Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship. We are aware of the importance of the scheme to local projects and listed places of worship across the UK.

Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.

Coaches are a really important part of the tourism industry, enabling millions of people every year to go on day-trips, visit heritage sites, go to the theatre or travel around the UK, often at affordable prices. We remain committed to collaborating with stakeholders to strengthen our partnerships and promote sustainable growth within the sector.

Yes.

The Department is still considering the findings of the independent research, which looked at the size and nature of the prize draw market, as well as possible gambling harm associated with these products. This research is informing our policy considerations, as whilst not regulated as a gambling product under the Gambling Act, we want people who participate in large scale commercial prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. We will update Parliament further in due course.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports places of worship. These include Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who have committed to investing around £100m between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship; the Churches Conservation Trust, which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Since 2022, 5 Listed Places of Worship Grants have been awarded in the constituency of Epping Forrest, with 4 grants totalling £3,041 to the Church of the Holy Cross and St Lawrence, and 1 grant of £1,847 awarded to the Church of Holy Innocents High Beach. Granular data is not available before 2022 due to a change in grant administrator.

DCMS Arms-Length Body the National Lottery Heritage Fund has also supported two listed places of worship in Epping Forest; awarding £29,000 to Grade II* St Mary’s, Chigwell in 2003, and £17,000 to Grade II listed St Mary the Virgin, Theydon Bois in 1997.

We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. The scheme has supported both rural and city based places of worship, and places of worship of a range of denominations. As well as making awards to Christian places of worship, since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. The scheme has supported both rural and city based places of worship, and places of worship of a range of denominations. As well as making awards to Christian places of worship, since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. The scheme has supported both rural and city based places of worship, and places of worship of a range of denominations. As well as making awards to Christian places of worship, since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations.

Due to a change in the grant administrator, the Department only has such data from August 2022, since then, the Department has paid 351 grants to 135 individual listed places of worship in Essex to a total value of £1,129,393.

Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England has awarded the RFU £13,859,000 for the period 2022-27 as one of Sport England’s long-term system partners to support grassroots rugby union.

The public service remit for television requires that public service broadcasters like the BBC make an appropriate range and amount of their programmes across the UK. This includes specific obligations to production in Scotland, where the BBC is required to make 8% of its network spend and network programme hours. The independent regulator Ofcom holds the BBC to account in meeting these obligations.

The Government is committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for all broadcasters - including the BBC - to be more ambitious in growing our world-leading TV sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission content in every part of the country. Ministers and officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have regular discussions with the BBC, and during the upcoming Charter Review will consider the work of the BBC across the whole UK, including in Scotland.

The growth and development of digital radio and changes in listener behaviour have resulted in a clear shift away from analogue listening – digital listening now accounts for 74% of all radio listening (RAJAR Q3 2024). Although AM/FM platforms remain important for smaller commercial and community stations, significant numbers of listeners are migrating to digital platforms.

The licensing of AM/FM radio services is a matter for Ofcom, and in October Ofcom set out its current approach to licensing in a progress report on the rollout of small-scale DAB (SSDAB) technology. This report set out Ofcom’s current view that SSDAB offers audiences a wider range of services and makes a more efficient use of spectrum than FM, and committed to at least two further rounds of SSDAB licensing before considering the possibility of any further analogue licensing in the future.

The Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role when considering foreign state ownership, influence and control in newspapers and news magazines, and as such we cannot comment further.

The Consultation on The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2024 closed on 9 July 2024. Ministers recognise the high importance of this issue and are considering the responses carefully. Ministers take into account a wide range of issues and evidence when making a decision, and will publish the response in due course.

The Consultation on The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2024 closed on 9 July 2024. Ministers recognise the high importance of this issue and are considering the responses carefully. Ministers take into account a wide range of issues and evidence when making a decision, and will publish the response in due course.

We are developing our plans for the new National Youth Strategy, in partnership with young people and with organisations within the youth sector, to bring power back to young people and rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector. We know there is excellent existing work across the sector to understand issues faced by young people, propose solutions, and promote youth voice in decision-making, and we are working with the youth sector to build on this to co-produce the strategy.

