Oliver Dowden Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP Secretary of State DCMS 4th Floor 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: [email protected] www.gov.uk/dcms Dear Daniel Kawczynski, Culture Recovery Funding in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency Our world-class cultural, creative and heritage sectors have been some of the hardest hit by Covid-19, and in July last year, the Government announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package to see them through the crisis. So far, over £1 billion worth of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund has been allocated across the United Kingdom. This includes over £800 million to almost 3800 arts, culture and heritage organisations in England, helping to support at least 75,000 jobs. As you know, £258 million was held back as a contingency and formed the basis of a second round of grant and repayable finance funding (totalling £400 million) which was announced in December, and closed in late January (1 February for the BFI). Today we announced the outcome of that second round across both grants and repayable finance. Within this second round, over £390 million worth of funding has been allocated to over 2,700 arts, culture and heritage organisations in England that met the core criteria of cultural or heritage significance, and could also demonstrate clear financial need. It will support organisations’ transition from the challenging months of lockdowns and social distancing to welcoming audiences and visitors back to the country’s theatres, museums, cinemas, music venues and heritage sites. This brings the total support to date from the Culture Recovery Fund to over £1.2 billion for over 5000 cultural and heritage organisations or sites in England. This is in addition to the £188 million for culture in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Administrations and £100 million in direct support to the national cultural institutions sponsored by DCMS, such as the British Museum, and English Heritage Trust. This includes support for some of the UK’s most iconic cultural organisations, including Canterbury Cathedral; The Lowry, Salford; Northern Ballet and many others. This second round of funding has had a clear impact: we know it has supported thousands of jobs, with broader impacts across supply chain organisations and for freelancers who will benefit from new work being created and new activity as cultural organisations reopen. It has also delivered on this government’s continued commitment to levelling up, with over 70% of revenue grants awarded outside of London. I am now in a position to update you on exactly how and where this money is being distributed - including in your constituency. Your local area From the funding distributed in Round 2, 13 awards have been made in your constituency so far, totalling £992,463. You will find a list of all the cultural organisations that received funding in your constituency in the annex of this letter. These figures are correct as at 29 March 2021. We would be delighted for you to support reaching this momentous milestone in the following ways: - Carry out a virtual visit or, where public health guidelines allow, a visit, to a local Fund beneficiary as organisations begin opening up; and - Promote how your constituency has benefited on social media, using #HereforCulture to amplify your post. Please see the HereForCulture toolkit for further assets Next steps At March’s Budget, the Chancellor announced an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. This extra funding, together with other cultural support such as separate additional Covid support funding for our fifteen national museums and galleries, means that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching £2 billion. These are unprecedented sums. The £300 million for the Fund will continue to support key cultural organisations; ensure the sector remains viable as audiences begin to return; and continue to ensure a vibrant future for the culture sector as we emerge from the pandemic. Therefore, there will be a further opportunity for cultural and heritage organisations in your constituency to seek support for their costs this year. Further details on this package will be announced soon. If organisations are in urgent financial need before this they should reach out to the relevant delivery body (such as the Arts Council, Heritage Fund or British Film Institute) immediately. Finally, do look out for the launch of the three competitive funds in the separate Cultural Investment Fund package later this month, which comes on top of the nearly £2 billion in Covid- 19 support packages. The Cultural Investment Fund includes the Libraries Improvement Fund, the Museums Estates and Development Fund and the second round of the Cultural Development Fund. These will provide much-needed predominantly capital investment into our local libraries, regional museums, and locally-led cultural and creative initiatives. Another opportunity to boost local cultural investment in the near future is the UK City of Culture 2025 competition, which will launch soon. We welcome ambitious and exciting bids from your constituencies that will help places across the country prosper and unleash their full potential as we recover from the impact of Covid-19. Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ANNEX: Full list of awards in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency that have received funding via the Culture Recovery Fund in Round 2* *Awards are based on applicant postcode. Please note, if an organisation appears multiple times, this is due to them receiving awards across different funding streams, within the Culture Recovery Fund. Shrewsbury Abbey (£19,000 ) Shropshire Tourism (UK) Ltd (£12,300 ) Shropshire Wildlife Trust (£17,000 ) Wildcard (£36,725 ) Get Your Wigle On (£142,000 ) Shrewsbury Food festival Ltd (£27,500 ) Shrewsbury Folk Festival (£45,265 ) HMM Arts Ltd (The Hive) (£30,000 ) Shropshire Council (£532,978 ) Disability Arts in Shropshire (£35,000 ) Upstart Projects (£19,695 ) Shropshire Festivals Ltd (£50,000 ) THE GREEN GATHERING (£25,000 ) .