DCMS blog

Monthly Archives: August 2014

Good news for the Arts in the UK

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, August 29, 2014 — Culture

Ed Vaizey was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in May 2010 and promoted to Minister of State for Culture and Digital Industries in 2014.

Monday is an important day for the performing arts in the UK. Why? Because it is the day on which an important new tax relief for theatre production comes into effect. Originally announced in the Autumn Statement nearly a year ago, it will provide an additional corporation tax deduction, or a payable tax credit, worth…

The First World War and the surprising debt we owe to ‘The West Coast Boys’ from South America

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, August 26, 2014 — Culture

Helen Grant is the Minister for Sport and Tourism

One very rewarding, aspect of the work that’s been done to mark the First World War Centenary is the sheer range of historical oddities that come to the surface as you start to look into it.  I don’t mean ‘oddities’ in any negative or derogatory way, I should stress; rather, I’m thinking of the surprising…

The 1,000 mile #walk4peace

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, — Culture

Conservative Party politician serving in the House of Lords

I’m now well into my two month, 1,000 mile #walk4peace from London to Berlin to raise money for the German charity, Friedendorf International which means in English Peace Village. By completing this walk I hope to raise both money and awareness for children who are victims of war. Stage one of the walk kicked off…

Yorkshire’s popularity soars

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, August 22, 2014 — Sport

Gary Verity is the Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire

It has been seven weeks since the Grand Départ of the Tour de France swept through Yorkshire and even now, almost two months later, people are still talking about that amazing weekend. Yorkshire was the undoubted star of the show. The huge crowds, their passion, the laughing, smiling faces and of course our breathtaking landscapes…

Reflecting on my first months

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, August 20, 2014 — Culture

The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP was appointed as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Equalities at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 9 April 2014.

They say that a week is a long time in politics. Well, it’s been about 18 weeks since the Prime Minister appointed me as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, so you can imagine the amount of incredible work and events I’ve seen and been involved with since then. First and foremost, there…

Investing in tourism & hospitality talent

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, August 14, 2014 — Culture

Chairman of the Tourism Alliance and Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association

The latest Labour Market Statistics published yesterday has seen the largest youth unemployment annual fall since records began alongside the steepest annual fall in unemployment in 25 years. We hear from Chairman of the Tourism Alliance and Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association Ufi Ibrahim on how the sector is promoting careers in tourism and hospitality.…

Great British Beer Festival opens

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, August 12, 2014 — Culture

British Beer & Pub Association Chief Executive

As the Great British Beer Festival gets underway in Olympia, London, British Beer & Pub Association Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds discusses the role traditional British pubs and beer are playing in attracting tourists to the UK. Tourism in Britain wouldn’t work without our fantastic network of pubs. They are not just a home-from-home for British pubgoers. They…

#walk4peace

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, August 5, 2014 — Culture

Conservative Party politician serving in the House of Lords

In his first guest blog for DCMS, Lord Bates looks forward to his 1,000 mile walk from London to Berlin to commemorate the First World War. It’s only a few hours to go before I set off on my 1,000 mile walk from London to Berlin and so much remains to be done. The fact that…