Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 address the role of algorithmic recommendation systems in promoting harmful or addictive content, including gambling, to children.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Gambling Commission regulates gambling, including online gambling. Gambling operators advertising in the UK must comply with advertising codes, which ensure that gambling advertising is not targeted at children. When operators fall short, the ASA can take action or refer them to the Gambling Commission for possible enforcement action. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders to further strengthen protections.
Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. As outlined in the Online Safety Act, in scope social media companies and search services are required to protect children from harmful content. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to use should services not comply with their duties. Our children's wellbeing consultation seeks views on how we can go further, including exploring if age-restrictions should be applied to addictive features, such as algorithms.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of trends in under-18 participation in gambling activities, including via online platforms and apps.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The 2025 Young People in Gambling Survey demonstrated that gambling activity by under-18s increased from 27% to 30% compared with the previous year. This was driven by a 3% increase in unregulated gambling, such as private betting between friends and family, to 18%.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 that child protection frameworks keep pace with technological developments in digital platforms and online gambling.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders including social media platforms to further strengthen protections. As outlined in the Online Safety Act, in scope social media companies and search services are required to protect children from harmful content. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to use should services not comply with their duties. Our children's wellbeing consultation seeks views on how we can go further, including exploring if age-restrictions should be applied to addictive features, such as algorithms.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 role of AI chatbots in promoting or directing children to illegal online gambling.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We take the issue of children being directed to illegal gambling sites very seriously.
AI chatbots covered by the Online Safety Act must protect all users from illegal content. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure these rules keep pace with technology and will not hesitate to go further if there is evidence to do so.
More broadly, the Government is committed to tackling illegal gambling through the Illegal Gambling Taskforce. We will therefore consider examples of chatbots promoting illegal sites to children, in conjunction with other issues, when deciding on the best next steps to increase protections against illegal gambling.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has made on the development of a national youth strategy; what discussions she has had with youth sector organisations on its design; and how she plans to ensure that young people are involved in all stages of the strategy's (a) development and (b) implementation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are co-producing the National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people and cross-sector experts to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
We have set up a Youth Advisory Group and an Expert Advisory Group to provide expertise, challenge and a range of perspectives throughout our development of the strategy. DCMS has engaged with over 20,000 young people through a national survey, roundtables, in-person and online focus groups, and ‘hacks’ across England. We have also engaged with over 1,400 practitioners from a range of sectors including youth, arts, sports, culture and civil society to understand the current needs and priority areas for improvement.
We will publish the National Youth Strategy in the autumn. We are working closely across government and with young people and the youth sector on the first steps of delivery.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to p.57 of the report by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award entitled Youth Voices, published 23 July 2024, if she will make it her policy to ensure that the views of young people are represented (a) at all levels of policy and decision-making and (b) in decisions on issues that affect young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the value of effective youth participation in decision making at all levels. We understand this leads to impactful policy locally, regionally and nationally.
Youth consultation opportunities are being held across various government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to shape policies on youth employment, communities, and environmental improvement.
We are currently co-producing the National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people and the youth sector. DCMS has already conducted Ministerial roundtables with young people and over the coming months will conduct a number of different engagement activities with young people, including focus groups. We launched a national survey on 5 March 2025 to ask young people about their issues and priorities.
We have also produced an engagement toolkit so MPs can run their own workshops and discussions with young people, or share this toolkit with organisations in their constituencies who work with young people.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
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 3 February 2025 to Question 26625 on Multi-sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, if she will publish the 521 projects that remain incomplete.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government published a list of funded Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities projects on 8th October 2024 on Gov.uk. The lists can be found here and include funded projects that are either due to start, in progress or complete.
We are committed to publishing a regularly updated list of funded and completed projects, with the next to be published in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme projects have (a) been completed and (b) remain incomplete since the start of this Parliament.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Since 9 July 2024, a total of 637 Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities projects have been completed across the UK. Projects funded include new and upgraded artificial grass pitches, clubhouses, changing rooms, floodlights, and pitch maintenance equipment.
As of 30 January 2025, 521 projects identified for funding remain incomplete.