Tag: Department for Culture and Media

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 6 September 2023.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has reappointed Dr Jeremy Silver, Laela Pakpour Tabrizi and Dr Wei Yang for four year terms commencing 13 May 2023.

The press release issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 6 September 2023.

The official London blue plaque scheme which commemorates the residencies of notable figures will be expanded across England.

Local history to be celebrated under proposed national expansion of London’s blue plaques scheme

• National blue plaques scheme to help communities across England celebrate history and heritage in their local areas
• Expansion will allow people up and down the country to nominate notable figures from their local area
• Proposed expansion to be debated this week as part of the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill

People across England will be able to celebrate local historical figures under a proposed expansion of the official blue plaques scheme which currently only operates in London.

This new scheme will be enabled by an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is due to be debated in the House of Lords today.

The expansion is an opportunity for people to research their own local history and nominate figures from their own communities who have helped define the towns, villages and cities they live in.

If successfully nominated, the buildings where local figures lived, worked or stayed will be marked with a blue plaque, which will shine a spotlight on diverse aspects of local heritage across the country.

Recent evidence also shows that when more people are aware of their local history it can help boost their connection and pride in their area, as well as encourage growth in local economies, a key priority for the government, through new visitors coming to explore and learn about the heritage of destinations.

Currently the official blue plaques scheme is London-only. While there are a number of local schemes operating across the country, this expansion will see one cohesive, official blue plaques scheme operate England-wide.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson said:

London’s blue plaques are world-renowned. For over 150 years they have helped to celebrate the rich and diverse heritage of our capital city and the people who have passed through it.

But people everywhere should be able to celebrate the figures who have shaped their community – which is why we are seeking to extend this opportunity across the country, to allow people and buildings from anywhere in England to be nominated.

I encourage people to get thinking about who has helped to define their community and makes them proud of where they live so that their impact on their home area, as well as the wider world, can be recognised and celebrated.

Chief executive of Historic England Duncan Wilson said:

Standing in a historic place and finding a blue plaque, or historical place marker, brings us face to face with our shared history. In developing a national blue plaques scheme that will celebrate heritage across England, we want to help people feel a stronger connection to the history all around us and shine a light on the people and places of the past which have made us who we are.

Working with local partners we will build on the value and success of the London scheme led by English Heritage and the many other schemes that exist in communities across the country.

Curatorial Director at English Heritage Anna Eavis said:

The London blue plaques scheme is the oldest of its kind and has inspired many similar commemorative schemes, both here in this country and around the world.

English Heritage is very proud of the London scheme and all the work we do to celebrate a huge range of people and buildings with the iconic blue roundels.

We share the Minister’s passion for blue plaques and we’re working with Historic England on how the England-wide scheme will work in practice.

Former Chair of Culture, Tourism and Sport Board for Local Government Association Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson said:

Blue plaques are an excellent way of celebrating what makes our places special. The LGA has long believed in the benefits of opening up this important scheme to even more communities.

This announcement is recognition that the unique heritage of place extends beyond our capital city and has a vital role to play in boosting civic pride. It represents an opportunity for local people to celebrate the diversity of voices that have shaped our communities up and down the country.

We look forward to working with the Government, Historic England and local councils to support this programme.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Historic England and English Heritage will work together to develop this England-wide scheme. A proposed amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill due to be debated today will seek to expand the discretionary power of Historic England to run the scheme across England while English Heritage will continue to deliver the London Scheme under the current licence.

Since the London blue plaque scheme was established over 150 years ago various organisations have helped maintain the scheme Royal Society of Arts (1866–1901), the London County Council (1901–65), the Greater London Council (1965–86), and English Heritage (1986– present).

The press release issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 4 September 2023.

The Permanent Secretary to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Sir Richard Heaton as the new Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection for a term of four years commencing 3 September 2023.

The Government Art Collection is a unique cultural resource that promotes British art by placing works of art in UK Government buildings worldwide. Selected for ministerial offices in the UK and embassies and diplomatic residences abroad, two-thirds of the Collection are on display in almost every capital city across the world. Every year, this working Collection is seen by thousands of visitors, contributing to cultural diplomacy and showcasing British creativity, past and present.

Collected over the course of 125 years and containing more than 14,700 works of art spanning six centuries, the Government Art Collection continues to grow, representing the diversity of the UK. The Collection engages with a wider audience through loans, partnerships, digital platforms and a rolling public programme.

Sir Richard Heaton became Warden of Robinson College, the newest college at Cambridge, in 2021, after a career in the civil service. He was Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2015, and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2020. Richard is also Chair of Trustees at Koestler Arts, which promotes art and creativity in prisons and places of detention or supervision. He has for many years been an enthusiastic collector of modern and contemporary art.

