Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Department's report of 18 July 2023 entitled Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of those protections on protecting consumers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, there are appropriate protections in place for players of all ages.
To improve those protections, industry-led guidance was published in 2023 with a 12-month implementation period after which DCMS commissioned independent academic research into its effectiveness. We will publish the research shortly, alongside our next steps.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 access to sports and physical activity facilities in areas of South Basildon and East Thurrock with higher levels of deprivation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. Sport England works closely with local partners, including Active Essex, to support community-led interventions to improve access to sport and physical activity. The constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock received a total of £17,600 of Sport England funding in 2024/2025.
In June, following the Spending Review we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working 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: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will review the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for (a) the Common Ground Fund and (b) other capital funding schemes at helping to increase levels of support for community organisations seeking to acquire their first building.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of community spaces and buildings which offer vital resources for communities across the country.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has policy responsibility for community assets and community development. In September 2025 MHCLG launched the Common Ground Award to invest capital funding into VCSE sector organisations that are bringing people together from different backgrounds, supporting the cost of constructing or renovating facilities, or the purchasing of equipment to deliver services. Organisations are not required to own the property from which they operate to be eligible for the Award.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have policy responsibility for community ownership and has not conducted its own assessment of the eligibility criteria or impact of capital funding schemes.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 capital funding schemes that exclude organisations without property holdings on community development.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of community spaces and buildings which offer vital resources for communities across the country.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has policy responsibility for community assets and community development. In September 2025 MHCLG launched the Common Ground Award to invest capital funding into VCSE sector organisations that are bringing people together from different backgrounds, supporting the cost of constructing or renovating facilities, or the purchasing of equipment to deliver services. Organisations are not required to own the property from which they operate to be eligible for the Award.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have policy responsibility for community ownership and has not conducted its own assessment of the eligibility criteria or impact of capital funding schemes.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what resources have been allocated to (a) schools, (b) leisure centres and (c) youth clubs in Essex to deliver the objectives of the Let’s Move campaign.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Let’s Move campaign launched on the 3rd November and the Department has since been sharing its campaign resources with partners across Essex who are working to increase physical activity in the area and/or who have significant reach with parents of the 7-11 year olds that we are reaching through this campaign. This includes working closely with Active Essex, to share resources with schools, sports clubs, leisure centres and youth groups that will reach these audiences and point them to the Better Health - Healthier families webpage to find further information about simple ways to get active together.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 awareness of the Let’s Move campaign in South Basildon and East Thurrock Constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The localised Let's Move campaign is designed to inspire children ages 7 - 11 and their families to build more movement into their everyday lives. The campaign, which launched on 3rd November, is being piloted in targeted areas of Sandwell, Lancashire, Essex, Blackpool and Bradford where inactivity levels and inequalities are greater than other parts of the country. These areas all receive funding from Sport England, via their place partnership programme, to increase provision and ensure those in greatest need can be active.
We have varying evaluation methods in place to demonstrate the awareness and impact of the campaign across Essex, but will not have this evaluation finalised until the campaign finishes at the end of March.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 adequacy of grant schemes for charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This government recognises the vital role that charities play in providing crucial support to different groups and communities. Although no formal assessment of grant schemes is planned, Ministers and officials regularly engage with VCSE sector representatives to understand and respond to issues within the sector.
DCMS is promoting the availability of funding for smaller charities in several ways. This includes delivery of a number of grant schemes, such as the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund and the Social Enterprise Boost Fund. Support for charities is also available through social investment. The Dormant Assets Scheme Strategy, published in June 2025, announced that the Scheme is expected to release £440 million for England over 2024-28, with £87.5 million of this funding allocated towards social investment.
There are also ways for charities to search for further funding opportunities, including:
‘Find a grant’ - a service that allows organisations to search for government grants. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-government-grants)
funding opportunities hosted by The National Lottery Community Fund (https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding)
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to provide funding for charities supporting young people that do not meet the eligibility criteria for the (a) Youth Investment Fund and (b) Better Youth Spaces Fund.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy in the autumn, which will outline future priorities and funding opportunities for the youth sector.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 ensure that taxpayer-funded local radio stations continue to produce content that is tailored to local audiences, rather than shifting towards increased national programming; and what steps she has taken to help protect the distinct local character and public service value of such stations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Local radio continues to bring localities together by reflecting local experiences and delivering local news and information.
The BBC is the only public radio broadcaster and is funded by the licence fee. It is for the BBC to decide how it delivers its services, given it is operationally independent from the Government. However, the BBC is required under the terms of its Charter and its Framework to continue to provide distinctive and genuinely local radio services, with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK.
Local commercial radio stations, which are not tax payer funded, that broadcast on AM or FM are subject to requirements to provide local news and information and these requirements were recently revised by the Media Act 2024. The implementation of the revised local news requirements is currently being reviewed by Ofcom, following the closure of a consultation on 22 September 2025.
Community radio stations - such as Gateway 97.8 which covers the Basildon area - provide an essential contribution to local audiences with tailored content of a distinct local character. Whilst community radio stations are mostly funded by advertising and community support, DCMS does provide financial support to community radio stations through the Community Radio Fund. This is operated by Ofcom, and provides grant funding to to support the sustainability and growth of the sector.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) report on the cost-effectiveness of the interventions funded by the Better Futures Fund.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS are currently in the policy development stages of the Fund; therefore, decisions on funding criteria and eligibility are yet to be confirmed, with an aim to publish policy guidance in 2026 which will indicate the overall fund timelines.
As announced in July 2025, the fund will support up to 200,000 struggling children, young people and their families over ten years and will focus on innovative impact funding projects that seek to break down barriers to opportunity and deliver on the government’s Plan for Change. DCMS has already begun engagement with a range of stakeholders including local and central government, the impact economy, and representatives from the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.
The funding will primarily be for the commissioning of Social Outcomes Partnerships, in which government payments are tied to the achievement of measurable improvements in people’s lives, such as school attainment, improved youth employment or reduced youth reoffending. Outcomes-based commissioning means that individual outcomes are monitored in order for payments from government to be released depending on these specific outcomes being achieved.
The Better Futures Fund will be supported by a robust and comprehensive evaluation that will also assess cost effectiveness while monitoring that the objectives of the fund have been met.