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 from the Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund was in (i) the UK and (ii) Hampshire.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF) was a £76 million fund for critical frontline services helping low-income households in England through last winter. It was announced at the Spring Budget 2023 as part of the £101.5 million to support VCSE organisations struggling with cost of living pressures.
Details of the first 865 grants awarded through CCLF have been published on gov.uk and details of all remaining grants awarded will be announced later this summer. As of 4th December 2023, 16 organisations in Hampshire have been awarded a total of £742,433.86.
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, which sport facilities have been successful in their application for funding under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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. The programme provides funding to make essential facility improvements, so that communities have a high-quality pitch to play on, and is a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to levelling up all corners of the United Kingdom.
Since 2021, over £200 million has been invested in over 2,400 sites across the UK, improving the natural and artificial grass pitches on offer to communities and upgrading floodlights, goalposts, changing rooms and toilet facilities. All funded projects are listed on gov.uk at this link:
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, how many grants have been made through the Park Tennis Court Programme in (a) Wales and (b) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As part of the Park Tennis Court Programme, the UK Government and Lawn Tennis Association are investing £30 million between 2022-2024 to deliver improvements to up to 3,000 park tennis courts across Great Britain. The renovation works include the installation of digital access gates, re-surfacing, and re-painting - all of which aim to improve access and increase participation in tennis, whilst prioritising the courts in the most deprived communities.
Since the start of the programme, over £800,000 has been invested in Wales with 89 tennis courts across 36 parks renovated directly as a result of investment from the Programme. A further £1.2 million will be invested in park tennis courts across Wales before autumn 2024, meaning in total the programme is forecast to invest £2 million renovating 178 courts across 65 parks in Wales. Completed tennis courts are listed on gov.uk here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/park-tennis-court-programme-completed-projects
More broadly, sport is a devolved matter and therefore support for grassroots sport and physical activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is generally the responsibility of the respective Home Nations Sports Councils and devolved governments. In England, we provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Prior to the Park Tennis Court Programme, from 2010 - 2022, Sport England provided over £59 million of support to programmes to facilitate participation in grassroots tennis in England. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Please find the information here,
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15100 on Rugby: Sixways Stadium, whether her Department has had discussions with Begbies Traynor on setting the criteria for which its decision on proposals from Bond Group Sixways for rugby to be resumed at Sixways Stadium will be made.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Throughout the pandemic the Government went above and beyond through the Sport Survival Package to provide a range of sports organisations across the country with generous financial support to ensure their survival throughout that difficult period. The Premiership Rugby club, Worcester Warriors, who played at Sixways Stadium were loaned money via the SSP.
In September 2022 Begbies Traynor were appointed as Administrators of Worcester Rugby Football Club (WRFC) Trading and Joint Receivers in relation to further companies within the structure of WRFC Trading. As Administrators, Begbies Traynor have a duty to act in the best interests of creditors and so the Department, as one of those creditors, has a limited role in those proceedings. It is for the Administrator to determine the best course of action to deliver on this objective in line with the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended).
Bond Group should present their best offer to Begbies Traynors, who can evaluate the proposal and discuss with DCMS.
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 she plans to take steps to help maintain youth representation at the local authority level in the context of 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: 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.