Oliver Dowden MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
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Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
22 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Film and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119929More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support parents and carers with childcare flexibility in the freelance screen industries.
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, and we are committed to listening to the voices of the self-employed as we develop policies for the...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119928More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased commissioning concentration among a small number of global studios and streamers on (a) employment conditions, (b) rat
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, including the screen sector, but we understand that many self-employed workers in the creative indu...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119927More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support industry-led training and workforce infrastructure in the freelance screen workforce.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119926More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to on-set mentorship on training and skills transfer on the film and television industry.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119925More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support industry-led workforce development initiatives to provide consistent training and progression pathways across the UK screen sector.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119924More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve accessibility and reduce financial barriers to training and career progression within the freelance screen workforce.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119923More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help retain experienced freelance technicians in the UK screen sector.
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, including the screen sector, but we understand that many self-employed workers in the creative indu...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119922More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of skills and knowledge retention within the freelance film and high-end television workforce.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119921More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of standardised skills frame-works and transferable accreditation systems for freelance technical roles in the UK screen industries.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119920More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of screen industry training pathways and (b) potential merits of additional support for industry-led, on-set training frameworks d
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out our approach to developing a high-quality and targeted skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries. This includes responding to the rapid changes in the screen secto...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119919More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has held with industry stakeholders on the potential for reinvestment mechanisms, such as sector-wide training and workforce support funds, to help improve the lon
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, including the screen sector, but we understand that many self-employed workers in the creative indu...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: StaffDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119918More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve financial stability for film and television workers during periods of production slowdown.
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, including the screen sector, but we understand that many self-employed workers in the creative indu...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm and Television: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of income volatility among freelance workers in the film and high-end television sector.
Answer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport recognises that the freelance workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, including the screen sector, but we understand that many self-employed workers in the creative indu...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm: Self-employedDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112933More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is making available to freelancers in the film industry.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how government will work with industry to develop a high quality and responsive training offer to meet the workforce requirements of the creative industries, including film as a frontier industry. This includes...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm: TrainingDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112932More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is making available to camera trainees in the film industry.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how government will work with industry to develop a high quality and responsive training offer to meet the workforce requirements of the creative industries, including film as a frontier industry. This includes...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm: Skilled WorkersDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112931More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help retain skilled workers in the film industry.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how government will work with industry to develop a high quality and responsive training offer to meet the workforce requirements of the creative industries, including film as a frontier industry. This includes...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFilm: TrainingDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112930More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve training standards in the film industry.
Answer: The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how government will work with industry to develop a high quality and responsive training offer to meet the workforce requirements of the creative industries, including film as a frontier industry. This includes...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordArts: Political ImpartialityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111718More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides to Arts Council England regarding the political neutrality of National Portfolio Organisations.
Answer: The government is committed to freedom of speech, including in the cultural sector, and the Secretary of State has expressed an unequivocal ambition that the era of the government stoking “culture wars” should be over. The government is clear that whilst ...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordArts: Political ImpartialityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111717More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that arts organisations receiving public funding do not discriminate against events based on the political or philosophical viewpoints of the speaker
Answer: The government is committed to freedom of speech, including in the cultural sector, and the Secretary of State has expressed an unequivocal ambition that the era of the government stoking “culture wars” should be over. The government is clear that whilst ...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBBC: Political ImpartialityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109161More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the BBC on the adequacy of the political impartiality in its news and current affairs output.
Answer: The Secretary of State meets regularly with the Chair of the BBC to discuss a wide range of issues.For any public service broadcaster, accountability and trust are key. It is important that the BBC continues to demonstrate how it is working diligently to ...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLicensed Premises: Local PressDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 12 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90269More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the requirement to advertise new premises licences or variations to existing ones in local newspapers on local transpar
Answer: Following the Licensing taskforce report, the Government published a Call for Evidence on reforming the licensing system on 7 October, which closed on 6 November. The Call for Evidence invited views on the impact of licensing reforms, including in relatio...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Local PressDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 12 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90268More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the requirement for local authorities to publish statutory public notices in local newspapers on local transparency in
Answer: Following the Licensing taskforce report, the Government published a Call for Evidence on reforming the licensing system on 7 October, which closed on 6 November. The Call for Evidence invited views on the impact of licensing reforms, including in relatio...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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