Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of schools that took part in the Youth Parliament.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to enable young people to learn about the democratic process, engage with policy and decision makers, and have a say on issues that matter to them.
UKYP is not designed to be a schools programme. We do not therefore hold data on the amount or type of school involvement.
UKYP is made up of approximately 300 Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) aged 11-18. MYPs are elected every 2 years to represent the views of their young constituents to government and to national and local youth service providers. A small number of MYP elections are delivered by schools, who provide ongoing support to the elected young people. In most cases, MYP elections are delivered by local authorities and support for MYPs is provided by UKYP delivery partners and local youth workers.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on funding for youth services in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services in helping young people live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives. I have worked closely with Cabinet colleagues from over ten departments to develop ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ which we published on 10th December. This is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 15 years. It is backed by over £500 million of new money over the next 3 years from DCMS for fun things to do outside of school, support when and where you need it, more youth clubs and trusted adults.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has her Department made of the potential impact of employer National Insurance Contribution increases in the financial year 2025/2026 on a) the charity sector and b) neurorehabilitation service providing charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This government recognises the vital role that charitable organisations and community groups play in providing crucial support to families and individuals across the country. These organisations, as well as the wider voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, are integral to the Government’s vision for national renewal and delivery of the five national missions.
DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the VCSE sector and are aware of their concerns about changes to National Insurance Contributions (NICs). We recognise the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change in 2025/26.
The UK continues to have one of the most generous charity tax regimes in the world. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs were provided to charities, community amateur sports clubs and their donors last year.
In January 2025, NHS England published Standardising community health services which outlines the core community health services that integrated care boards (ICBs) should consider when planning services for their local population. Community rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions is named as one of the ICB-funded core components of community health services.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent steps to tackle problem gambling on online platforms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, alongside the Gambling Commission, are currently conducting an evaluation of some of the key measures set out in the white paper ‘High Stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, including online measures. The outcomes of this evaluation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) registered parks, (b) gardens and (c) designed landscapes are currently classed as at risk in each local authority.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the most recent data held by her Department on the number of registered parks and gardens within each local authority area.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery on competition and consumer prices in the UK streaming market, on investment in UK film and TV productions, and on the viability of the UK cinema sector.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is aware that Netflix has submitted a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets as part of an ongoing acquisition process. As the bidding process is ongoing and no transaction has been finalised, it would not be appropriate to provide comment further on this individual case.
As set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government recognises that convergence in the TV and streaming market is leading to greater consolidation as companies seek economies of scale. Should any proposed transaction progress, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for examining implications for competition and consumers. The Government has committed to asking the CMA, working with Ofcom, to set out how changes in the sector could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of the television and advertising markets.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps have been taken to support the heritage sector in maintaining and restoring historic buildings.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is committed to supporting the heritage sector in maintaining and restoring historic buildings,through direct funding and partnership working.
We provide significant financial support through our Arm's-Length Bodies, primarily Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who last year spent £287.2m on heritage. We have introduced dedicated funding streams, such as the £4.85m Heritage Revival Fund and the £15m Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, which provides support for the rescue, repair, and adaptive reuse of neglected historic buildings, often focusing on community-led projects and regeneration in deprived areas.
DCMS also supports maintenance through specialist schemes, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which helps cover the cost of VAT on repairs and has been extended until March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the BBC about introducing pro-rata refunds when a TV licence is cancelled part way through the year, as is currently the case with road tax.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC is responsible for administering the Television licence, and as the BBC is independent from Government, refunds are an operational issue for the BBC. The Television Licensing website sets out that households can apply for a refund if they won’t need their licence again before it expires, and they have at least one complete month left on it. Households eligible for an over 75 or blind concession can apply for a refund at any time and for any length of time left on their licence.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the BBC about abolishing the licence fee.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current Charter period, meaning that there will be no changes to the model until at least 31 December 2027.
Looking further ahead, the forthcoming Charter Review will consider a range of issues, including how the BBC can continue to prosper supported by a sustainable funding model. DCMS has been engaging with the BBC on a range of issues as we prepare to launch the review.