We will be holding a series of youth-led roundtables, conducting a youth survey and setting up a youth advisory board to work alongside us. The Youth Advisory Group comprises young people with diverse lived experiences from across the country, with the first meeting scheduled for January 2025. The Secretary of State, Minister Peacock and officials have already met with a number of young people and youth sector organisations to hear their thoughts on the Strategy and we will continue to build on this work over the coming weeks and months.

We plan to publish the Strategy in summer with an interim report planned for the spring.

The government has no plans to conduct a review of the adequacy of the Charities Act 2011.

DCMS regularly considers the charity regulatory landscape to ensure that charities are sufficiently transparent and accountable, and to ensure that the Charity Commission for England and Wales has appropriate oversight of the sector.

To date, DCMS has invested £20.65 million in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This includes £12.13 million of funding towards the tournament's legacy and impact programme, ‘Impact 25’. This is supporting women's and girls' clubs across the country as part of the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to widen female participation in England. This is part of our strategic approach to ensuring we maximise the socio-economic benefits of major sporting events.

In addition, the Governments arm’s length body for grassroots sport, Sport England, has awarded the Rugby Football Union £13.8 million for the period 2022-27, as one of their long-term system partners who have responsibility to support grassroots rugby union.

On 17 October, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport publicly announced our ambition to reset the relationship between Government and civil society. We want to reset this relationship so that civil society can play a role as an equal partner alongside the Government in delivering a shared vision of national renewal.

As a first step, we have committed to developing a Civil Society Covenant in collaboration with civil society that will set out the terms of a new relationship between government and civil society. Over the autumn, DCMS ran an extensive engagement exercise to gather views on what the new relationship should look like as well as the enabling factors and barriers to achieving it.

We heard from hundreds of people representing the rich diversity of the civil society sector from across the country including disability and hearing loss organisations. We are now considering the responses to inform development of the final Covenant which we aim to publish in 2025.

To reduce the stigma associated with loneliness and to encourage people to seek help, the government provides advice through the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign’s advice pages.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the cross-government tackling loneliness programme, with multiple departments contributing towards the delivery of this work. DCMS is working closely with DHSC and DWP to consider loneliness in future health and workplace policies. This includes adding new loneliness data to the Public Health Outcomes Framework in February 2025, which will enable health organisations and Local Authorities to compare local loneliness data with other health outcomes to inform their work. We know that chronic loneliness negatively impacts physical health, mental health, employee productivity and wellbeing, with those who are unemployed at increased risk of loneliness. Therefore, DWP Jobcentres carry out an important role in identifying people at risk of loneliness, directing people to tailored support such as social prescribing, volunteering opportunities, befriending schemes and other local community opportunities and helping them return, or prepare to return, to the labour market.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the cross-government tackling loneliness programme, with multiple departments contributing towards the delivery of this work. DCMS is working closely with DHSC and DWP to consider loneliness in future health and workplace policies. This includes adding new loneliness data to the Public Health Outcomes Framework in February 2025, which will enable health organisations and Local Authorities to compare local loneliness data with other health outcomes to inform their work. We know that chronic loneliness negatively impacts physical health, mental health, employee productivity and wellbeing, with those who are unemployed at increased risk of loneliness. Therefore, DWP Jobcentres carry out an important role in identifying people at risk of loneliness, directing people to tailored support such as social prescribing, volunteering opportunities, befriending schemes and other local community opportunities and helping them return, or prepare to return, to the labour market.

The Government is working to build the evidence base on loneliness including the demographic groups most affected and the effectiveness of interventions. It uses available evidence to keep policies under review.

For example, DCMS has recently published two new qualitative research reports, including one exploring how and why young disabled people experience loneliness and what could be done to reduce it. The research programme for the year 2024/25 includes engaging with existing research on the most effective ways to measure loneliness levels.

DCMS is working with external researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund. The Fund aims to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness. The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the Fund in achieving these aims.

DCMS also seeks to support stakeholders and grassroots organisations to evaluate their work robustly by facilitating information sharing and learning via the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness.

The Government is working to build the evidence base on loneliness including the demographic groups most affected and the effectiveness of interventions. It uses available evidence to keep policies under review.

