Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The Museum Renewal Fund is an urgent intervention this financial year to provide time-limited support for museums with a local authority link. The Fund, delivered by Arts Council England, provided targeted support for museums and focused on supporting the financial resilience of museums caring predominantly for publicly-owned Collections, responding to a clear ask by the entire museums sector. It is now closed to applicants and the 75 recipients were announced in October 2025.

DCMS provides a range of support for ACE-Accredited museums of all types, through Capital funds including the Museum Estate and Development Fund and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, and tax incentives like the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief, and Museum VAT Refund Scheme.

Drawing on external analysis, the Department considers independent museums as key to local economic growth. Museums form an integral part of the Creative Industries, driving innovation across the economy. By animating high streets and communities through their public programmes, museums draw tourists and employers to regions across the country, with many ranking amongst the most visited attractions in the UK.

Independent museums make up over half the sector, and the Association of Independent Museums estimates that independent museums across the UK made an overall economic contribution of £838.7 million in 2023, supporting 17,900 jobs. The Annual Museum Survey 2025 produced by the Arts Council England funded Museum Development Network, estimates the combined economic impact of Independent, Local Authority, and University museums in England at over £1.1 billion annually.

The principle of BBC First - where the BBC has the opportunity to try and resolve complaints about its content before consideration by Ofcom - was formalised by the BBC’s current Charter. The Framework Agreement then sets out considerations the BBC should take into account as part of its complaints procedures, including that complaints must be considered and resolved effectively.

If a complainant is not satisfied by the BBC’s initial response to their complaint, they have the option to escalate it for consideration by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Framework Agreement requires Ofcom’s timely and effective handling of complaints referred on to it.

The forthcoming Charter Review will look at how the BBC can remain independent and accountable to the public it serves and continue to provide trusted and truthful news to combat an era of growing disinformation.

The principle of BBC First - where the BBC has the opportunity to try and resolve complaints about its content before consideration by Ofcom - was formalised by the BBC’s current Charter. The Framework Agreement then sets out considerations the BBC should take into account as part of its complaints procedures, including that complaints must be considered and resolved effectively.

If a complainant is not satisfied by the BBC’s initial response to their complaint, they have the option to escalate it for consideration by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Framework Agreement requires Ofcom’s timely and effective handling of complaints referred on to it.

The forthcoming Charter Review will look at how the BBC can remain independent and accountable to the public it serves and continue to provide trusted and truthful news to combat an era of growing disinformation.

The Government recognises the vital role that the arts, including regional theatre, play for people and communities in all parts of this country, and delivers funding to theatres primarily through Arts Council England (ACE).

ACE’s National Portfolio Organisations, including theatres, can use some of their annual funding to cover operational costs like staffing as long as those costs are justified in the budget and align with ACE’s funding agreement. In addition, ACE’s National Lottery Project Grants (NLPG) also allows some contribution to overheads, but has to be tied to the particular project that the funding has been awarded for. Nearly £14.5 million was awarded to theatres outside the capital through the NLPG programme in 2024/25.

The Government has taken a number of steps to expand youth access to cultural programmes in under-served areas.

Arts Council England (ACE) is targeting 54 areas in England where cultural engagement and investment have been historically low through its Priority Places programme. All 54 areas include Music Hub provision which provide engagement aimed at young people; and some of the national portfolio organisations operating in Priority Places are entirely focused on children and young people, such as the BookTrust, the UK's largest reading charity which reaches millions of children each year. In 2024/25 ACE invested almost £27 million through National Lottery Project Grants to Priority Places.

The Arts Everywhere Fund, announced earlier this year, has also committed £3.2 million in funding for four cultural education programmes for the 2025/26 financial year to preserve increased access to arts for children and young people through the Museums and Schools Programme, Heritage Schools Programme, Art & Design National Saturday Clubs and BFI Film Academy.

In November, we published the Government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will ensure that a high-quality arts education is an essential part of the broad and rich education every child deserves. We will revitalise arts education through a reformed curriculum and support for teachers. In September 2026 we will launch the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, which will improve access and opportunity for children and young people, strengthening collaboration between schools and industry.

