Grassroots Cricket Clubs

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is always a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) for setting the scene so well.

I have to say, I was never much good at cricket, to be truthful, but I loved it. I was one of those guys who went to the crease and would bat about three or four balls. Usually, my idea was just to hit the ball as hard as I could, and if I missed it, the wicket was away. My prowess at the cricket crease never lasted more than about four balls. But I never got a duck; I always got at least a four, a two and maybe a one, but that was as far as it went. However, cricket is one of the many sports that I enjoy watching. I still follow the Leicestershire cricket team; I do that because I followed the Leicester football team back in 1969, when I was at boarding school at Coleraine Inst.

When the Ashes come, everyone’s national pride rises. As my old mother always taught me, I always support the home nations, so I root alongside most of the hon. Members in this Chamber, whether it be for England, Scotland, Wales or indeed us back home. However, the benefit of cricket is not simply giving the Aussies what for once in a while—and I have to say, it is once in a while these days. The benefits are felt in communities throughout the United Kingdom.

I want to talk about those grassroots, as that is in the title of the debate. The benefits are felt everywhere. Grassroots cricket in Northern Ireland thrives through clubs under the Northern Cricket Union, offering youth and adult programmes across Northern Ireland. I am very proud to say that a number of the popular clubs lie within my constituency. There is absolutely no doubt that everybody else here is going to talk about their cricket clubs as well—and why shouldn’t they? We want to promote them. We have Ards cricket club, Bangor cricket club and North Down cricket club, which is in Comber and is probably one of the better ones out of the three. These cricket teams provide coaching, matches and community for all ages and genders, as seen with the initiatives from Cricket Ireland. I read a synopsis on cricket, which sums up the benefits to the local community as follows:

“Grassroots cricket clubs in Northern Ireland are vital community assets, fostering social cohesion, physical health, and personal development by providing inclusive, accessible sporting opportunities for all ages and abilities, building local pride, offering guidance, and creating spaces that bridge divides, supported by funding from Sport NI and local councils to improve facilities and coaching.”

All of those things are admirable.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the hon. Member agree that the work of fantastic charities such as Derbyshire Cricket Foundation is essential to nurturing the game from the ground up and ensuring that people from all walks of life can enjoy it?

[Jim Shannon]

I certainly do. The hon. Gentleman is certainly right to highlight the issue of Derbyshire, as I and the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) will do shortly; we will also highlight the attributes and the plusses of Leicestershire cricket team as well.

I love the fact that sport draws people together, as the hon. Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) referred to in his intervention. With the increase in adverse mental health in Northern Ireland, particularly in young men, we must promote and support these clubs, now more than ever, to help them get people involved and part of something worthwhile—something positive for them, that they can grasp and be part of—and hopefully take away the concerns, anxiety and even depression, sometimes, that they may have.

Only last month, the Communities Minister in Northern Ireland was at Lisburn cricket club to announce that its application has been approved for the next stage in the Olympic Legacy Fund. That fund is designed to build on those breathtaking Northern Ireland Olympic successes —and boy have we had a brave few in the last few years —and ensure a lasting legacy for local sport. It just so happens that the Communities Minister is one of my colleagues in Northern Ireland; I understand the good work that he does.

That funding will help sports clubs grow stronger, enable facilities to be modernised, and help communities come together through sport. I believe that it will secure many benefits for the local community. Indeed, part of that funding awarded by the Minister for Communities is reliant on the club also crowdfunding a contribution towards the total investment, so the money comes, but the club has to match it. That will mean community fundraising events, which will inevitably draw more people into involvement in the club.

It is clear that we must invest in the grassroots clubs that deliver so much in return. I look to the Minister—where it is within her remit—to ensure that clubs throughout the United Kingdom have access to funding to create fit-for-purpose clubs and facilities. This is not just simply about funding, but about an investment in health and mental wellbeing, and in communities. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response on what can be done to help those volunteer clubs that really are a lifeline in so many rural communities.