For example, DCMS has recently published two new qualitative research reports, including one exploring how and why young disabled people experience loneliness and what could be done to reduce it. The research programme for the year 2024/25 includes engaging with existing research on the most effective ways to measure loneliness levels.

DCMS is working with external researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund. The Fund aims to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness. The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the Fund in achieving these aims.

DCMS also seeks to support stakeholders and grassroots organisations to evaluate their work robustly by facilitating information sharing and learning via the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness.

The UK Government condemns the appalling erosion of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan. Sport operates independently of government, and participation in the ICC Champion’s Trophy match is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council.

My officials are in contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board on the wider issue of the Afghanistan women’s cricket team. We welcome the fact that the ECB are making strong representations to the ICC on this issue and what support can be given.

I have not held any such discussions, but my officials discuss this and other related issues as part of ongoing engagement with their DESNZ and MHCLG counterparts. In addition, in July, Historic England, the UK government's statutory advisor on England's historic environment, published guidance to support the decarbonisation of historic buildings.

https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/new-advice-on-adapting-historic-buildings-for-energy-and-carbon-efficiency/

Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union to discuss the future of the sport. My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.

The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport at all levels.

Loan financing of around £5 million was provided to Championship clubs as part of the Sport Survival Package (SSP). The loans were provided on favourable terms, tailored to meet the unique legal and financial circumstances of clubs. DCMS remains in close contact with our loan agents, Sport England, to ensure loans are repaid and borrowers comply with the terms of their loans.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engages with the Secretary of State for Education on a range of issues, including school sport. Minister Peacock recently attended a roundtable discussion with PE and school sport sector leaders, hosted by the Minister for Schools.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work closely with the Department for Education on the curriculum review.

There is a standing encouragement for Government Buildings to fly the Union Flag every day, and the Ukrainian Flag on a second flagpole if they are able. Government Departments are generally free to fly whichever other flags they deem appropriate, provided they have the necessary consent from their local planning authority.

Regarding the flags flown by DCMS, a decision has not yet been taken on which non-Union flags will be flown in 2025. Over the last two years, this decision was finalised in February.

The Charity Commission is not subject to Ministerial or departmental direction or control. It is for the Charity Commission to decide whether to publish correspondence or statements about its work on specific regulatory cases. The Charity Commission does not usually publish statements about regulatory cases that are not statutory inquiries, unless there is significant public interest in doing so.

The Charity Commission is not subject to Ministerial or departmental direction or control. It is for the Charity Commission to decide whether to publish correspondence or statements about its work on specific regulatory cases. The Charity Commission does not usually publish statements about regulatory cases that are not statutory inquiries, unless there is significant public interest in doing so.

All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.

Departments will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of positive action as a proportionate response to achieve a legitimate aim as defined in section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve.

The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 Promoting Fairness and Performance, published in February 2022, is positioned as an essential lever to deliver a Modern Civil Service, where our values are to serve with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality; driving our vision to be a skilled, innovative and ambitious Civil Service equipped for the future. This strategy sets out a broader definition of diversity, to include geographical, social and career backgrounds alongside the protected groups.

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.

Those experiencing gambling-related harm in England can access specialist treatment through the NHS National Gambling Clinic and a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.

To improve and expand the services available to tackle gambling-related harm, the Government is introducing a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare. We will continue to work with NHS England in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as third sector providers, to design and deliver our approach to treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.

No. It is standard practice, as followed by the previous government of which he was a member, for new ministers to select works from the Government Art Collection for their ministerial offices. All such changes of displays of works from the Government Art Collection constitute 'business as usual' for the Collection. All artworks in the Government Art Collection are on the website and their present locations can readily be searched and identified. The Collection does not publish the history of the locations of artworks.

The listed events regime aims to ensure many of the nation's biggest sporting events are free-to-air wherever possible while protecting competition organisers' ability to raise income from the sale of broadcast rights to invest in their sports. The government has no plans to amend the regime at this time.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

We are acting to support more people in getting onto the pitch wherever they live via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which will invest £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25.

In Northern Ireland, funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is invested through our delivery partner, the Irish Football Association, who invites bids from local authorities, clubs and community organisations. Application windows are currently closed. The constituency of Strangford has received a total of £513,015.98 worth of funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.

