DCMS has undertaken extensive research into the impact of arts and creativity on health. Through the Culture and Heritage Capital (CHC) Programme, the Department published a 2024 study monetising the health and wellbeing benefits of cultural and heritage engagement. Our analysis has found that even general adult engagement in culture contributes around £8 billion in health related benefits for our society each year. This evidence helps explain continued Government investment in the sector, with one third of organisations funded through Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Investment Programme (334 organisations) reporting delivery of creative health activity.

Arts Council England has invested nearly £1 million in National Lottery Project Grants to artists and organisations delivering creative health work in Surrey over the last three years. In addition, Arts Council England provides over £3 million per annum to National Portfolio Organisations (2023 – 2026) in Surrey that deliver creative health programmes, such as The Lightbox, an award winning gallery and museum in Woking that puts wellbeing at the centre of its mission. Initiatives such as Art in Mind dementia workshops and Open Mind tours with local mental health partners provide safe, welcoming spaces where participants can connect with others, build confidence, and engage in creative activities to support their mental health and resilience.

In addition, the benefits of using heritage sites and projects to reduce isolation and improve quality of life are increasingly being explored and integrated. The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting such projects in Surrey, with recent grants including £100k to the heritage and wellbeing partnership project What Keeps Us Well in conjunction with Surrey Heritage, and a grant of over £780,000 to the Cranleigh Heritage Trust to transform Cranleigh Cottage Hospital into a multi-purpose heritage and wellbeing community hub.

The Government is committed to spreading the benefits of our world-leading film and TV sector right across the country. That includes existing production hubs like Surrey - home to world-class facilities such as Longcross and Shepperton.

This is why we have maintained a 40% reduction on business rates for eligible film studios in England until 2034, directly supporting Surrey's studios and protecting local jobs and investment.

Further to this, the Creative Industries is one of eight growth-driving sectors in our Industrial Strategy. In June, we published a ten-year Sector Plan setting out over sixty commitments, with film and TV prioritised as a 'frontier industry' due to its high growth potential and strong connections across the wider economy.

To support this, we have announced a £75 million Screen Growth Package to bolster independent UK content, attract international investment, and showcase British cinema globally. This includes funding for the British Film Commission to drive inward investment into facilities like those in Surrey, stable and competitive tax reliefs such as the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, and a scaled-up UK Global Screen Fund to support co-productions and international distribution.

The government has not made a specific assessment of how the time taken for construction at cultural venues would impact access to the arts in either Surrey or the Surrey Heath constituency.

As part of the introduction of the new Creative Foundations Fund, which is addressing urgent capital needs in the arts and cultural sector, the government did however consider the temporary loss of access caused by possible necessary closures while works are completed. The conclusion was that the long-term benefits outweighed the short-term impact, and that the renewal of assets will help retain and attract audiences.

The Secretary of State, her ministerial team, and officials engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders including local councils and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts and cultural organisations. Typically, DCMS does not directly fund local authorities, nor their arts and cultural organisations, which are commonly funded by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Arts Council England.

We have committed an additional £3.4 billion in grant funding to local government by 2028-29, including investment in culture. The department also partnered with MHCLG on the "Pride in Place" strategy, and has recently committed £270 million through the Arts Everywhere Fund which will help support long-term viability of venues in communities across the country.

We recognise the challenges that cultural and community venues face. The government is committed to supporting these venues across the country which is why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year, committing £270 million to support cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, both the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund and the £25 million Museum Estate Development Fund are supporting non-profit cultural organisations to undertake urgent capital works, building repairs, retrofits and equipment upgrades improving safety, energy efficiency, accessibility and long-term viability of venues in communities across the country.

The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions.

On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and cultural venues through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes; of which £11.5 million of that funding has been in Surrey.

Arts Council England (ACE) has provided over £11.5 million of funding between 2024 and 2025 to arts and cultural organisations and projects in Surrey. This includes support for projects like The Surrey Youth Arts & Culture Festival, a Surrey County Council partnership led project based in Camberley Library and Camberley Theatre which aims to raise aspirations and break down barriers to engagement for young people accessing creative skills development.

In addition, organisations, such as Farnham Maltings in Surrey are in receipt of over £1.9 million per annum as part of ACE’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) programme. This NPO offers a wide range of inclusive events, including theatre, dance, crafts, and workshops to people of all ages and backgrounds across the area.

In February, the Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund. This includes support to museums, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.

The Government is concerned about the sustainability of local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We also recognise that local press continues to play a vital role in informing local communities, and that public notices can be important in helping inform the public of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property.

However, we are also aware of concerns from some sectors about the audience reach of these notices and the desire for greater digitalisation. In this context, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We also welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.

DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of public notices. This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future. It will be taken into account in our planned review of public notices as part of the Local Media Strategy, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place public notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and democratic accountability across the country, including in Surrey. More will be announced on the Strategy and the review in the coming months.