In addition, £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. £117.5m of this has been allocated to increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.

The government ensures value for money from Arts Council England (ACE) funding by holding it accountable through performance reporting, financial controls, and grant-management standards set by DCMS. ACE also reports against key performance indicators and strategic outcomes in its annual report.

The government has also strengthened performance measurement by developing long-term impact indicators, including a participation survey, to measure the outcomes of funded arts activity. Alongside this, through the Culture Heritage Capital programme, DCMS and its arms length bodies are developing new methodology and guidance to measure the value for money of investment in culture. In December 2024 DCMS published Embedding a Culture and Heritage Capital Approach, which set out the ambitions for the programme.

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. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

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. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government’s recent announcement of £400 million to be invested in grassroots sports facilities across the UK over the next four years will ensure we can continue to deliver high-quality grass, artificial grass pitches and other multi-sport facilities in the areas that require them, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.

Following this announcement, we have been working in collaboration with the sports sector and local leaders to develop plans for delivering future funding.

We want to ensure these plans take a place-based approach to investment, using regional expertise across the country to deliver in line with demand in each area. Plans for future funding programmes will be confirmed in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to sports facilities, including leisure centres and swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities right across the country.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, and the Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve.

In June, the Government announced that £400 million will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities over the next four years. We want to ensure that our future funding plans take a place-based approach, and we are working in collaboration with local authorities and the sports sector to understand the demand for facilities in each area of the UK. Plans for future funding programmes will be confirmed in due course. This funding is on top of the £250 million that our arm’s length body, Sport England invests every year in grassroots sport in England.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government.

DCMS-funded statistical analysis shows that a year after a drop in local authority expenditure on youth services, areas see increased incidences of some types of antisocial behaviour.

We are co-producing a National Youth Strategy which will set out a new long-term vision for young people, and an action plan for delivering this. We aim to publish the Strategy later this year.

DCMS Ministers have had regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about gambling taxation.

Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.

Sport England are exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.

The Government, through the UK Sport grant, supports Olympic and Paralympic success. Beyond this the Government does not provide additional funding to performance sport, in line with our approach to a great many other areas of individual sporting performance.

Hosting the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup has the potential to be a transformational opportunity for the women’s game, and for women’s sport in the UK more generally. Following the 2022 Women’s EUROs, we saw a 140% increase in participation among women and girls with over 519,000 new grassroots opportunities were created specifically for women and girls across England.

Creating a strong legacy, including boosting participation levels, will be a core aim of delivering the tournament. Should the UK’s bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2035 be successful, planning will begin on developing the legacy programme, drawing inspiration from events such as the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup as we embark on a decade of women’s sporting moments in the UK.

The Youth Investment Fund is supporting the delivery of over 250 new and refurbished youth facilities across England, in less advantaged areas, so young people can regularly attend activities in welcoming, fit-for-purpose youth centres.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has invested over £145 million to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy. Part of this funding is in recognition of the urgent need for more youth facilities. The investment has enabled more flexibility with project delivery and continues to support the completion of Youth Investment Fund projects into 2026.

An independent evaluation of the Youth Investment Fund is ongoing, with a final report due to be published in 2027.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not issued guidance to either local authorities or charities on sporting events, and it has not received representations in relation to events in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

I refer the Honourable Member/my Honourable to the answer I gave on 4 November 2025 to Question 85202: “The Charity Commission for England and Wales provides guidance for charities on compliance with the Equality Act 2010.”

The Charity Commission has received representations in relation to events in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets from three Members of Parliament,. David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, sent a reply on 18 November 2025.

Through a broad range of activity largely delivered by our Arm’s-Length bodies, my Department supports engagement with the Pakistani community, and indeed the wider South Asian community, as we believe community cohesion is better served by providing universal access to culture, rather than targeting audiences based on their identity.

In 2022, the British Council delivered a six month cultural showcase to mark the 75th anniversary of Pakistan. Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives illuminated the cultural wealth and contemporary creativity of both countries and facilitated professional collaboration for culture, creative and education sectors; and focused on a shared future through building lasting partnerships. The programme also focused on changing perceptions, particularly amongst the younger generation in both countries, with a particular focus on young women and girls.