Local Media

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan—and that is not baloney, because I mean it.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) on leading the debate. Local media is so important, especially for our communities. I have listened closely to what Members have said so far, and others will endorse that because we are all on the same page—literally. I, for one, strongly believe in local media and everything it stands for, so that is why I am here.

From newspapers to local radio, we sometimes underestimate the role that local media plays in society. It is so important for the likes of us as public representatives. It allows us to get in touch with the reader or listener directly. I remember my first story in the local press: it was about potholes at the harbour in Ballywalter. The guy in charge of the council said to me, “You do that. It’s your lead-off story as you start your life as a councillor.” That was in 1985. I can remember many of the things that were done to highlight what I was working on in our local newspapers. It is not a generational issue—for me, it probably is—but many others now go online to TikTok or X to get their news, and perhaps do not purchase the likes of papers any more.

I have a routine: every Monday I make a phone call to the editor of the local paper, Paul Symington, when I am at the airport or on the tube train on the way here, and tell him the things I am going to campaign for that week. He is very kind, he wants stories about the things we do, and we do it with a purpose in mind. I am a great believer that one photograph in the local paper is worth three paragraphs, so I try to feature pictorially in the paper—although I might not look all that well—at least one to three times a week, maybe more, because that is another way to tell a story.

My local newspaper, the Newtownards Chronicle, started way back in 1873—over 145 years ago—and I would love it to remain for many years. It is still going strong—it is probably the strongest newspaper we have. I love reading about the local stories and what is going on around the villages in my constituency. It allows me, perhaps from a distance, to learn what is going on and, more so, what needs to be done.

Each Friday, I read and scour the local papers—the Chronicle, the Mourne Observer and sometimes the County Down Spectator—to get the stories about people who are retiring from schools, hospitals and churches, about those who are being installed or have done charity fundraising, and about the schools that have achieved something. After that, some 20 to 30 letters go out to individuals to congratulate them. We should use our local papers for that purpose—that is the right thing to do.

I have talked about the Newtownards Chronicle, but I was saddened to hear that the Down Recorder closed its doors very recently. That was another long-standing paper in the area. The owner Marcus Crichton, who is a great man, said it is a difficult time for the industry, and he is right. It is so different from how it was 20 to 30 years ago. My girls in the office are all tech-friendly—unlike myself, unfortunately—and they sometimes show me news headlines on their phone. I say to myself, “My goodness! How did they get that headline so quick?” In modern society, that is now the way our staff and others do that for us.

As I have stated before, my constituency as a whole is very rural, and many down my neck of the woods do not have access to the same broadband as some urban areas, so access to online news is not great. My constituents rely on the local post office or corner shop to get their news by buying their local Newtownards Chronicle, or they keep the one radio in their house on all day to get the updates. That is the essence of local news and media, and I will forever fight to protect that.

As we have heard today, and will hear from others, there is a dangerous shift in how media is being portrayed. I want to be a voice for the home-grown methods of giving the people their news, and for not always relying on online websites or social media apps, which are inaccessible for many. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response and the contributions of other Members.

Gambling: Regulatory Reform

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for leading this important debate, and for setting the scene so well for all of us. What brings me here, like many others who have spoken, are personal relationships with those who have a gambling addiction. That is foremost in my mind when we have debates that refer to gambling regulation.

Not so long ago I spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on gambling harm, particularly the impact on health and the damage it does to people across the United Kingdom, especially in Northern Ireland, where the rates are much higher. I am going to give some very worrying stats, but it is great to be here to further advocate better gambling regulation.

About 10 years ago, a couple from Northern Ireland came to me when they heard about gambling legislation and the problems with addiction, and they told me the story of their son. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) told the story about his friend, and this started off similarly, with small bets. However, all of a sudden it escalated to giant amounts of money, and he found himself in so much debt that he could not deal with it, and unfortunately he took his own life. When I think of gambling addiction, I think of those parents and their son, and I think of that loss of life. That story reminds me that there are consequences to gambling. There are many people who gamble for whom it is a flutter and nothing else, but for others it becomes an addiction—a life-focusing addiction that ultimately takes away their life.

