DCMS spending and support during the Covid-19 recovery

A debate on the spending of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and support for DCMS sectors during the Covid-19 recovery has been scheduled for Wednesday 10 March 2021 in the main House of Commons Chamber.

The debate was selected by the Backbench Business Committee and will be led by Julian Knight MP.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has a wide remit including responsibilities for protecting and promoting cultural and artistic heritage, building the digital economy and promoting the UK as a tourist destination. 

The department has the following priority outcomes, outlined in the Spending Review 2020:

• Increase economic growth and productivity through improved digital connectivity 
• Grow and evolve our sectors domestically and globally, in particular those sectors most affected by Covid-19, including culture, sport, civil society, and the creative industries
• Increase growth through expanding the use of data and digital technology and increasing innovation, while minimising digital harms to the UK’s economic security and society
• Enhance the cohesiveness of our communities and nations including through major events and ceremonial occasions, and reduce inequalities of participation in society, particularly among young people.

In 2020-21 DCMS’s proposed spending, as set out in the Supplementary Estimates 2020-21 and accompanying Estimate Memorandum, has increased significantly, largely due to Covid-19 support measures. 

The department is requesting £2,044 million in day-to-day Covid-19 spending (Resource DEL) and £622 million of Covid-19 investment spending (Capital DEL). This includes grants and loan schemes for cultural and heritage organisations, support for charities, a “production restart” scheme for TV and film productions, and a “winter survival package” for sports. 

As a result of these significant increases in funding DCMS is now proposing total day-to-day spending (Resource DEL) of £1,493 million on arts and heritage, £663 million on museums, galleries and libraries, and £508 million on Civil Society. 

This debate pack includes further details on spending and policy background on a number of areas of DCMS responsibility, and statistics illustrating the value of DCMS sectors to the UK economy. It also includes relevant news items, press releases and Parliamentary records.