Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 stakeholders on the potential merits of extending the Listed Places of Worship Scheme beyond March 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Minister for Heritage and her officials have had numerous conversations with stakeholders about the Listed Places of Worship scheme. The scheme is funded until March 2026 or when the budget is spent, whichever is earlier.
The future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme after March 2026 will be announced when the outcome of the Spending Review and business planning processes have completed.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, further to the recent announcement of £400m UK Government funding for grassroots sports facilities, how much will go to (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 providing funding for (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 increase the provision of (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 increase access to padel courts in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of harmonising gambling tax rates on the horseracing industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
There has been ministerial engagement between my Department and His Majesty’s Treasury to ensure that they are aware of the specific way British horseracing is funded and the potential implications of any changes to taxation.
Future proposals on Gambling Duties are a matter for HMT, should legislative changes come about, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 accessibility of sports facilities in rural communities.
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 sport and leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.
We want to support more people to get involved in sport and physical activity wherever they live. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase opportunities for women and girls to participate in grassroots sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.
The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active 1.6 million women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.
The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup marks the beginning of a decade of women’s sporting moments. Since summer 2024, the Government has invested £6.7 million into the tournament's legacy programme Impact '25, reaching 37,000 women and girls in the year leading up to this World Cup alone. Funding from this programme has been used to make facilities more accessible for women, train new female coaches and match officials and provide sanitary packages to clubs nationwide.
Following the outstanding achievements of the Lionesses in recent major tournaments, we will ensure that the impact of these achievements is felt by future generations of aspiring Lionesses by doubling priority access to facilities we invest in, reserved peak-time slots and women and girls-only evenings.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve local government support for arts and culture.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Local authorities play a vital role in supporting the arts and cultural institutions, but they operate independently of central government. Ministers have no remit to intervene in the day to day affairs and decisions of local authorities, except where specific provision has been made in legislation.
The government is already taking action via the provisional 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement to begin addressing the significant challenges facing local government. Over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services was announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, including £1.3 billion which will go through the Settlement.
The government has also provided funding to local authorities to strengthen their arts, cultural, heritage, and visitor economy provision through programmes such as the Cultural Development Fund, the Museum and Estate Development Fund, and High Streets Heritage Action Zones.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure access to high-quality local journalism.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sustainability of high-quality local journalism is a priority for this Government.
We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level. This means reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.
We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops and will announce further details in due course.