Outgoing Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Government Art Collection, Sir David Verey said: ‘I have enjoyed my ten years as Chair of the Advisory Committee enormously and I wish Richard Heaton every success in his tenure.’

Director of the Government Art Collection, Eliza Gluckman said: ‘I’d like to thank Sir David Verey for a decade of stewardship and support of the Government Art Collection. He supported myself and my predecessor Penny Johnson CBE through a period of enormous change for the Collection including our move to Old Admiralty Building and a change of Director. I am looking forward to working with Sir Richard Heaton as the Collection prepares to celebrate 125 years and looks to future initiatives’.

Sir Richard Heaton said: ‘I’ve admired the Government Art Collection for years. It brings art to the workplace and to the public, it supports practising artists, and it quietly speaks for the UK around the world. I am thrilled to be joining it as Chair of the Advisory Committee.’

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1 September 2023.

The Secretary of State has appointed Victoria Borwick as Chair of VisitEngland Advisory Board for a term of five years commencing 04 September 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 30 August 2023.

The Government will join forces with former sports stars, health professionals and fitness experts to help an additional 3.5 million adults and children get physically active by 2030, as part of a major national activity drive.

• New sports strategy sets national participation targets of an additional 2.5 million adults and 1 million children active by 2030
• New taskforce, led by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Sports Minister Stuart Andrew and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye, to drive strategy forward and track progress on these goals
• Announcement builds upon unprecedented government funding for grassroots sport facilities and opening up access to school sport across the country

The Government will join forces with former sports stars, health professionals and fitness experts to help an additional 3.5 million adults and children get physically active by 2030, as part of a major national activity drive.

Appointed by the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary, the new National Physical Activity Taskforce will be led by the Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer, Sports Minister Stuart Andrew and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye as an independent co-chair.

It comes as part of the Government’s new sport strategy published today. ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’ sets out a blueprint to improve the nation’s health and fitness, enhance corporate governance in the sport sector and make it more resilient to future challenges at elite and grassroots level.

The new participation targets – to have over 2.5 million more active adults and over 1 million more active children by 2030 – are intended to reach people of all ages and backgrounds, and meet the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance that:

• Adults should aim to carry out at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week
• Children should aim to carry out at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day

Figures from the Sport England Active Lives Survey indicate that 25% of adults are currently deemed to be ‘inactive’ in England, with over 11 million doing less than 30 minutes of activity in total a week. Meanwhile figures indicate that 53% of children and young people are not meeting the CMO’s guidance of at least 60 minutes of activity a day – with 23% being fairly active, but 30% doing less than 30 minutes a day.

NHS statistics from 2021-2022 indicate that almost a quarter (23%) of year 6 children were obese in England, an increase of 3% from 2018-19, the last figures recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – making a national activity drive all the more important.

As part of this new strategy, the expert taskforce will advise on how to deliver on these targets, challenge how ambitions are being delivered and hold the Government, National Governing Bodies, the physical activity sector and schools to account for delivering the targets at both the national and local level.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

As Culture Secretary I want to increase opportunities for everyone to find the sport or activity that they love, which will help them be healthy and happy. Whether that’s playing with friends on the basketball court, getting on your bike or working out in your living room we want everybody to find a sport or physical activity for them.

Our new taskforce, jointly led with Ugo Monye, will work across government and the sports industry to turn these ambitious targets into a reality, helping to break down barriers to help people enjoy the benefits of getting active.

Through our support for school sports and our continuing investment of millions of pounds in facilities in local communities across the country we are making sure that people have welcoming and accessible places where they can get active.

National Physical Activity Taskforce co-chair and former England Rugby Union international Ugo Monye said:

As a former international player and dad to young children, I know the importance of instilling the benefits of sport and physical activity.

It is clear that a major effort is needed to get Britain moving and boost our national health. I’m determined to use my experience and drive forward this ambitious strategy.

It is the first sport strategy to be published since 2015, and builds upon the Government’s record investment of almost £400 million in grassroots facilities, including in multi-sport facilities, swimming pools and park tennis courts, to ensure communities across the country have access to high quality, safe facilities.

This is alongside investment of over £600 million for school sport and PE over the next two years, with a focus on making it clear that girls have the same access as boys, building on the success of the Lionesses at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 last year and in their recent FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 campaign.

The strategy also sets the vision for the future of the sector in the country.

