Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 his US counterpart on the future of Hollywood-funded film production in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are in active discussions with the top of the US administration and we are clear that the deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual benefits to both countries. This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to take a calm and steady approach.
We are engaging closely with industry and we are absolutely committed to ensuring our film and TV sector can continue to thrive and create good jobs across the UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact of US tariffs on film production in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We continue to engage with industry, including representatives from all nations and regions, to ensure our film and TV sector can continue to thrive and create good jobs across the UK.
We will continue to take a calm and steady approach to this fluid situation.
Trade is a reserved matter.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 VAT exemption cap for repairs on listed places of worship.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has no plans to reconsider the £25,000 cap. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change.
Future Government spending is a matter for the Spending Review.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 support the tourism sector in urban areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to the tourism sector maintaining its competitiveness. VisitBritain launched its latest ‘Starring Great Britain’ campaign in January, which will harness the powerful draw of Film and TV to drive inbound tourism towards UK’s cities and regions.
DCMS has announced a new Visitor Economy Advisory Council that will see industry and government work together to work towards the creation of a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, set to be launched in autumn, mapping out plans to support the growth of the tourism industry.
The Government is implementing the most significant overhaul of regional destination management in a generation, creating a portfolio of nationally supported, strategic and high-performing Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) in partnership with VisitEngland, including those in urban areas such as London and Manchester.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the economic benefits of the (a) motorbike road racing season and (b) Ulster Superbike Championship in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting economic growth in the sport sector, and ensuring this translates into tangible outcomes that span grassroots participation through to elite performance.
DCMS has not made an assessment of the economic benefits of the motorbike road racing season or the Ulster Superbike Championship in Northern Ireland specifically. However, the motorsport road racing season has an impact on the economy directly with live races, including at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, the North West 200 and others, as well as the indirect impact it makes via R&D advancements. These events are a highlight for many local communities, doing so much to make the UK the home of motorbike racing.
In September 2024, DCMS published the Sport Satellite Account. The results estimated that the sport sector as a whole contributed £53.6 billion directly to the UK economy in 2021 (equivalent to 2.6% of the total UK Gross Value Add in 2021).
The Sport Satellite Account estimated that the sport sector contributed £1.2 billion directly to the Northern Irish economy in 2021 (equivalent to 2.6% of the total Northern Irish Gross Value Add in 2021).
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help protect (a) children and (b) young people from online gambling harms.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Since 2020, children and young people have been taught about the risks relating to gambling as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England. 30% of statutory gambling levy funding will be allocated to prevention activity, including education and early intervention to help raise awareness of harmful gambling and the support available.
There are also a range of robust protections in place to ensure that gambling advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited.
We continue to monitor the best available evidence to inform how we reduce gambling harm amongst children and young people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 Secretary of State for Education on increasing youth engagement in sports outside school.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts from the Department for Education on a range of issues, including young people’s engagement in sport both inside and outside the school day.
As an example, in March, I attended a meeting with a range of National Governing Bodies on their role in enhancing access to sport and physical activity inside and outside the school day, hosted by the Minister for School Standards.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase access to grassroots sports in local communities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the vital role that grassroots sports provide for people across the UK, including the physical and mental health benefits of participating in sport and how grassroots clubs can foster a sense of community cohesion and pride in place.
The Home Nation’s sports councils are responsible for the majority of investment in grassroots sport across the UK. However, DCMS is committed to improving the provision of high-quality grassroots sports facilities across the whole of the UK to enable as many people as possible to get active.
On 21 March, we announced an additional £100 million to be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. £3 million of this additional funding is to be invested in Northern Ireland through the Irish Football Association. This funding is designed to benefit the areas most in need, with 50% of investment going to the 30% most deprived areas in the UK. There will also be a strong focus on increasing provision for under represented groups, such as women and girls, ethnic minorities groups and disabled players. At least 40% of funded projects will also have a multi-sport offer, ensuring more can participate and get active across a variety of sports.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help tackle sexual harassment in sports settings.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. Everyone should be able to participate in sport in safe and secure environments, and where allegations about inappropriate or harmful behaviour are made, these should be taken seriously. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. Any matter meeting the criminal threshold should be taken forward through the criminal justice system. Where there is evidence that a crime may have been committed, this should be reported directly to the police.
DCMS's Arm's-Length Body for grassroots sport, Sport England, provides support to the sport and physical activity sector around preventing harm, including sexual harassment, through funding the Ann Craft Trust and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit. This totalled £330,917 and £527,525 respectively in 2024/25.
The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with relevant stakeholders and the sports sector to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to support creative industries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The creative industries are one of the government’s eight priority Industrial Strategy (IS) sectors. In 2023, the sector employed 2.4m people, and contributed £124bn in UK GVA – more than 5% of total UK GVA.
Partnership with devolved governments will make the development of the Industrial Strategy a UK-wide effort, and will support the considerable sectoral strengths of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. A creative industries Sector Plan will be published in late Spring in conjunction with the Industrial Strategy. It will set out the biggest opportunities for growth in the creative industries at home and in new markets abroad.
At the Creative Industries Growth Summit in January, we announced a £60 million package of support for the sector, providing a major boost to the wider economy. We also set out new commitments from the British Business Bank, the UK’s economic development bank, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in January to strengthen their support for the creative industries, in addition to making shorter apprenticeships available from August 2025, building towards a more flexible growth and skills levy. These are the first steps we have taken in delivering on our ambitions for the creative industries, with more to be set out with the publication of the Sector Plan.