Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The Secretary of State is in regular discussion with the BBC about Charter Review and other BBC matters, including on the options for funding the BBC set out in the Charter Review Green Paper. DCMS officials also hold regular meetings with the BBC and Ofcom about Charter Review, including issues relating to BBC funding.

The Government is developing its understanding of the impact of commercial options and will continue to build this throughout the Charter Review process, including through the public consultation and our engagement with stakeholders, including the BBC and Ofcom.

The Government’s aim is to support a sustainable and fair funding model for the BBC, and we are considering a broad range of options to deliver this at Charter Review.

A thriving media sector is vital for the UK. We acknowledge that the BBC carrying advertising would represent a significant shift and have impacts on the wider media sector, including the other Public Service Broadcasters and local media providers, as well as on audience experiences.

The Government is seeking further views and evidence about the potential impacts of the BBC carrying adverts on the market, on audience engagement and on willingness to pay the licence fee before making any final decisions, including through the public consultation on the Charter Review Green Paper and through evidence from stakeholders and the BBC. This will build on modelling the department commissioned under the previous government on the BBC’s potential to generate commercial revenue from advertising.

The Government’s aim is to support a sustainable and fair funding model for the BBC, and we are considering a broad range of options to deliver this at Charter Review.

A thriving media sector is vital for the UK. We acknowledge that the BBC carrying advertising would represent a significant shift and have impacts on the wider media sector, including the other Public Service Broadcasters and local media providers, as well as on audience experiences.

The Government is seeking further views and evidence about the potential impacts of the BBC carrying adverts on the market, on audience engagement and on willingness to pay the licence fee before making any final decisions, including through the public consultation on the Charter Review Green Paper and through evidence from stakeholders and the BBC. This will build on modelling the department commissioned under the previous government on the BBC’s potential to generate commercial revenue from advertising.

The Government’s aim is to support a sustainable and fair funding model for the BBC, and we are considering a broad range of options to deliver this at Charter Review.

A thriving media sector is vital for the UK. We acknowledge that the BBC carrying advertising would represent a significant shift and have impacts on the wider media sector, including the other Public Service Broadcasters and local media providers, as well as on audience experiences.

The Government is seeking further views and evidence about the potential impacts of the BBC carrying adverts on the market, on audience engagement and on willingness to pay the licence fee before making any final decisions, including through the public consultation on the Charter Review Green Paper and through evidence from stakeholders and the BBC. This will build on modelling the department commissioned under the previous government on the BBC’s potential to generate commercial revenue from advertising.

The Minister of State (then Sir Chris Bryant MP) had the pleasure of visiting both the New Vic Theatre and Brampton Museum on 27 August 2025. I will ask my officials to keep the Apedale Heritage Centre and attractions across Newcastle-under-Lyme in mind when planning future visits.

Thank you for taking the time to share your suggestions of places to visit in your constituency. I am always delighted to support and promote the vital work being done across the cultural sector.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

DCMS was alerted by Arts Council England at the end of October to a recent theft incident involving a storage facility operated by Bristol Museums. Fuller details about the scale of that incident were provided by the museum in mid December, at the time a police appeal was launched, following a museum-led audit. The museum holds human remains, however the department is not aware of any human remains being amongst the items stolen.

Museums in England operate independently from the government, and subscribe to ethical codes produced by the sector, and so it is for the museum’s leadership team to ensure the proper care of human remains, with policies kept under review. DCMS’ Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums covers the curation, care and display of human remains in museums, and recommends both the active management and monitoring of human remains storage, and adherence to suitable standards of security, access management and environmental conditions.

The Shared Island Media Initiative is led and funded by the Government of Ireland. While from a UK perspective, only Northern Ireland will be able to benefit from the initiative, DCMS officials have had some initial conversations with Ireland’s Department of Culture, Communications and Media to learn about it. I have not been directly involved in these discussions, but my officials remain interested in how this initiative advances the UK's and Ireland's shared priorities.

The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Sport England’s statutory consultee role in the planning regime and I encourage anyone interested to feed into that process. The aim of this consultation is not to reduce access to sports facilities. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed reforms.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport delivers a wide range of communications campaigns through digital and traditional channels. It is not possible to provide the exact number of staff employed solely to create social media content. These responsibilities are integrated into the broader roles of staff within the digital and communications teams to ensure the best value for the taxpayer.

