Oral Answers to Questions

David Chadwick Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

The hon. Gentleman talks about my “version of support”; it is not mine, actually. This Government have put this generation of young people, who were so badly let down by the hon. Gentleman’s party over many years, back in the driving seat of their own lives. This is not my strategy; it is theirs, and we are determined to deliver on their promise.

It is a bit rich for Conservatives to sit there and talk about letting down young people, after the devastation that they wreaked for so long on a generation, and given that, as the hon. Gentleman well knows, we announced in the Budget investment to ensure that the 1 million young people not in education, employment or training, who the Conservatives had left on the scrapheap, now have guaranteed work, education or training as a right. What did the Conservatives do? They opposed every single measure in that Budget, they opposed all the ways in which we proposed to pay for it, and they labelled it a boost to welfare provision. He knows full well that it is the lifeline that young people have been waiting for.

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

Many Members from across the House have raised with me their deep concern following the broadcast of a highly offensive racial slur during the BBC’s broadcast of the BAFTAs. As Members would expect, I was in contact with the director-general immediately following the broadcast, and I am pleased that an investigation is now under way to ensure that this never happens again.

May I also take this opportunity to congratulate Team GB on their most successful winter Olympics ever? To update the House, since we last met, we have unveiled the biggest ever investment in the arts. This Government are committed to ensuring that the arts are for everyone, everywhere.

[David Chadwick]

Despite a spirited performance at the weekend, Welsh rugby is in crisis. Clubs are demanding a vote of no confidence, and supporters fear a stitch-up that wipes the Ospreys off the map, ending professional rugby in Swansea. Does the Secretary of State agree that the leadership of the Welsh Rugby Union has lost the confidence of the grassroots game, and should step aside?

[Lisa Nandy]

Rugby union plays a vital role in our national identity. It matters to hugely to many Members of this House, almost as much as rugby league—the finest form of rugby, Mr Speaker. I appreciate the serious concerns of Welsh rugby fans, including the hon. Gentleman. He knows that the UK Government have no role in the operations of Welsh Rugby Union. Welsh sports policy is the responsibility of the Welsh Government and Sport Wales, so I strongly suggest that he raise his concerns with them.