Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the consultation on Strengthening the Process for Retaining National Treasures.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently analysing the responses to the 'Strengthening the Process for Retaining National Treasures' public consultation. The anaylsis is almost complete and a Government response will be issued following collective agreement, in line with standard procedures.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the consultation on Strengthening the Process for Retaining National Treasures, what plans she has to strengthen the process for retaining national treasures; and whether her Department has taken steps to implement the recommendations made by Sir Nigel Carrington.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My Department is taking forward work to implement Sir Nigel Carrington’s recommendations: We are currently analysing the responses to the 'Strengthening the Process for Retaining National Treasures' public consultation. The analysis is almost complete and a Government Response will be issued following collective agreement, in line with standard procedures.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the role of free to air sport on public participation in sport.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government’s Sporting Future strategy set out the importance of people accessing and experiencing major sporting events and the important outcomes that this can contribute to. It was also clear that Government wants to see sport’s inspirational impact have as broad a reach as possible.UK Sport studies show the motivational power of sport, with two thirds of the British public saying they have been inspired by the success of our Olympic and Paralympic teams and 40% of these people being motivated to do more sport or active recreation than normal.
Government welcomes the BBC's announcement that it will stream over 1000 hours of extra sport a year. Along with the BBC Connected Sport app, this will allow greater access for fans across the country to view sport. Government also welcomes the decision by Sky to show the final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup on free-to-air television (Channel 4 and More 4), giving millions of viewers the opportunity to unite behind the England team.
Sport England is investing over £1.2bn in grassroots sport over 2016-21 to ensure that there are opportunities for people from all backgrounds and levels of ability to get active.Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of schoolgirls aged between 11 and 18 participated in at least 30 minutes of sport at least once a week in 2018.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The first set of data from Sport England’s world-leading Active Lives: Children and Young People survey was released in December 2018. It shows that 33.6% of girls in years 7-8 and 27.7% of girls in years 9-11 do 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day. Activity is measured in daily levels, to align with the Chief Medical Officers’ guidance for children and young people.
Levels of activity for girls aged over 16 are captured by the Active Lives (adult) survey, which has a slightly different methodology and so cannot be directly compared. Both surveys are available on Sport England’s website.
Government is committed to addressing the gender gap in physical activity levels for boys and girls, including the drop-off in engagement from primary to secondary school. It is important that girls have access to the right sporting opportunities, both in and out of school.
This is something government committed to tackle in the Sporting Future strategy, and which will be addressed as part of the new School Sport and Activity Action Plan which will be published before the summer recess.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to assess the level of racism directed at sports players by spectators.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is absolutely no place for racism and race related crime in sport or anywhere in society. We have seen some worrying instances of discriminatory behaviour recently, most notably in football. Following the summit I chaired with football leaders on 25th February 2019, Government is working with key groups to deliver clear, tangible actions to tackle racism at all levels of football. The intention is to announce these interventions, in partnership with football, later in the year.
It is vital that the atmosphere and environment in which sport and physical activity takes place in our communities - be it grassroots or at the elite level - is safe, supportive and free of discrimination. Sport clubs and fans must continue to embrace diversity and tackle racism whenever they encounter it.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to prevent race-related crime at sports fixtures.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is absolutely no place for racism and race related crime in sport or anywhere in society. We have seen some worrying instances of discriminatory behaviour recently, most notably in football. Following the summit I chaired with football leaders on 25th February 2019, Government is working with key groups to deliver clear, tangible actions to tackle racism at all levels of football. The intention is to announce these interventions, in partnership with football, later in the year.
It is vital that the atmosphere and environment in which sport and physical activity takes place in our communities - be it grassroots or at the elite level - is safe, supportive and free of discrimination. Sport clubs and fans must continue to embrace diversity and tackle racism whenever they encounter it.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the financial sustainability of music venues of extending business rates relief to those venues.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Grassroots venues are an important part of our music ecosystem and the Hon member will be aware of the assistance the Government has already been able to give them in planning and licensing policy.
We have also announced a £300 million rate relief fund that allows councils to provide support to businesses, like music venues, facing increased bills. We are exploring what more can be done.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timeframe is for the announcement of plans to reform the regulation of society lotteries.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The consultation on society lottery reform closed on 7 September 2018 and received over 1,600 responses. I have also met with key stakeholders in the lotteries sector to hear their views on the reform options. I am carefully considering the evidence and I hope to respond to the consultation before the summer recess.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to assess the effect of concussion on athletes’ mental health.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The 2015 government sport strategy, Sporting Future highlighted the importance of welfare and well-being in sport. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thomson’s subsequent Duty of Care report, published in April 2017 made recommendations around the treatment of concussion and the duties that national governing bodies have regarding athletes’ physical and mental health.
Sport National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sport and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm, including serious injuries.
In March 2018 DCMS published a mental health and elite sport action plan which sets out some key areas for further work around the clarity of support available, sharing of best practice across the sport sector and improved mental health education and training in sport.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to encourage female participation in team sports at (a) amateur and (b) professional level.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The fantastic performances at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, the UEFA Women’s Euros, World Athletics Championships, Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games among others, have been truly inspirational. It is vital we build on these successes at the grassroots and elite levels.
This government supports some fantastic initiatives that encourage women to take up sport and physical activity at the grassroots level. For example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign which promotes team sports such as rugby, basketball and goalball. Sport England have also committed around £85 million into the England talent system and currently fund England Talent Pathways in 43 sports (including team sports). In August 2018 Sport England published their Talent Plan in which they committed to working with new partners to identify and develop talent from under-represented groups in other environments or locations.