Section 9.5 of the Governance Code on Public Appointments sets out the reporting requirements for panel members of public appointment campaigns. I can confirm that the published appointment details for the Independent Football Regulator x4 Non-Executive Board Members is compliant with the Governance Code.

DCMS has had discussions with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) regarding the future for the Old Royal Naval College. The College is not an arms-length body of DCMS and the Department is not directly responsible for ensuring the stewardship of the site. However, the Department has been supporting conversations between local interested parties, including the MoD, and is keen to see those discussions progress.

The Government is acutely aware of the impact that harmful gambling can have on individuals, their families and communities, and we are committed to strengthening protections to safeguard those at risk of both harm caused by, and associated with, gambling.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. For this reason, UK horseracing bets will not be subject to the new rate of general betting duty and will remain taxed at 15%.

The Horserace Betting Levy is important for the financial sustainability of horseracing. We will provide an update on next steps in due course.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to the nation’s economy and sporting landscape. For this reason, UK horseracing bets will not be subject to the new rate of general betting duty and will remain taxed at 15%.

The Horserace Betting Levy is important for the financial sustainability of horseracing. We will provide an update on next steps in due course.

The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Sport England’s statutory consultee role in the planning regime and I encourage anyone interested to feed into that process. The aim of this consultation is not to reduce access to sports facilities. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed reforms.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the British Equestrian Federation, which receives up to £6.3 million between 2022-2029 to invest in community horse riding initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

DCMS recognises tourism’s vital contribution to the economy of the North East, where a diverse range of historic sites and natural landmarks, from the architectural heritage of Alnwick Castle and Hexham Abbey to the expansive Kielder Water & Forest Park, support the local economy.

The British Tourist Authority’s data for Northumberland, which incorporates Hexham, reveals that for inbound travel, Northumberland welcomed 35.6k visits, 191.8k nights and a spend of £20.7 million in 2024. For domestic visits, Northumberland welcomed 800k trips, 2.6 million bednights and a spend of £225 million from September 2022 to September 2024.

Destination North East England’s Quarterly Research Report for Spring 2025, reported that the North East region’s visitor economy is worth £6.6 billion and supports almost 63,000 jobs. The report also notes that North East England welcomed 68.44 million visitors and hosted 7.82 million overnight visitors in 2024.

DCMS recognises tourism’s vital contribution to the economy of the North East, where a diverse range of historic sites and natural landmarks, from the architectural heritage of Alnwick Castle and Hexham Abbey to the expansive Kielder Water & Forest Park, support the local economy.

The British Tourist Authority’s data for Northumberland, which incorporates Hexham, reveals that for inbound travel, Northumberland welcomed 35.6k visits, 191.8k nights and a spend of £20.7 million in 2024. For domestic visits, Northumberland welcomed 800k trips, 2.6 million bednights and a spend of £225 million from September 2022 to September 2024.

Destination North East England’s Quarterly Research Report for Spring 2025, reported that the North East region’s visitor economy is worth £6.6 billion and supports almost 63,000 jobs. The report also notes that North East England welcomed 68.44 million visitors and hosted 7.82 million overnight visitors in 2024.

DCMS recognises tourism’s vital contribution to the economy of the North East, where a diverse range of historic sites and natural landmarks, from the architectural heritage of Alnwick Castle and Hexham Abbey to the expansive Kielder Water & Forest Park, support the local economy.

The British Tourist Authority’s data for Northumberland, which incorporates Hexham, reveals that for inbound travel, Northumberland welcomed 35.6k visits, 191.8k nights and a spend of £20.7 million in 2024. For domestic visits, Northumberland welcomed 800k trips, 2.6 million bednights and a spend of £225 million from September 2022 to September 2024.

Destination North East England’s Quarterly Research Report for Spring 2025, reported that the North East region’s visitor economy is worth £6.6 billion and supports almost 63,000 jobs. The report also notes that North East England welcomed 68.44 million visitors and hosted 7.82 million overnight visitors in 2024.

