West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has urged arts, heritage and culture organisations to bid for funds as the Government announces a raft of measures to support the industry.

Cultural organisations can apply for grants of up to £3 million if they can show how the funding will protect important assets.

An initial round of funding, totaling £622 million, will be distributed by organisations including the Arts Council, the British Film Institute and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Harriett urged local organisations to look into information published on the funding streams to see if they are able to access support as the country deals with the effects of the global pandemic and national lockdown.

Harriett said: “Tourism is vital to our local economy and many cultural attractions have had to close down for many months – and are only now starting to re-open in a Covid-safe way.

“I know that the larger organisations are already accessing support, but I want to urge local groups to look at the information shared on the Government website to see if they could qualify for a support grant.

“These grants are also intended to help smaller music venues, galleries and independent cinemas and it is important that we come out of this crisis with as much of our cultural infrastructure protected as possible.

“Personally, I’m missing not being able to visit the Three Choirs Festival or some of the open-air concerts and festivals that were scheduled for this summer, and I hope that organisers will access support packages to ensure they come back next year, stronger than ever.”