Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information she holds on the number of privately-owned swimming pools and leisure centres by year from 2015 to 2025-26.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming and leisure facilities.

Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, monitors facilities stock through their Active Places dataset. As of March 2026, there are 4,070 operational swimming pools for public access, with 1,669 owned by a Local Authority.

As of December 2025, there were 804 operational sports halls owned by Local Authorities.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information she holds on the number of publicly-owned swimming pools and leisure centres by year from 2015 to 2025/26.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming and leisure facilities.

Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, monitors facilities stock through their Active Places dataset. As of March 2026, there are 4,070 operational swimming pools for public access, with 1,669 owned by a Local Authority.

As of December 2025, there were 804 operational sports halls owned by Local Authorities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Integrated Care Boards on policies on liothyronine, including requiring Exceptional/Individual Funding Requests and applying bans on new patients; and if he will issue guidance to prevent restrictions where NHS England guidance supports its use in some patients.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not held any discussions with integrated care boards regarding their policies on liothyronine. NHS England regional teams have distributed the Items that should not be prescribed in primary care policy guidance to local healthcare systems. These systems are responsible for ensuring that prescribing practices follow the guidance provided.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that Integrated Care Boards follow NHS England guidance on liothyronine.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not held any discussions with integrated care boards regarding their policies on liothyronine. NHS England regional teams have distributed the Items that should not be prescribed in primary care policy guidance to local healthcare systems. These systems are responsible for ensuring that prescribing practices follow the guidance provided.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the BBC's report entitled A BBC For All: Our response to the government’s Green Paper, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the £500 million savings over two years on economic growth generated by the creative industries.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century.

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 reductions in the BBC's budget on the provision of media literacy resources.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the BBC's report entitled A BBC For All: Our response to the government’s Green Paper, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the £500 million savings over two years on the classical music industry and the provision of music education.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the BBC's report entitled A BBC For All: Our response to the government’s Green Paper, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the £500 million savings over two years on the proliferation of mis- and disinformation in the UK.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century.

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 merits of delivering a long-term sustainable funding settlement for the BBC.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is a vital national institution and an engine of the nations and regions. In that context, this news is concerning for the BBC workforce who are facing significant uncertainty, and for the sector as a whole. The BBC is delivering significant savings, which requires difficult decisions to be made independent of the Government. The BBC have stated that there will be more information on their plans later this year. Looking ahead, the Charter Review aims to deliver a BBC that is sustainably funded in a way that sets the BBC on a path to thrive until well into the latter half of this century.

Palantir Technologies, Peter Thiel and the NHS (No. 2)