In recent years, the responsibilities of sport governing bodies around integrity issues, such as misconduct (including bullying, discrimination and safeguarding issues), doping and corruption, have highlighted concerns on how some athletes have been treated, the mechanisms for raising complaints and how disputes are resolved at elite and grassroots level.

The Government is clear that sport needs to be a welcoming, inclusive and fair environment that participants and their parents or guardians can have confidence in.

In light of this, a call for evidence is being launched today on current experiences of how issues and concerns in sport across the UK are dealt with in the sector, and how these could be strengthened. The call for evidence is open to participants in sport, parents and guardians, coaches, athlete support personnel, sports governing bodies, academics and other relevant stakeholders.

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said:

It is vital that everyone participating in sport feels safe and secure. We want to ensure that we have the strongest possible systems for addressing sport integrity issues and that we remain at the forefront of global efforts around fairness and inclusion in sport.

UK Sport and Sport England have taken significant steps to improve safeguarding including the revision of protections for children. The Government has also strengthened positions of trust legislation to now include sports coaches.

I urge everyone with relevant experiences to contribute to this call for evidence process.

The new sport strategy also seeks to ensure that the sector moves towards a more sustainable future, both financially and environmentally.

DCMS will support the sector to attract additional forms of investment to help the sector continue to grow and thrive, including new sports and areas with significant growth potential, such as women’s sport. The department will also highlight best practice, examples of good governance, and work with the tech sector to identify innovative solutions to help increase participation and physical activity.

It follows the Government providing more than £1 billion in financial support to the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department will also continue to work with UK Sport, host cities and sporting bodies to bid for, and successfully host, major sporting events that deliver significant socio-economic benefit across the UK, to maintain our world-leading track record in this area. DCMS will commission additional analysis of the economic value of these events to support future decision making. It follows the recent success of England hosting UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World Cup.

The Government’s Gold Framework guidance has been updated to help DCMS and UK Sport work successfully with the sector to keep bringing the world’s biggest and best major sporting events to the UK. It comes at a time when the UK and Ireland are bidding to host UEFA EURO 2028, with a decision due later this year.

These events are a core element of the Government’s strategy to not only provide significant benefits across the country, but inspire people to get more active, and create the next generation of sports stars.

DCMS will also champion the importance of the sector prioritising the development of its own environmental sustainability initiatives and encourage the sharing of best practice from across sport and physical activity.

This is expected to help the sector to deliver on UK Sport’s goal for high-performance sport to be having a net positive impact on the environment by 2040, and for sport national governing bodies to have reduced their emissions by 50% by 2030.

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 28 August 2023.

More than 400 youth services across England have been awarded a portion of the Million Hours Fund to help tackle antisocial behaviour and improve access to opportunities such as cooking lessons, day trips and sporting activities during the summer holidays.

• Over £3.7 million from the Million Hours Fund has been allocated to over 400 youth services across the country
• From Stockport to Scarborough, funding is giving young people more opportunities to access sporting activities, arts projects and skills development over the summer holidays
• Funding demonstrates progress on the Prime Minister’s Anti Social Behaviour Action Plan to build stronger communities and prevent young offending

Over £3.7 million has been distributed by the Government and National Lottery Community Fund over the past few weeks to support young people in antisocial behaviour hotspots and areas of high need as the school gates closed for the summer.

The funding has meant that 427 youth services have been able to stay open for additional hours, and has delivered on the Culture Secretary’s commitment to give young people “someone to talk to, something to do and somewhere to go” outside of school.

Support this summer is delivering on the Prime Minister’s Anti Social Behaviour Action Plan, launched earlier in the year, to help put young people on the right track and become active members of their community.

From AutismAble CIC in South Tyneside, which has received £10,000 to put on activities aimed at encouraging positive choices, to Central Swindon North Parish Council, which is using £6,500 to deliver sport, dance and forestry sessions, funding is bolstering a young person’s life chances across the country.

The investment has also funded youth workers’ support for young people in the areas they already spend time in, such as parks and leisure facilities, with youth workers targeting those at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

Every young person should have access to fun, positive activities, role models they can learn from and opportunities to develop vital life skills.

This funding has allowed over 400 youth centres across the country to provide increased access to sports, arts and skills opportunities. It is helping make sure young people have someone to talk to, something to do and somewhere to go throughout the summer holidays.

The Million Hours Fund is having a significant and wide-ranging impact. It provides activities and opportunities to young people to learn new skills including DJ and music workshops, sport, trips away from home and peer mentoring projects.