I remember one morning getting some petrol from the garage, and there was a wee lady ahead of me in the queue, who had a pram and youngster outside. She bought £10-worth of lottery tickets. Forgive me for saying this, but as I see it, that lady had perhaps hoped that the £10 of lottery tickets would give her the money that she needed for her shopping—the money she needed for her children. I was at the back of the queue, she was at the front, so when I walked out of the shop, she had scraped off all the coverings on the tickets, but there were no winners. She had not won anything, but she had spent £10 on tickets. I realised that this lady was desperate, and had thought a flutter on lottery tickets would bring her the money she needed to help her pay for the groceries and look after her children. It was desperation. Sometimes gambling does that to ordinary people.

I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, and I look forward to his response. I will probably have an ask of him—indeed, I always do. In Northern Ireland there is legislation that is trying to change things, so I hope the Minister can update us on the Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to where the legislation is and how we can help them advance it. My understanding is that something has to be done here to make it happen there.

In the last Parliament, I was vice-chair of the APPG for gambling related harm. I was pleased to hear of the proposed changes to gambling regulations in last week’s Budget, when the Chancellor announced that the duty on remote online gambling will increase from 21% to 40%, starting next April. I fully support the Government’s Budget intentions—they are doing the right thing, in my opinion. There was also a change to online sports betting duty, from 15% to 25% from April 2027. Again, I support the Government on that; it is the right thing to do and it should have happened a long time ago.

We are all aware of the dangers of online betting, especially for young people. In the last 12 months there have been very worrying figures about Northern Ireland: 30% of 11 to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland have gambled in one form or another. Imagine if that was here on the mainland, in England, Wales or Scotland. It is really worrying.

There is no doubt that gambling is becoming increasingly more accessible, with the prevalence of people present online. The DUP leadership in the Northern Ireland Assembly has previously endorsed and used updated legislation that regulates gambling in Northern Ireland, due to the knock-on effect it has been proven to have on people’s lives. The recognition of the potential harm, based on evidence, is important. There is a willingness in Northern Ireland to change the legislation and to perhaps follow the direction that this Government have taken. The older framework for gambling has been described previously as outdated and there is no doubt that there is a need for change.

There are major issues surrounding the accessibility of gambling throughout the United Kingdom. I have seen first hand the devastation that gambling addiction can cause. From the emotional to the financial, the impacts are endless. Unfortunately, it is a hole that many struggle to get out of; they just seem to get in deeper and deeper, and into more and more debt. Sometimes, they see no way out.

The prevalence of gambling in Northern Ireland is among the highest in the whole of the United Kingdom. Reports have shown that Northern Ireland exceeds the mainland statistics by yards—indeed, probably by miles. We also have higher levels of poverty, poor mental health and social disadvantage. Adding gambling on top of that creates a very heavy issue and a potential for harm that is at times hard to comprehend.

We have the potential through this Budget to mark a turning point in how we regard gambling, particularly online and remote gambling. This is a clear step to taking responsibility, but more must still be done. This is not enough. The Government and this Budget have set a trend that I and many others welcome, but it is not enough.

All regions across the whole of the United Kingdom need to do more to ensure that this is not an accessible process. We must embed robust safeguards to protect young people, address online gambling and aid vulnerable individuals and those who already face hardships, which means stronger regulation of advertising and tighter restrictions.

I look forward very much to seeing the plans put into action and to enhancing the regulation across the whole of the United Kingdom. Today, I look forward very much to the Minister’s reply to the requests we are putting to him. I believe the Government are going in the right direction. Let us do more. Let us save all these young people with addictions and give them the chance to have a better life, which we are duty bound to provide.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I can update my hon. Friend. Among the measures that we announced recently, we have introduced resale volume limits, which will prevent people from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the primary sale. Alongside the price cap, the Competition and Markets Authority will be able to fine non-compliant platforms up to 10% of their annual turnover, which could mean multimillion-pound fines for rogue firms if they target UK consumers.

