Increased investment in sport and culture

A further boost to the Government’s efforts to offer opportunities for sport and culture for all was announced today by the Chancellor, as part of the Spending Review’s package of measures to support civic communities.

Spending by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will be £230 million higher in 2007-08 than in 2004-05, representing an average annual increase of 2.3% in real terms, and providing security of funding to funding of the arts, the Football Foundation and other areas.

On top of this real-terms increase, the DCMS has today committed itself to generate annual efficiency savings of at least £260 million, chiefly by rationalising central and back-office functions, releasing additional resources for further front-line spending on promoting participation in sports and culture.

Secretary of the State for the DCMS, Tessa Jowell said:

“This is an excellent settlement, and a tribute to how closely we have worked with the Treasury to promote the ethos of arts, sport and culture for all. It allows us to consolidate the gains of recent years, maintain our world-class institutions and facilities and make them accessible to ever greater numbers of people.”

Details

A new priority objective has been set – with accompanying funding – to raise the proportion of schoolchildren in England spending more than two hours per week playing high-activity sport from 25% in 2002 to 85% by the end of the Spending Review period;
Existing objectives to offer adults from deprived communities opportunities for participation in sport will be extended to included 16-19 year olds to ensure that teenagers leaving the education system after GCSEs or A-levels are given opportunities to continue playing organised sport;
The Government will extend its commitment to the funding of the Football Foundation, while ensuring that equivalent funding goes to support similar investment in other sporting facilities and participation;
Annual funding of the National Heritage Memorial Fund will reach £10 million in 2008, and the Spending Review will fund ‘Creative Partnership’ schemes between schools and the arts for children in 36 deprived areas;
Following the success of the Government’s free access policy to the main national museums and galleries – leading to a three-quarters increase in attendances – the policy of promoting free access will be extended to the nation’s university museums, and as a result, the right for the main national museums and galleries to be refunded the VAT they incur on their running costs will also be extended to the university museums.

£ Million	2004-5	2005-6	2006-7	2007-8
Dept for Culture, Media and Sport
Resource Budget	1,455	1,542	1,596	1,644
Capital Budget	82	97	117	132
Total Departmental Expenditure Limit	1,444	1,543	1,614	1,674
Near-cash spending in DCMS DEL	1,357	1,455	1,525	1,587
1 Full resource budgeting basis, net of depreciation2 Consistent with previous control basis

Notes for editors

For press enquiries, please call the Treasury press office on 020 7270 5238.

Increased investment in sport and culture

Details

1 Full resource budgeting basis, net of depreciation2 Consistent with previous control basis

Notes for editors

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