We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ creative sectors including the publishing industry. Through regular ministerial-led roundtables, working groups and contact with DCMS officials, we will continue to work with the publishing sector to assess and understand the difficulties it faces in these challenging times and through recovery.

The Government has provided unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. The Government’s response has been one of the most generous and comprehensive in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounceback Loan Scheme and business rates reliefs.

The publishing sector has also benefited from the government's introduction of a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, which was brought forward to 1st May this year. It ensures e-publications are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts.

We are continuing to meet with creative industries stakeholders to provide support and guidance for the sector during this time.

Through regular ministerial-led roundtables, working groups and contact with DCMS officials, we will continue to work with the publishing sector to assess and understand the difficulties businesses across the creative industries, including SME publishing businesses, face in these challenging times and through recovery.

Regarding other creative SMEs, the CRF complements wider measures to support businesses. Cultural organisations have benefited from, and should continue to explore, the wide variety of additional funding made available by Government beyond the CRF, including the Job Retention Scheme; a reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% for tourism and hospitality firms for six months; and the Bounce Back Loans scheme. The publishing sector has also benefited specifically from the government's introduction of a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, which will make it clear e-publications are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts.

The CRF has not been fully allocated and DCMS and the Culture Recovery Board will take decisions in the coming weeks on how best to allocate the remaining funds to best support the sector.

The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care, delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device.

The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available to support disadvantaged children that might experience disruption to their education. Since September 2020, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools.

This scheme is not directly providing funding. It is providing a number of offers to support remote education, including laptops and tablets, 4G wireless routers, other internet offers and support for schools to access education platforms.

Data about the number of laptops and tablets delivered to local authorities and academy trusts over the summer term can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/Devices_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.

Data about the number of laptops and tablets delivered or dispatched to Local Authorities or trusts since 1 September can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.

The UK Government expects funding for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 to come from a range of sources. Every effort will be made to ensure that any activities and programmes for the Jubilee do not impose an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer.

236 eligible applications from grassroots music venues were submitted for the Emergency Grassroot Music Venues Fund. £3.36M was distributed to 136 successful applicants and 100 venues that applied did not receive funding.

We are working closely with the sector to understand any issues they may have on reopening and looking at ways to address these, including the issue of insurance cover. Socially distanced indoor performances can now take place and we encourage people to support venues that are opening up by booking tickets and visiting our wonderful theatres once again.

The government’s £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund – the largest ever one-off investment in culture – will help our arts institutions and organisations through these challenging times.

Further guidance on applications to the £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations will be published by our partner organisations - Arts Council England, BFI, Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund - later in July.

On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.

We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.

On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.

We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.

In line with its hugely important role in supporting and developing England’s arts and culture, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England during the Covid-19 crisis to deliver tailored support packages at speed, and to develop the major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations.

DCMS will continue to work closely with the Arts Council as the landscape develops, but has no plans to publish any specific submissions.

On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.

We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.

We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ sectors including the creative industries, which is why the Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency.

DCMS is engaging with a range of departments to support the economic response, and ensuring that the needs of its sectors, and those who work in them, are fully understood. DCMS will continue to work with these valuable sectors to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

To ensure we are assisting all our sectors as effectively as possible, regular ministerially-chaired roundtables are held with business representative organisations as well as trade associations from across the Creative Industries. In addition, officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from these sectors, and we continue to speak with HM Treasury colleagues to ensure that the full spectrum of government support reaches the UK's world-leading media and Creative Industries.

In 2020 a full Spending Review will be held, reviewing public spending in the round and setting multi-year budgets. This will include individual government departments and arm's length bodies such as Sport England.

Through Sport England, government has invested the following in grassroots rugby union in each of the last three years:

• 2016/17: £4.06m
• 2017/18: £3.45m
• 2018/19: £4.02m

These figures include investment in both the Rugby Football Union as the national governing body for the sport, together with investment in specific community rugby union projects.

Over this time period, Sport England has invested a further £12.61m in multi-sport projects where rugby union is one of the sports benefitting.

Through Sport England, government has invested the following in grassroots rugby league in each of the last three years:

• 2016/17: £2.58m
• 2017/18: £5.18m
• 2018/19: £2.76m

These figures include investment in both the Rugby Football League Ltd as the national governing body for the sport, together with investment in specific community rugby league projects.

Over this time period, Sport England has invested a further £9.27m in multi-sport projects where rugby league is one of the sports benefitting.

As part of its support for grassroots rugby league, government is also investing up to £10m in rugby league facilities to help drive a legacy from the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Sport England receives both Grant-In-Aid (GIA) funding and good causes funding from the National Lottery from DCMS. The allocated totals for each of the past three years are:

• 2016/17: £105.6m GIA; £202.8m National Lottery
• 2017/18: £100.8m GIA; £203.3m National Lottery
• 2018/19: £104.5 GIA; £199.4m National Lottery

Overall income from the National Lottery Distribution Fund is variable and dependent on ticket sales. Sport England receives 12.4% of the Lottery returns to good causes which results in variable annual Lottery income to the organisation.

Good cause income raised by the National Lottery funds arts, heritage, sport and communities (covering health, education, environment and charitable causes). It is distributed at arms length of Government by twelve Lottery Distributing Bodies.

Religious and faith based organisations are eligible to apply for National Lottery funding and are typically required to demonstrate that projects will benefit the wider community and will not have any religious content.

Information about the religious status of organisations that apply for grants is not consistently collected, so it has not been possible to analyse the data on this basis.