In the case of Oasis, as many in this House will know, one of the great challenges was that many of the fans going into that queue did not know that the surge pricing model was being used, so they did not realise that they would paying vastly inflated prices by the time they got to the front of the queue. The CMA has looked at this and is taking steps to ensure that consumers have the full range of information that they need to prevent that from happening in future.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I am aware of tickets for the Belsonic event at the Boucher Road playing fields in Belfast previously appearing on secondary sites at more than four times their original price within minutes of going on sale, so I welcome the news from the Secretary of State. What progress has been made on perhaps introducing a 5% to 10% cap on the resale of concert tickets?

[Lisa Nandy]

In terms of the resale of concert tickets, we have taken a decision after a long period of consultation to cap the resale at the original price. The hon. Gentleman mentions some examples, and there are others; just recently, I looked at some Radiohead tickets that were on sale originally for £100 and were being resold on one of these platforms for more than £1,000. That is an absolute rip-off for fans and has gone on in plain sight for far too long, which is why we have announced that tickets will be resold for the original price. Time is up for the ticket touts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Smith]

My constituency of Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney is 1,200 feet above sea level and we get snow a lot, so “Just be careful what you ask for” might have been good advice to that lovely eight-year-old. Of course, we need to improve access to this place. Fairer access to Parliament is a good cause, and our education department does good work in this sphere, but if the hon. Gentleman wants to make further inquiries, I am very happy to help him.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is important that all children of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland get an opportunity to come here, because it broadens their horizons and gives them an idea of how decisions are made here. However, children from Northern Ireland cannot just jump on a coach or a train; they have to go by plane, which costs more. I know that the House makes moneys available to help children come here, but obviously booking a plane for 10, 20 or even 30 children may just be uneconomical. What more can be done to make sure that children from Northern Ireland have the same opportunity as those who live here?

[Nick Smith]

The new education booking system is being devised to help with regional equity. The hon. Member has hit on a really important question about transport access to this place, as well as about places to stay overnight. I will look into that further and get back to him.

Independent Football Regulator

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

Again, I think the hon. Gentleman should have more respect for the independence of these processes. The independent Commissioner for Public Appointments investigated this thoroughly and found that the breach of the code was unknowing. Nevertheless, I have taken full responsibility for it.

I have to say that the Conservatives have some brass neck; when their shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), was in government, she broke the ministerial code and was told to resign, but refused to do so, and she is now one of their most senior Ministers.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

First of all, I welcome the Secretary of State’s comments. She is a right honourable Lady; I know that, and I hope that everybody in this Chamber does, as well. I very much welcome the Independent Football Regulator, but my constituents have asked me to ask a question, so I will; that is my job. Yesterday it was the BBC, and today it is the football regulator appointment. The general public are sceptical of appointments that, it seems to them, may breach the code on public appointments. Public confidence is truly at an all-time low, so how can the Secretary of State ensure that positions are fit for purpose, and that political affiliation or support will never be a material consideration in appointments?

[Lisa Nandy]

The Prime Minister has made it clear, and the Cabinet strongly believes, that although mistakes will always be made, we have to comply fully and openly with independent processes when those mistakes are made. We have to respect those processes, and we have to accept the consequences. The hon. Gentleman will note that in the report that was written and published by the independent Commissioner for Public Appointments, not a single recommendation was made to me. There were recommendations for the Department, but there was not a recommendation for me. Nevertheless, I have chosen to apologise to the Prime Minister, because I believe that the right thing to do is to take responsibility for the things that we are responsible for.

The hon. Gentleman mentions the BBC. I imagine that he is alluding to an issue that was raised yesterday by many Members of this House: the political appointments that were made to the board, and the appointment of one board member in particular, which has been highlighted by many Members as being of concern. He will know that those appointments were made under the last Conservative Government. The last Conservative Government also chose to extend the term of the board member in question, just a few weeks before they called the general election, so that board member has been in post for several years. However, there is an opportunity to look at the issue in the upcoming charter review, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we will.