The government response to our consultation on the resale of live events tickets recognised that debenture schemes operate differently from one-off events tickets and allow venues to generate secure, up-front revenue that can be invested in bringing world-class sporting, music and other live events to the public.

As the response set out, we believe there is a good case for a narrow exemption to allow event organisers to authorise debenture holders to resell tickets in excess of the price cap. We will continue to explore how this exemption should be defined so that it does not undermine the overall effectiveness of the price cap.

The Government is investing £98 million in grassroots sports facilities to support increased participation across the UK via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial grass pitches, changing rooms and pavilions, and floodlights.

A full list of projects funded through the Programme, as well as an interactive map for each funding year, can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2021-to-2025.

At least £400 million will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities over the next four years, promoting health and wellbeing while ensuring community cohesion and pride of place.

Officials are now working with the sports sector and local leaders to develop plans for delivering this funding through a place-based approach. This will allow us to better understand the differing needs for grassroots facilities in communities across the UK, including coastal areas and their specific needs, and will ensure that investment best meets demand.

Elite pathways are designed and operated by National Governing Bodies and are independent from the Government. Widening access is a condition of the public funding they receive. All funded sports must publish Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans and show annual progress in improving representation across their pathways.

Home Country Sports Councils regularly review athlete data from funded sports to understand representation across regions and socio economic groups.

Where disparities exist, they are usually linked to the location of specialist facilities or the cost and travel required to access them, rather than formal exclusion. To address this, UK Sport and the Sports Councils support regional hubs, outreach activity and targeted financial assistance.

National talent recruitment programmes, such as Find Your Greatness have also helped engage a more diverse population and introduce them to sports they may not previously have accessed.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to sports facilities, including leisure centres, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country. Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, has estimated that a social value of £3.6 billion was generated by public leisure sites in England in 2024/5, largely from improved wellbeing and health outcomes.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, and the Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve. The Department for Health and Social Care has responsibility for health centres.

The Government has committed another £400 million to transform grassroots sports facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK. This funding is on top of the £250 million that Sport England invests every year in grassroots sport in England.

[I] do not engage with TV and film production companies regarding editorial decisions relating to programming content due their independence from Government.

However, we want British storytelling to reflect the full diversity of people, communities and experiences across the UK so that more people can see themselves reflected on screen and as part of our national story. We are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.

Delivery partners for the UK Youth Parliament participated in the evaluation of the 2023-25 programme, delivered by IFF Research, which includes recommendations on the future of the programme.

DCMS is currently going through our internal business planning processes and budgets are not yet confirmed for the next financial year. The outcomes of this process will be communicated in due course.

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. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government is committed to supporting local sports clubs and recognises their importance to communities up and down the country.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through its Arm’s Length Body Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. Ten percent of the funding allocated through their Movement Fund supports clubs to improve environmental sustainability and reduce energy costs. Sport England also provides detailed guidance to sporting clubs on managing energy costs and making facilities energy efficient.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources. The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils' Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

The Secretary of State announced in February 2025 a further £5.5 million of the Libraries Improvement Fund for 2025-26 to enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology. Upper tier local local authorities in the North East have received a total of almost £2 million from previous rounds of the Fund.

Grassroots music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform and supporting local economies and creative jobs.

This Government wants to enable new developments such as housing to co-exist with cultural infrastructure, including music venues. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should be integrated effectively with existing businesses and community facilities, such as music venues. Existing businesses and facilities should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established.

MHCLG intends to consult on the National Planning Policy Framework, including the agent of change principle, this year. DCMS are working with MHCLG to consider how the agent of change can be implemented as effectively as possible as part of this review, to ensure the principle works well for music venues.

In August 2025, the joint industry and HM government licensing policy sprint taskforce recommended stronger guidance or a mandatory requirement for licensing authorities to ensure that the agent of change principle is considered when making licensing decisions. The Government is reviewing the findings of the taskforce and the recent call for evidence on licensing, to inform how the agent of change principle could be considered in licensing.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan seeks to tackle barriers to growth and maximises opportunities across the Creative Industries sector throughout the UK. The Sector Plan spotlights the North East as one of twelve high-potential clusters for creative industries growth and its unique investment offer.