In Didcot South, the Didcot TRAIN Youth Project is using funding of over £6,600 to run a six week summer sports programme for 11 to 18-year-olds, consisting of gym and sports sessions. The activities aim to reduce the chances of young people becoming involved in antisocial behaviour and substance abuse during the summer holidays, with the most vulnerable targeted in particular.

In Liverpool, a grant of over £8,400 is allowing Kirkdale Boxing Club to deliver multiple activity sessions including fitness training and food education to vulnerable young people. The project aims to encourage those taking part to build friendships and develop skills, helping reduce the potential for vandalism and violence within the local area.

ST4ND Youth and Community Organisation in Stockport is using its funding of nearly £10,000 to provide 20 detached youth engagement sessions with young people aged 11-25, targeting young people in the spaces they already spend time in. Sessions include activities such as football and pool, and will give young people access to a hot meal.

Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:

The Million Hours Fund was set up to provide much needed additional youth services and activities, and it’s fantastic to see the positive impact this funding is already having on the lives of young people in England.

Improving the lives of children and young people is a key strategic area for us, and we’d like to thank National Lottery players for helping to make this possible.

Alex McSweeny, Youth Work Delivery Manager at Didcot TRAIN, said:

Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and DCMS, this funding has allowed us to support vulnerable 11-18-year-olds in the Didcot South area through a programme of weekly sports sessions. Many of our participants have low self-esteem and low aspirations, and our activities help young people to realise their potential and engage in positive activities throughout the school summer holidays.

The Million Hours Fund, announced in March as part of the Prime Minister’s Anti Social Behaviour Action Plan, will support an additional one million hours of positive activities from youth services. The main portion of the fund worth up to £19 million will open for applications in the coming weeks.

This funding comes alongside the Government’s National Youth Guarantee, which will ensure every young person aged between 11 and 18 in England has access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home, and volunteering opportunities by 2025.

Backed by an investment of more than £500 million, this includes the Youth Investment Fund, which will see young people benefit from the building and renovation of up to 300 youth centres in areas where need is high and existing youth provision is low over the next two years. More than £160 million has already been allocated since 2021, with construction or refurbishments underway.

Additional quotes

Nadine Travers, Co-Founder and Strategic Lead at ST4ND, said:

Thanks to this funding we’ve been able to provide a team of youth workers over the summer holidays to reach some of the most marginalised young people in Stockport. Most of our participants are missing from school or are at risk of entering the youth justice system, and this funding has helped to reduce safeguarding risks and improve future educational prospects.

Paul Davis, Chairperson at Kirkdale Boxing Club, said:

With this Million Hours funding, we have managed to make a compelling difference to our community in such a short space of time. Our young users have diversionary activities to empower them to make sustainable positive life choices. We at Kirkdale Boxing Club are sincerely grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund and DCMS.

The press release issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 23 August 2023.

The Prime Minister has appointed Shahpur Kabraji as a Trustee of The Natural History Museum Board for a term of three years, commencing 26th June 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 22 August 2023.

New £1 million package will support children attending schools in disadvantaged areas across England to learn and play chess, improve visibility and availability of the game and fund elite playing.

• Package of measures worth almost £1 million will inspire the next generation of chess players, bringing chess to a wider audience, whilst supporting the development of elite players.
• Plans will see 100 new chess tables installed in public spaces, and grants for schools in disadvantaged areas to get more primary school children playing chess
• Investment in the English Chess Federation will ensure players receive world-leading training and development opportunities, and help make England a chess heavyweight
• Plans form part of Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer’s mission to give young people “someone to talk to, something to do and somewhere to go” outside of school

Chess will receive a major boost, thanks to a package of measures announced today.

The package will support primary school children attending schools in disadvantaged areas across England to learn and play chess, improve the visibility and availability of chess in communities, as well as fund elite playing as part of a combined package worth almost £1 million.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will invest £500,000 in the English Chess Federation (ECF) over two years, in order to develop the next generation of world-class talent. Funds will support expert coaching, training camps and cutting-edge computer analysis for international events to assist current grandmasters and up-and-coming players.

Investment into the ECF will include funding for junior training camps and one-to-one coaching with England internationals, prioritising access for young chess players to take part in an educational, productive activity that helps develop critical thinking skills. A portion of the money will be dedicated to support visually impaired and deaf players to compete in their own elite level competitions.

This investment comes following a speech at the Onward think tank in July, where Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer set out her commitment to ensure that young people have “someone to talk to, something to do and somewhere to go” outside of school.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

Chess is a brilliant way for young people to develop skills such as patience and critical thinking. It is something constructive on which to spend their time and feel part of. It inspires creativity and sparks the competitive spirit.

