Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department took steps to help prevent the closure of the British Youth Council.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council (BYC). Over its 75 year legacy, the BYC supported thousands of young people to become politically engaged and create positive change both in their local communities and internationally. DCMS was informed of the significant financial challenges faced by the BYC at the end of February 2024. The scale of these challenges unfortunately meant that DCMS could not provide emergency funding as this would not meet the key standards of Managing Public Money.
The Government is absolutely committed to the UK Youth Parliament and to ensuring that it continues to both represent and amplify the voices of young people. We have been working with UK Youth Parliament delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of the BYC’s closure. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25, and will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. We are also exploring how best to maintain and develop representation at the local authority level.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding per person has been allocated to (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) all other constituencies under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to delivering top class sports facilities across the country, so that everyone can take part in sport and physical activity. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots sport facilities across the UK.
The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is investing over £325 million between 2021 and 2025 to level up facilities across the whole of the UK. It is a rolling programme and potential applicants can discuss an application with the Foundation at any time. Their website sets out the different grants available.
In regards to Ellesmere Port and Neston, £1,440 has been invested into the constituency since 2021 (£0.02p per capita based on the constituency total population data on House of Commons Library). £1,440 was awarded to Groves F.C for new goal posts in 2022-2023.
Constituencies across the UK have received a share of the funding delivered so far, delivering real change in communities UK-wide. Sites that have already benefited from the funding, including Groves FC, are listed on gov.uk at the link below, and can be used to calculate the investment per capita for all other UK constituencies, with further projects due to be announced later this year.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients of funding was from the Million Hours Fund since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Million Hours Fund is investing £22 million in youth organisations across England to enable them to deliver additional hours of positive activities for young people in areas with higher levels of anti-social behaviour.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the Million Hours Fund in 2023, alongside The National Lottery Community Fund (TNCLF), who have provided match funding and are also delivering the Fund. The Fund is split into two delivery phases: Phase 1 was delivered during the summer of 2023 and Phase 2 awards are currently being finalised, with delivery planned until March 2026.
The value of grants awarded under Phase 1 is £3,776,551 and 430 organisations received funding. These figures are correct as of 16/04/2024. More details on the value and number of organisations receiving awards under Phase 2 will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to support (a) Australian rules football, (b) ice hockey and (c) surfing.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Supporting grassroots sport is a key government priority and we are committed to ensuring everyone, no matter their age, background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active. In our sport strategy ‘Get Active’ we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation, with a target to get 3.5 million more people classed as ‘active’ by 2030.
The Government provides support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.
Since 2019 Sport England has provided the following support:
Australian rules football- £100,020
Ice hockey- £2,060,816
Surfing- £1,362,561
Sport England also provides support for grassroots sport through a range of available funds, including the Small Grants Programme and the Active Together Fund. Further information on these funds and eligibility criteria can be found here.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with sports governing bodies on banning transgender athletes participating in women’s sporting competitions.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport recently hosted a roundtable with a group of national governing bodies to stress the Government’s position that competitive fairness and safety for women and girls cannot come at the expense of the inclusion of transgender athletes, and to understand how various governing bodies have developed their policies on this issue.
We will continue to engage with sports on this issue to understand what work national governing bodies are doing to protect women’s sport.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the affordability of the BBC licence fee for people on lower incomes; and if she will make an assessment of the potential steps she can take to increase the affordability of the licence fee for those people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Having considered the cost of living pressures faced by households, the Government decided to change how the inflation-linked uplifts to the licence fee are calculated for 2024. The decision was made to ensure the additional cost to licence fee payers is kept as low as possible while giving the BBC over £3.7 billion in annual licence fee funding to spend on world leading content and deliver on its mission as set out in the Charter.
More broadly, the government believes that there are challenges around the sustainability of the current licence fee funding model, and is therefore conducting a review of the BBC’s funding model.
The Review is assessing a range of options for funding the BBC. It is looking at how alternative models could help secure the broadcaster’s long-term sustainability amid an evolving media landscape, increased competition and changing audience behaviour, while reducing the burden on licence fee payers.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients was of the (i) National Lottery Heritage Fund’s grant programme and (ii) Heritage Emergency Fund in (A) the UK and (B) Wales since 2010.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In total, through all Lottery-funded programmes since 2010, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded a total of £3,923,036,950 to recipients across the UK.
In the financial year 2020–21, The National Lottery Heritage Fund made 956 awards across the UK, totalling £49,988,885, through the Heritage Emergency Fund, part of a package of support provided to the heritage sector as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In total, since 2010, the National Lottery Heritage Fund awards across all Lottery funded programmes has awarded a total of £221,956,000 to recipients in Wales.
In the financial year 2020–21, The National Lottery Heritage Fund made 53 awards in Wales, totalling £2,744,200, through the Heritage Emergency Fund, part of a package of support provided to the heritage sector as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many grants were made to film and TV production companies through the (a) Global Screen Fund, (b) Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, (c) Creative industries: Sector Deal and (d) Creative Industries Sector Vision since 2010; and what the total value was of these grants.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the continued success of the Film and TV sectors and we have a consistent track record of supporting them. Funding from DCMS has, and continues to, provide critical support to production companies across the UK:
The £21 million UK Global Screen Fund was introduced in 2021. Since inception it has supported 179 awards totalling £13.91 million. You can find out more about the awards made and the pilot year evaluation via: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/funding-support-international-activity/uk-global-screen-fund
The £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme was established in 2020. It did not provide grant funding, but allowed 1,259 productions to purchase indemnity cover during the pandemic. Claims for compensation are currently being processed and are expected to total £49.5m, with 348 claims paid at September 2023. You can find out more about the scheme through the impact evaluation which was published in April 2023 via: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/film-and-tv-production-restart-scheme-impact-evaluation
The Creative Industries Sector Deal and the Creative Industries Sector Vision covered a wide range of schemes including the measures mentioned above. It is not possible to provide figures on the number of production companies supported and total value of grants provided across all these measures. However, there are ongoing evaluations for individual programmes which we would encourage you to look at where available.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the BBC’s decision to cut Radio 4’s In Touch show from 20 to 15 minutes on accessibility.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet the BBC’s leadership to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC’s Royal Charter and Framework Agreement sets out what the BBC is required to deliver. The BBC has a range of obligations to ensure its services are accessible. The BBC is obliged to provide output and services which meet the needs of the United Kingdom’s nations, regions and communities, reflects the diversity of the United Kingdom; to observe guidance within Ofcom’s TV Access Services Code in relation to the provision of access services; and in adhering to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom in the BBC’s Operating Licence, to publish in Annual Report, how it has reflected, represented and served the diverse communities of the whole of the United Kingdom, including with regards to disability.
In meeting these obligations, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and BBC programming decisions are a matter for the BBC, not for the Government.
As the BBC’s independent regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding the BBC to account on these regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with the BBC Board on the decision to cut Radio 4’s In Touch show from 20 to 15 minutes.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet the BBC’s leadership to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC’s Royal Charter and Framework Agreement sets out what the BBC is required to deliver. The BBC has a range of obligations to ensure its services are accessible. The BBC is obliged to provide output and services which meet the needs of the United Kingdom’s nations, regions and communities, reflects the diversity of the United Kingdom; to observe guidance within Ofcom’s TV Access Services Code in relation to the provision of access services; and in adhering to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom in the BBC’s Operating Licence, to publish in Annual Report, how it has reflected, represented and served the diverse communities of the whole of the United Kingdom, including with regards to disability.
In meeting these obligations, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and BBC programming decisions are a matter for the BBC, not for the Government.
As the BBC’s independent regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding the BBC to account on these regulatory obligations.