The North East Combined Authority will also receive £25million as part of the Creative Places Growth Fund. This is devolved funding, intended to empower Mayors to turbocharge growth in their places.

In January, DCMS Secretary of State hosted a major economic growth summit in Gateshead for the Creative Industries. DCMS officials have regular engagement with the North East Combined Authority to understand the opportunities and challenges for creatives across the North East. DCMS officials co-chaired a culture and creative industries roundtable with the North East Combined Authority in July to gather the views of local creative businesses and cultural organisations on Sector Plan delivery.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan seeks to tackle barriers to growth and maximises opportunities across the Creative Industries sector throughout the UK. The Sector Plan spotlights the North East as one of twelve high-potential clusters for creative industries growth and its unique investment offer.

The North East Combined Authority will also receive £25million as part of the Creative Places Growth Fund. This is devolved funding, intended to empower Mayors to turbocharge growth in their places.

In January, DCMS Secretary of State hosted a major economic growth summit in Gateshead for the Creative Industries. DCMS officials have regular engagement with the North East Combined Authority to understand the opportunities and challenges for creatives across the North East. DCMS officials co-chaired a culture and creative industries roundtable with the North East Combined Authority in July to gather the views of local creative businesses and cultural organisations on Sector Plan delivery.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan seeks to tackle barriers to growth and maximises opportunities across the Creative Industries sector throughout the UK. The Sector Plan spotlights the North East as one of twelve high-potential clusters for creative industries growth and its unique investment offer.

The North East Combined Authority will also receive £25million as part of the Creative Places Growth Fund. This is devolved funding, intended to empower Mayors to turbocharge growth in their places.

In January, DCMS Secretary of State hosted a major economic growth summit in Gateshead for the Creative Industries. DCMS officials have regular engagement with the North East Combined Authority to understand the opportunities and challenges for creatives across the North East. DCMS officials co-chaired a culture and creative industries roundtable with the North East Combined Authority in July to gather the views of local creative businesses and cultural organisations on Sector Plan delivery.

I value the UK’s strong cultural relationship with Ireland which has been developed over many years of successful partnerships between UK and Irish arts and cultural organisations and I recognise the substantial contribution that the Irish community makes to British cultural life.

Since the start of the current parliament, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded three grants totalling £290,074 to projects which explore the history and the experiences of the Irish diaspora in Britain.

In a joint statement at the UK-Ireland summit in March, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach announced a further programme of cultural cooperation between the two countries. My Department developing a programme to support new projects between the Irish national cultural institutions and leading UK counterparts.

Further commitments made by the PM and Taoiseach include establishing an Ireland-UK Youth Forum as a way to bring together young people to understand, discuss and respond to their views on how they can be considered by both of our governments.

We also look forward to jointly hosting the upcoming EURO2028 Men’s Football Championships and the 2030 T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Our relationship with India is a priority for this Government. Our shared culture and heritage provides a foundation for mutual benefits and economic growth. India is a priority for our Creative Industries Sector Plan and our people to people engagement.

During her visit to India in May, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State signed on behalf of DCMS a five year cultural agreement with the Indian Minister of Culture. This is a key element of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India announced by the Prime Minister in July and will support a broad range of activity embracing the Indian community across the UK. We regularly meet cultural leaders from the Indian and wider South Asian diaspora.

During the Prime Minister’s visit to India last month, he announced that three new Bollywood films will be made in the UK, supporting economic growth, job creation and cultural exchange. My Department is working closely with Yash Raj Films to realise this ambition.

From Gurinder Chadha and Civic Studios’ Christmas Karma to a major Chila Kumari Singh Burman retrospective to reopen Tate Liverpool in 2027, British and Indian cultural creativity is thriving across the country.

