We remember him today. birthday. “Even if councils stopped…maintaining parks, closed all children’s centres, libraries, museums, leisure centres…they will not have saved enough money to plug the financial black hole they face”. Oral Answers to Questions That was a quote from Lord Porter, the Tory chair of the Local Government Association. That black hole is of the Government’s making and local cultural institutions lose out doubly, because councils can no longer afford CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT to match-fund European, Heritage Lottery or Arts Council grants. Our creative industries generate £84 billion The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport per year. They are drivers of growth, economic regeneration was asked— as well as inspiration, hope and future jobs. Why are this Government starving their local roots? Local Authority Plans for Culture Mr Vaizey: I certainly do not agree that we are 1. Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con): What steps he is starving local roots. We are increasing the amount of taking through the culture White Paper, published in national funding that is going out of London, which is March 2016, to ensure that culture forms a core part of something that the last Labour Government never did local authorities’ plans and priorities. [904597] at all, and I see examples of success all over the country. Hull, for example, is preparing to be the City of Culture The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy next year. The Great Exhibition of the North the year (Mr Edward Vaizey): May I begin by wishing Her Majesty after will celebrate our culture rather than doing it the Queen a very happy birthday today? I know that the down. I ask the hon. Lady to have a word with her whole country will be celebrating. colleagues in Labour local authorities and ask them to I am delighted to have published the first culture stop closing their libraries. White Paper for more than 50 years and I am also very pleased that at the core of that White Paper stands our Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): Where Great Place scheme, which is exactly designed to encourage is a sense of reality from the Minister? My local authority, local authorities to put culture first. Kirklees, is desperately fighting to keep libraries open and to keep the museums going, and it is a very tough Neil Carmichael: I join the Minister in wishing Her call indeed. I know that there are problems—I am not Majesty the Queen a very happy birthday. making a cheap political point—but is it not about time Does the Minister agree that devolution combined that we put more resources into local government and with the possibility of an elected mayor, as we hope to also into universities so that they take their local have in Gloucestershire, would be a really good thing, communities more seriously in terms of innovation and providing more scope, more leadership and more resources the arts? for culture, media, music and everything else that a good community needs to have? Mr Vaizey: The hon. Gentleman’s point about universities is very well made. Universities play an increasingly Mr Vaizey: Yes, I do agree with my hon. Friend. It is important role in local cultural provision. That is something quite clear that local leadership plays an absolutely that they themselves have driven, and it is very welcome. crucial role in ensuring that the power of culture makes They are very important partners. a real impact on local communities. Leveson Inquiry Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab): The Minister’s Government have implemented £685 million of cuts to Lancashire County Council, resulting in massive library 2. Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Ind): What progress is and museum closures. When will his Government take being made on implementation of the Leveson inquiry responsibility for this attack on our heritage and culture, recommendations. [904598] 1043 Oral Answers21 APRIL 2016 Oral Answers 1044 The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the BBC or setting quotas for the number of ethnic (Mr John Whittingdale): Around half of Sir Brian minority faces, older female faces or, indeed, Scottish Leveson’s recommendations focused on press regulation faces that appear on screen or behind the camera, but and we have implemented those via the royal charter. all those groups, and others that are currently The Government have delivered, or are in the process of underrepresented, need better representation and that is delivering, the majority of the other recommendations what we are working to achieve. directed at them. Grassroots Sport Simon Danczuk: The Secretary of State must realise that press abuse victims want him to implement section 3. Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con): What assessment 40. Indeed, even the Prime Minister personally promised he has made of the potential effect of his Department’s victims of press abuse and this House that it would be spending review settlement on funding for grassroots enacted. Why is the Secretary of State breaking the sport. [904599] Prime Minister’s promise? The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Mr Whittingdale: I have considerable sympathy with Media and Sport (Mr David Evennett): The Department the victims of press abuse and have had a number of secured a very positive spending review settlement last meetings with some of them and with others who are year. Over this Parliament we will invest more money in rightly following this matter with great interest. Having grassroots sport than ever before. The settlement reflects had my faith tested perhaps to the utmost, I still believe the Government’s continued support for the positive that press freedom is a vital component of a free society outcomes that sport can bring and will be spent in line and we should tread very carefully. Some of the with the new Government strategy, Sporting Future, recommendations of the Leveson report have been which sets out how we will encourage more people from implemented and the new system is coming into effect. every background to engage in sport and physical activity. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the exemplary damages provisions of section 40 have now been enacted. Mims Davies: What assessment has the Minister made The remainder are still under consideration and we do of councils intervening and affecting grassroots sports not yet have a recognised press regulator in place, but participation, such as Parkrun, by insisting on charging we will continue to consider these matters very carefully. for wear and tear? Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab): Does the Mr Evennett: This is obviously a matter for the council Secretary of State believe that we have sufficient press and Parkrun, but the decision to charge for an event regulation or would he like to see further regulation of that is free in locations across the UK and around the the press? world is one that we, as a Government, think should be reconsidered. We want to remove barriers to participation Mr Whittingdale: We now have two potential press and encourage more and more people to get involved in regulators, both of which are independent, running sport. That is the key message that the Government self-regulatory systems with sanctions, and certainly want to get across. represent a considerable improvement on the Press Complaints Commission, which went before. It is still Sir Simon Burns (Chelmsford) (Con): If my hon. early days and obviously we will watch carefully to see Friend were to speak to our right hon. Friend the how the new system operates and whether it is delivering Secretary of State, he would become aware that in the proper protection that we all want to see to ensure Chelmsford there is thriving grassroots sport in the that the abuses that have taken place in the past do not form of ice hockey. Does the result of the spending happen again. review offer any hope of benefits for ice hockey at a grassroots level? John Nicolson (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP): We all support freedom of the press and broadcasters, but in Mr Evennett: Obviously, decisions on local authority the case of the BBC we also expect our national broadcaster budgets are decisions for those authorities. We welcome to reflect the society in which we live.