BBC Leadership

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

As I said earlier, it is the legitimate, right and proper role of Members of this House to raise serious concerns about the decisions that have been made at the BBC over recent months and the response to them, but there is a difference between that and making a sustained attack on an institution that has stood at the centre of public life for over a century and belongs to us all.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her answers and for her statement. It has been clear over the years that there has been a bias in the BBC, and I have had concerns over the last 12 months on at least four topics: BBC bias against Brexit; BBC bias against my party, the Democratic Unionist party—there are elected representatives back home in Northern Ireland who refuse to engage with the BBC; BBC bias for Gaza against Israel; and BBC bias against the free Iran Government in exile, with the BBC promoting the son of a former dictator. My goodness me, it is quite unbelievable. Two people have resigned, but the canker of editorial control is still there. So my question to the Secretary of State today is: when will it end? Is this just a pause or is this the end?

[Lisa Nandy]

As somebody who has shared my frustrations at some of the failures at the BBC over the last 16 months, and at the response at times, I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that throughout this process I have very much felt that there is a recognition of the seriousness of this issue at the highest levels of the BBC. In the conversations that I have had with the senior leadership in the institution, there is also a discussion and a consideration of what wider changes need to be made in order to maintain and uphold the highest standards. He asks when it will end. I think the answer has to be: now.

Bronze-age Heritage: Cambridgeshire

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Pakes]

I will come on to talk about the importance of local museums. One great privilege of this place is to learn of the rich heritage of so many different parts of Britain and Northern Ireland—

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

rose—

[Andrew Pakes]

I will give way to the hon. Member to hear some more.

[Derek Twigg (in the Chair)]

This will be a short intervention, I am sure.

[Jim Shannon]

I will do what you tell me to, Mr Twigg. This great nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is something to be incredibly proud of, and it must be protected and treasured for future generations. It is said that we cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. Does the hon. Member agree that sustained funding must be given to celebrate and secure historical relevance in this modern United Kingdom?

[Andrew Pakes]

It is always a pleasure to take interventions from the hon. Member. I hope he will hear that this is a speech of celebration as well as of questions for the Minister.

Let us come back to Peterborough. Central to Peterborough’s story are the sites of Flag Fen and Must Farm, two of the most archaeologically and internationally significant bronze-age discoveries of our generation. Flag Fen is the only site in Europe where visitors can view a bronze-age causeway and a unique collection of bronze-age log boats, discovered in the lost course of the River Nene close to Must Farm. Peterborough Museum curates and has responsibility for the Must Farm collection. Flag Fen delivers the conservation and presentation of the River Nene bronze-age boat discoveries, and Must Farm is of both national and international significance.

Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery and Flag Fen are held in trust for the benefit of local people and visitors to the city. That model matters, because it embeds civic pride and ownership in protecting our common heritage. However, it does not come without challenges, particularly around local government funding and public service support for archaeology and archaeologists.

Mandatory Digital ID

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) for securing this debate. There is no doubt that this is a contentious issue for many, but the position of me and my party is clear. It is one of opposition at every stage. The intention of these online IDs is blurry, and it is completely the wrong approach to the issues that the Government claim the cards will target.

I have received hundreds of emails over the last month showing clear opposition to the introduction of these cards. Many have stated that digital ID schemes threaten to undo the tradition of British liberty and replace it with a bureaucratic checkpoint culture that completely undermines the democratic process. It is not just the older generations who object; the younger ones have also contacted me to object. They say, “We are private citizens, and this system of digital ID is oppressive.” Furthermore, there is the danger of potential cyber-hacking.

I am proud to be able to say to my constituents that I have stood against this draconian plan at every stage. I can look them in the face and say that my party and I have no plans to support this scheme—we never will—and the quicker the Minister catches on, the better.

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[Ian Murray]

Let me finish the first point. There will be available a system that is non-digital for people to use in those particular circumstances. In terms of the way the law works now, it is illegal for an employer to employ someone who does not have the right to work in this country. There is already a process for people to use passports or driving licences to prove their identification. If the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) wants his passport or driving licence held in some dusty filing cabinet and photocopied 400 times, rather than just proving his right to work in this country on his digital ID, I would suggest that that is less secure than having it on a smartphone.

[Jim Shannon]

How will the Minister and the Government react to the united political opposition from both sides of the community in Northern Ireland, nationalist and Unionist, to the ID card? How can the Minister and the Government pursue something that is so unanimously opposed by everyone in Northern Ireland?

