Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in youth service funding on young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient youth services for young people in their area. This is funded through the Local Government Funding Settlement.
We acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the disparities across the country. That is why this Government has launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be developed together with young people and the youth sector.
We will also launch the Local Youth Transformation pilot in 2025/26, which will support local authorities to build back capability to improve local youth offers. We also have allocated over £85m of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose spaces in places where it is most needed. Further funding allocations for specific youth programmes will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that local authorities are carrying out their statutory duty to deliver youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities hold the statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Settlement in line with local need, and this was increased to more than £69 billion in 2025/26 - a 6.8% increase in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
Although there is no legal requirement for local authorities to publish their plans, the guidance encourages local authorities to publish their assessment of local needs for youth services as well as the rationale for their actions and decisions. We will be launching the Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support local authorities to build back capability to improve local youth offers.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to (a) strengthen and (b) enforce regulations on gambling advertising.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are a range of robust rules in place through the Advertising Codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure that gambling advertising and marketing, wherever it appears, is socially responsible and does not exacerbate harm. The ASA continually reviews the best available evidence to ensure rules are effective and updates protections as required.
As the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission is further strengthening protections to improve customer control over the marketing they receive and the tightening rules on the design of incentives such as free bets. However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will promote engagement with Ukrainian youth organisations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Under the ambitious 100 Year Partnership with Ukraine, signed by the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy on 16 January 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) will assist in the engagement of UK and Ukrainian young people.
DfE has launched the UK-Ukraine Schools Partnership Programme which aims to foster cross-cultural understanding, enhance English language skills, and promote collaboration and interaction between students and educators from both countries. Using digital platforms, it will create meaningful connections and facilitate knowledge exchange at a critical time in the relationship between our countries.
DCMS will be working with the Ukrainian Government and partners over the coming months, and will increase opportunities for young Ukrainians residing in the UK through encouraging participation in youth-focused programmes.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will fully implement the recommendations of the Leveson Report.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them. This Government has no current plans for further legislation in this area.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has commissioned research into trends in the level of public trust in the UK press; and whether she plans to take steps to help increase this trust.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are aware that news consumption habits are changing and many are increasingly turning to less trustworthy news sources. The Government is committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape, as the best way to maintain a shared understanding of facts. Relevant work here includes the next BBC Charter Review, our Local Media Strategy, and the implementation of recent legislation on broadcasting, digital competition and online safety.
We will take an evidence-based approach to all of this work, and any research that we commission on trends in public trust in the UK press will be published in line with Government policy and build on previous relevant research from Ofcom, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and others.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to shift to using the Impress regulator.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to protecting press freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is crucial to maintain press freedom.
The Government therefore does not use, intervene in or oversee the work of Impress or other independent press regulators.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to commission a follow-up to the Leveson report.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them. This Government has no current plans for further legislation in this area.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will implement financial incentives to encourage media organisations to come within the remit of Impress, in the context of the Leveson Report.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to protecting press freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is crucial to maintain press freedom.
For that reason, the Government currently has no plans to bring forward financial incentives to encourage media organisations to join Impress.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 (a) promote and (b) support the participation of young people in (i) youth charities and (ii) the voluntary sector in Devon.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to enabling effective youth participation in decision making at all levels. DCMS funded programmes such as the #iwill Fund, the UK Youth Parliament, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Uniformed Youth Fund support youth voice and youth social action in communities across the country.
Youth participation is at the heart of the recently announced National Youth Strategy, which will be co-produced with young people and published in the summer. It will better coordinate youth services, as well as move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.