If MPs would like to discuss investment in their constituency, or potential applicants want to enquire about future funding available, they can contact the relevant delivery partner Irish Football Association on dcms.funding@irishfa.com.

Loan financing was provided to organisations on favourable terms, tailored to meet the unique legal and financial circumstances of sporting and cultural organisations. The Government is clear that these loans must be repaid and, where necessary, steps will be taken to ensure the protection of taxpayer’s money.

DCMS remains in close contact with our loan agents, Sport England and Arts Council England, to ensure loans are repaid and borrowers comply with the terms of their loans. DCMS ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, and where appropriate we discuss loan repayments.

Comedy is a serious business. It is a vital performing art and contributes to the mental health and wellbeing of people, not just in the UK, but around the world. It forms part of our cultural landscape, enriching lives, shaping our collective identity and often providing a necessary corrective to political pomposity.

Arts Council England funds numerous organisations and venues that support comedy. For the purposes of ACE funding, comedy is considered under the broad term of ‘theatre.’ This means that as long as a performer, club or promoter meets the eligibility criteria for specific programmes, then ACE welcomes funding applications. Between the financial years covering 2010/11 to 2024/25 ACE has awarded £12,296,254 in funding where an applicant name, project title or subclassifier contains the word “comedy”.

Venues such as theatres also benefit from tax relief. The government believes tax relief is essential to help incentivise investment in productions, and to contribute to innovation and economic growth, enabling arts organisations to continue to produce new content which is vital in keeping them competitive on an international stage.

The Prime Minister has made it very clear that there will be no Super League-style breakaway from English football.

As part of the strengthened Football Governance Bill, the Regulator will be able to prevent English clubs from joining future breakaway competitions by taking into account factors such as sustainability, heritage and fairness. The Regulator will be obliged to gather the views of fans and consult the FA before it prohibits a competition.

This approach is the most effective way of stopping unwanted competitions that do not adhere to the principles of how sport operates in this country, are not supported by fans, and that risk undermining the English football pyramid.

The Football Governance Bill was introduced on 24 October.

The collapse of BetIndex Ltd, the operators of the novel gambling product Football Index, had a significant impact on former customers, and we recognise that many people were affected, and that for some people financial losses were significant. The previous Government commissioned an Independent Review in June 2021, conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC and which reported in September 2021. The review looked at how the company had been regulated, and identified areas for improvement for the Financial Conduct Authority and the Gambling Commission. All recommendations of the report have since been implemented.

The previous Government concluded that it would not be appropriate for the Government to use public funds to provide compensation for those who had lost money through the collapse of Football Index and BetIndex. Whilst the Government strongly sympathises with all who were impacted, we do not think this decision should be reopened.

As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on the statutory levy, further consideration of the evidence is needed in order to appoint an appropriate body to lead the prevention strand of the levy system. We will confirm our decisions in due course. Prevention is a critical part of the government’s approach to tackling gambling-related harm and we need to take the time to get the policy right whilst ensuring that necessary legislation is passed to meet our commitment to having the levy in place by April 2025.

The Government is clear that the levy puts the independence of funding beyond doubt and industry will have no say over spending decisions. To guarantee sufficient accountability and transparency within the new system, including the use of funding allocated for prevention alongside research and treatment, we will establish appropriate governance arrangements consisting of a Levy Board for the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments to monitor the health and impact of the levy system, and an Advisory Group to provide informal advice to lead commissioning bodies regarding strategic and funding priorities. The UK government will also formally review the statutory levy system within five years with the first formal review expected by 2030.

The Football Governance Bill is the culmination of almost five years of work. During this time, there has been extensive engagement with key stakeholders by the department (which included regular meetings with the Premier League, where policy such as parachute payments were discussed) and by the Minister for Sport, whilst she was in Opposition.

Ahead of the introduction of the Football Governance Bill, DCMS Ministers met with Brentford, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Everton and parachute payments were discussed. A significant number of meetings also took place with the Premier League executive, who represent their members and have advocated on behalf of clubs. Similar meetings were also held with the EFL and National League executives and clubs.

The Secretary of State and Minister for Sport invited all clubs to meet on 23rd October where the Bill was again discussed.