[Ian Murray]

Let me address that point directly. I have already been to Northern Ireland and spoken to all parties in the Northern Ireland Executive, and I have also been to the Republic to speak to the Irish Government about the processes that they have. In fact, they are about to introduce a similar scheme, because all EU countries have to have a scheme up and running by 2026. We fully understand the Good Friday agreement, the common travel area and nationality in Northern Ireland—that people can be British, Irish or both—and that will all have to be built into the system. As a Government, we have taken on board those legitimate concerns—not the myths. I have heard them directly from all parties in Northern Ireland, and we will ensure that those are resolved as part of the process. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will join us in the consultation to make sure that those are resolved.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

We are not considering making changes to the principle that has stood for a long time about the operational independence of the police, but as I have set out to other Members, we are clear that there is a role for Government here and we are determined to play our part in helping to resolve this. [Interruption.] I have to say, listening to the racket that is going on in the corner of the Chamber, that I have just talked about the impact that this issue is having on young people in this country who are turning up, putting on their strip on a Sunday morning, going to play football and finding that they are not welcome. That sort of behaviour is exactly the opposite of what this House should be modelling.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State and thank her very much for her statement. I was saddened to hear of this decision and, more importantly, the message it sends to our Jewish community. This is a dire situation, and we must make use of UK policing services to find a way for this sports event to take place and for fans to attend in safety. Jews are welcomed and protected everywhere, as are people of all faiths and none. A scenario in which we give into intimidation and threat is a slippery slope to appeasement within our country. What steps will be taken to ensure the deployment of police from other areas? For instance, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has been used just in the last month to do some of the policing. Police must be used to allow international supporters to attend and to send the correct message that we are one nation and that freedom is not zoned or excluded in any area of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

[Lisa Nandy]

As I made clear, we are looking at a whole range of options to provide the support and resources that West Midlands police need. We are very clear that this cannot be a responsibility for it alone. There are wider principles at stake, and we are providing everything that it needs in order that we can live up to the principles that the hon. Gentleman just set out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephanie Peacock]

Of course, I welcome this investment through the local youth transformation pilot, which will support pathfinder local authorities to start to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people. We want to see greater co-operation and co-ordination, so I join my hon. Friend in welcoming that investment. It is really important that young people have something positive to do during their evenings and weekends, and I have seen that in my own area of Barnsley, where, for example, the Barnsley youth choir supports hundreds of young people. Having attended their concert on Saturday, I wish them well in competing in Spain this week.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for her answers. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and we wish her well and thank her for all she does. The local Youth Justice Agency team in my constituency makes important rehabilitative interventions for young people. Has the Minister had an opportunity to discuss what is happening here with the Department of Justice back home, to ensure that the benefits here come back to us in Northern Ireland as well?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am incredibly grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s kind comments. I have visited Northern Ireland twice in my capacity as a DCMS Minister. I speak with my counterparts, and I would be delighted to discuss that further with the hon. Gentleman.

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[Marsha De Cordova]

The Church is in regular dialogue with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and welcomes the Government’s continued commitment to implementing the findings of the Truro review. As part of its continuing conversations, the Church raises the importance of supporting freedom of religion with other countries, including those countries that the Government are pursuing trade deals with. I am sure my hon. Friend will recognise that I do not comment on Government policy as such.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Second Church Estates Commissioner very much for all that she does personally—I know that she is committed to making lives better personally and as the Second Church Estates Commissioner. What discussions has she had with organisations such as Open Doors UK in relation to furthering steps that can be taken to support Christians who are persecuted and have their human rights diminished and reduced every day as a result of their religious beliefs? I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief.

[Marsha De Cordova]

I always welcome the contributions of the hon. Member in Church Commissioners questions, and he raises a really important point. As I said, the Church continues to have dialogue with the many different charities and non-governmental organisations working in this area. I am sure that he, like me, will mark the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church next month. As I have said, more can always be done in this area, but I thank him for his continued commitment.