DCMS has undertaken extensive research into the impact of arts and creativity on health. Through the Culture and Heritage Capital (CHC) Programme, the Department published a 2024 study monetising the health and wellbeing benefits of cultural and heritage engagement. Our analysis has found that even general adult engagement in culture contributes around £8 billion in health related benefits for our society each year. This evidence helps explain continued Government investment in the sector, with one third of organisations funded through Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Investment Programme (334 organisations) reporting delivery of creative health activity.

Arts Council England has invested nearly £1 million in National Lottery Project Grants to artists and organisations delivering creative health work in Surrey over the last three years. In addition, Arts Council England provides over £3 million per annum to National Portfolio Organisations (2023 – 2026) in Surrey that deliver creative health programmes, such as The Lightbox, an award winning gallery and museum in Woking that puts wellbeing at the centre of its mission. Initiatives such as Art in Mind dementia workshops and Open Mind tours with local mental health partners provide safe, welcoming spaces where participants can connect with others, build confidence, and engage in creative activities to support their mental health and resilience.

In addition, the benefits of using heritage sites and projects to reduce isolation and improve quality of life are increasingly being explored and integrated. The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting such projects in Surrey, with recent grants including £100k to the heritage and wellbeing partnership project What Keeps Us Well in conjunction with Surrey Heritage, and a grant of over £780,000 to the Cranleigh Heritage Trust to transform Cranleigh Cottage Hospital into a multi-purpose heritage and wellbeing community hub.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

The Government is committed to supporting high-quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content, and the considerable benefits it brings. The popularity of online services, including video-sharing platforms, means there is now more choice than ever for young audiences. The Government is engaging with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high-quality content. We want to ensure children’s programming is easily accessible, and continues to inform, educate, and entertain young people into the future.

The Government is committed to supporting high-quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content, and the considerable benefits it brings. The popularity of online services, including video-sharing platforms, means there is now more choice than ever for young audiences. The Government is engaging with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high-quality content. We want to ensure children’s programming is easily accessible, and continues to inform, educate, and entertain young people into the future.

The UK is a world-class host for major events, and the government is investing in a decade-long pipeline to drive economic growth and community impact.

Support for sporting events is already established through the Gold Framework. Additionally, DCMS will launch a new Visitor Economy Growth Strategy next year to strengthen the business events industry and enhance the UK's global competitiveness.

The Department welcomes the CMS Select Committee Inquiry into major events and continues to engage with industry to address challenges and identify further opportunities for collaboration and growth.

As State Party to the World Heritage Convention, DCMS has the primary responsibility for keeping UNESCO updated on the UK’s 35 World Heritage Sites, and responding to requests for information from UNESCO.

While heritage is a devolved policy area, DCMS works closely with cultural heritage and environmental agencies across the UK to provide support and advice regarding engagement with UNESCO. This includes engaging the World Heritage Centre; the World Heritage Committee and their Advisory Bodies; and ensures that both our cultural and natural (and mixed) sites retain their World Heritage status.

DCMS engages with site managers, steering groups and local authorities to provide advice, particularly where a site is under increased scrutiny from UNESCO. DCMS also advises sites on the UK’s Tentative List that have the potential to be inscribed as future World Heritage Sites to ensure the right protection and management arrangements are in place from the start.

DCMS provides support and advice to all World Heritage Sites across the UK and Overseas Territories that are grappling with environmental threats in our capacity as State Party of the World Heritage Convention.

DCMS works closely with environmental agencies across the UK, including the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, as well as Historic England as our expert advisers on World Heritage. We also consult with individual site managers and local authorities to monitor potential and known threats to our sites and to consider which issues require notification to, and assistance from, UNESCO.

In addition, DCMS funded the project ‘Climate Change & UNESCO Heritage’ which ran from February 2024 - October 2025 and was delivered by the UK National Commission for UNESCO. This project developed open-source tools that support UNESCO heritage sites to address climate challenges.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan is a new 10-year plan to tackle barriers to growth and maximise opportunities across the creative industries sector, with the aim of making the UK the number one destination for creativity and innovation by 2035.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan includes a universal offer to drive growth in the creative industries in any place in the UK, outlining new measures to break down barriers such as access to finance, supply of skills, and new support to kickstart innovation.