We want to give more young people the opportunity to find the thing that they love and realise their potential. So this package is focused on getting more young people playing chess and supporting them to develop their talent.

We’re also equipping our elite chess players with expert coaching to help them dominate at the highest levels of the global game and restore England’s reputation among the best in the world.

English Chess Federation Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein:

The unprecedented grant funding will be transformational for English chess, helping to train more grandmasters and beginning the process of regaining England’s former status as a force in international chess.

The funds will enable us to support a training programme and pipeline for our growing pool of young talent as well as assist our elite players, seniors, visually impaired and deaf players to compete for top honours in their respective international competitions. The funding will also enable the ECF to revitalise the chess tournament circuit here at home.

Alongside the support committed to elite players, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will provide £250,000 to 85 Local Authorities throughout England to install 100 new chess tables in public parks and outdoor green spaces, to allow more people to play, connect, tackle loneliness, and develop problem solving skills.

Local authorities which are currently receiving the Levelling Up Parks Fund (LUPF) and have been identified as communities most in need of improved quality green space will determine where to locate the chess tables.

In addition, the Government has set out plans to encourage more primary school children, particularly girls, to learn to play the game. The Department for Education will award grants of up to £2,000 to at least 100 schools in disadvantaged areas across England, subject to interest.

The grants will enable them to purchase chess sets, provide access to weekly online chess tutorials, and set up online learning platforms and curriculum planning materials for teachers. This will give even more young people access to a productive, enriching activity, helping them build relationships and develop key skills that can be used beyond the game.

Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho said:

Chess is for everyone, regardless of background. I’m thrilled that more primary school children will learn how to play, boosting their concentration, problem-solving and wellbeing in the process.

From providing in-person tuition to helping pupils enter competitive tournaments, this funding will support schools to spark a passion for chess in children across the country.

Learning to play chess is already a skill that young people aged 14-24 can choose to pick up while working towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). Since 2021, 8,000 young people have pursued chess as part of the Skills section of their DofE.

Harriet Hunt, International Master and former World Girls’ Champion said:

My own journey into international chess was inspired by the world-leading England players and teams at that time. I am delighted that this government funding will enable the next generation of English talents to reach their potential and compete successfully at the highest level internationally’.

David Howell, Grandmaster and UK No.1:

Chess has been my life and, as a professional player, the news of support from the government is music to my ears. Hopefully this will inspire the next generation of chess players, as well as bringing the joys of the game that I love to an even wider audience.

Jitendra Singh, father of UK’s No.1 chess prodigy Shreyas Royal said:

I was struggling to support my son with the required chess tournaments and coaching instrumental to his development at such a young and crucial age.

With this grant from the government we will be able to help more kids flourish at the game through the hard-working organisations of the English Chess Federation and chess in Schools and Communities. I believe that it is also a very beneficial hobby and would love to see more people getting into the game from this monumental announcement.

The press release issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 9 August 2023.

The Secretary of State has appointed Neil Mendoza as the new Chair of Historic England for a term of four years commencing 01 September 2023.

Lord Neil Mendoza

Appointed from 01 September 2023 until 31 August 2027.

Lord Mendoza was appointed Provost of Oriel College, Oxford, in 2018, following a career building businesses in the creative and finance sectors. He is focused on successfully sustaining Oriel’s 700-year history for the College’s 550 students and 250 academic and support staff.

Lord Mendoza was previously the government’s Commissioner for Culture and chaired the Culture and Heritage Capital Board at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Prior to that, he served four years as a non-executive director at DCMS. He is Chair of The Illuminated River Foundation, Chair of Civic Future and on the board of the Ashmolean Museum. He is a member of the House of Lords.

Prior to joining Oriel College, Neil led the year-long Mendoza Review of Museums in England on behalf of DCMS (2016-17). He was formerly Chair of Children and the Arts, Vice Chair of Soho Theatre, and Chair of The Landmark Trust (2011-2021). He joined the Board of MeiraGTx, a US-based gene therapy company, in 2015. He co-founded Forward Publishing in the late 1980s, now a part of WPP plc.

Lord Mendoza is an advocate of building and supporting talent, creativity and enterprise through high quality educational, cultural and heritage engagement. He is a mentor to young professionals across a range of sectors. He graduated from Oriel College, Oxford with an MA in Geography.

Remuneration and Governance Code

The Chair of Historic England is remunerated £40,000 per annum. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Lord Mendoza declared that he takes the Conservative Whip in the House of Lords.

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 August 2023.

The Secretary of State has appointed Paul Sweeney as the Interim Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund. This interim appointment has been made while the process for a substantive Chair is completed.