I value the close cultural partnership we share with Poland and recognise the rich cultural offering the Polish diaspora brings to the UK, which sustains Polish language and traditions and facilitates cultural enrichment through cultural events, festivals, and exhibitions, supported by arms length bodies such as Arts Council England.

Since July 2024, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £346,427 across three projects that explore the history of, or directly engage, the UK's Polish population.

This year we have also supported the UK/Poland Season 2025, a programme of over 100 events taking place in both countries across 40 cities, linking institutions and people to collaborate in the visual arts, film and music. Events in Poland are organised and funded by the British Council, while in the UK they are led by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, and the British Council.

UK Sport publishes a full breakdown of funding to UK national governing bodies across all Olympic and Paralympic Games cycles.

Current funding awards for the Los Angeles 2028 cycle ( https://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-awards ) can be found on UK Sport’s website as well as historical funding figures for the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Games ( https://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/historical-funding-figures ).

Based on these published allocations, UK Sport has invested approximately £1.25 billion directly into Olympic and Paralympic performance sports programmes since the Rio 2016 cycle.

As the lead department for media literacy, DSIT is committed to improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work. The Government aims to improve media literacy through cross-government collaboration, educational initiatives and collaboration with Ofcom, civil society, and online platforms.

DCMS has recently funded the National Youth Agency to develop Digital Youth Work Standards to promote the adoption of best practice in digital youth work across the sector. This includes training sessions on digital literacy for youth workers.

We are developing a National Youth Strategy which will set out a new long-term vision for young people, and an action plan for delivering this. We will publish the Strategy later this year.

As the lead department for media literacy, DSIT is committed to improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work. The Government aims to improve media literacy through cross-government collaboration, educational initiatives and collaboration with Ofcom, civil society, and online platforms.

DCMS has recently funded the National Youth Agency to develop Digital Youth Work Standards to promote the adoption of best practice in digital youth work across the sector. This includes training sessions on digital literacy for youth workers.

We are developing a National Youth Strategy which will set out a new long-term vision for young people, and an action plan for delivering this. We will publish the Strategy later this year.

This Government recognises that prize draws are a significant and growing market, and we want to ensure that people who participate in prize draws are confident that proportionate protections are in place.

Independent research was commissioned in 2023, which provided the Government with firm insights into the prize draws sector and included a section on the impact on the lottery industry. This led to the announcement earlier this year of the intention to introduce a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators which was published on 20 November 2025.

The Minister for Heritage and her officials have had numerous conversations with stakeholders about the Listed Places of Worship scheme. The scheme is funded until March 2026 or when the budget is spent, whichever is earlier.

The future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme after March 2026 will be announced when the outcome of the Spending Review and business planning processes have completed.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s main Whitehall building is 100 Parliament Street, housed within the Government Offices Great George Street (GOGGS). GOGGS is managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA) on behalf of the departments which occupy the building. It has 201 single sex cubicles, 80 urinals and 2 non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). This is in addition to 40 wheelchair accessible toilets.

These figures come from an audit carried out by the GPA and therefore reflect the facilities across both 100 Parliament Street and 1 Horseguards Road.

Information regarding employment levels at the Charity Commission and Gambling Commission is included in each public body’s annual report and accounts. These are published annually on GOV.UK.

The average number of employees in each year since 2005 is detailed in the following table:

The report that the Honourable Member refers to estimates the economic and social costs of gambling-related harm and provides a useful addition to our evidence base. As we have previously set out in a number of gambling-related impact assessments, we recognise that the report has limitations relating to both data availability and methodology, which means that the cost estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true cost of harm. This is true of many reports that try to estimate the cost of harm. However, we continue to consider this report in the context of the wider evidence base, and as such have no plans to exclude it from use in the Department.

The Government recognises the importance of using impartial, accurate and up-to-date statistics on gambling behaviour and harms. We are committed to ensuring that policy decisions are guided by the best available evidence from a broad range of reliable sources.

Developing impartial and accurate evidence on gambling-related harms is a key priority for the statutory gambling levy. That is why 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, which will be used to inform policy related to tackling gambling-related harm.

The Department intends to publish the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board and the Gambling Levy Advisory Group before the end of the year.