The £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is a new approach to supporting Creative Industries - devolving funding and empowering local leaders to grow the sector in 6 high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including the West Midlands. This will provide £25m to West Midlands Combined Authority to distribute, according to local barriers and opportunities.

In 2020, there were 3,518,000 filled jobs in the wider UK creative economy, which consists of 2,221,000 filled jobs in the creative industries, as well as 1,297,000 filled jobs in creative occupations in industries outside of the creative industries.

Following the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revision of Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) data, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in the process of defining which SOC2020 codes should be included in the creative occupations. Creative economy estimates for 2021 onwards will be published once this work has concluded.

We have more recent official statistics on the number of filled jobs in the creative industries, without creative occupations in industries outside of the creative industries. The most recent annual statistics show that in 2024, there were 2,409,000 filled jobs in the creative industries in the UK (8.5% more than in 2020).

All charities in England and Wales must have wholly charitable purposes that are for the public benefit, in order to enjoy the advantages of charitable status. Unless the purpose is for the relief (and in some cases the prevention) of poverty, a charitable purpose cannot exist for the benefit of an organisation’s members only. The exception to this is if a sufficient section of the public can access those benefits by becoming members and the membership is a suitable way of carrying out the charity’s purpose for the public benefit.

The Charity Commission has published guidance which explains the public benefit requirement.

The honourable member may be aware that Membership-based Charity Organisations was debated on Wednesday 17th December in Westminster Hall.

This Government is passionate in delivering for young people, that’s why this Government has set out the National Youth Strategy. This strategy clearly states that young people should have people who care, places to go and things to do, and to feel heard and seen.

As part of the National Youth Strategy we have committed to explore reviewing the current local authorities’ statutory duty for youth services as part of a wider review of local statutory duties. This will look at whether the current duty is working and at how to empower local authorities to better deliver on their responsibilities for youth services.

Local authorities currently play a key part in delivering youth services, reflected in their statutory duty to provide sufficient leisure-time activities and facilities in line with local needs. After years of funding cuts to Local Authority funding we know that some areas have faced challenges in meeting this duty. That’s why this Government is investing nearly £70 million over the next three financial years to better support local authorities' delivery for young people.

The National Youth Strategy outlines our plan to increase young people’s access to enriching activities, safe spaces and support from trusted adults. A key ambition of the Strategy is to halve the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers by 2035.

To help achieve this, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will increase place-based support in underserved places to increase impact. Some of the first funded steps to achieve this ambition include over £60 million for the Richer Young Lives Fund to provide local organisations with money to deliver high-quality youth work and fun activities.

This Government recognises the vital role that youth workers play in the lives of young people. We are backing the first steps of the National Youth Strategy with over £500 million of DCMS funding to increase local access to enriching activities, trusted adults and welcoming spaces. This includes investing £15 million over 3 years in youth workers, volunteers and other trusted adults including helping organisations to recruit, train, and keep more individuals to support young people.

The National Youth Strategy will deliver better recognition for paid and volunteer youth workers as well as more fit-for-purpose training, qualifications, and employment routes into the youth sector. Through the Strategy, the Government will also work closely with parents to ensure they get the support they need to guide their children. The Best Start in Life Parent Hub website launched on 1 September, as the first step in developing the Best Start digital service to support parents.

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.

We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Welsh Government and our local partners in Wales on this matter. We will provide an update soon.

DCMS is committed to ensuring that tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country particularly in rural areas such as Lincolnshire, home to historic sites such as Lincoln Cathedral and Castle and family attractions including Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.

DCMS works with VisitBritain and VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience with the aim of ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are felt by all regions and nations.

The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Plan, which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.

Business events can generate economic growth, create jobs, and boost the visitor economy across the country. In 2024, business events contributed a reported £33.6 billion to the UK economy as a whole according to data from UK Events.

The average business traveller spends more than double that of a leisure tourist (£209 v £101) and, with 38% taking place outside of London, business events are an example of how events can support economic growth across the UK

The British Tourist Authority also supports organisations in attracting international business events across UK cities via the Business Events Growth Programme. In the 2024-25 financial year, the programme financially supported 36 international events across Britain and generated an additional £27.5 million in expenditure. These events were aligned with key Government priority sectors including healthcare and life sciences, engineering and manufacturing, technology, renewable energy and creative industries.