Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry. Video games are already regulated by a number of legislative and voluntary measures, governed by several enforcement bodies.
Video games are regulated with age ratings, which protect children and vulnerable people from inappropriate content. The Government works closely with the Games Rating Authority (GRA) who are designated by Government to ensure games are appropriately rated and include information for buyers on potentially harmful content, for example violence or bad language.
The Online Safety Act, made law on 26 October 2023, applies to online services which allow users to share content and interact with one another. This definition includes some video games, for example those with in-game chat functions. The Act is enforced by Ofcom.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes; which includes online and in-game advertisements, such as advertising of microtransactions or loot boxes.
Finally, where video game products amount to unlicensed gambling, such as skins gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown it will take strong enforcement action.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the Glasgow 2026 Organising Company on ensuring an effective community legacy from the Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department is in regular contact with the Organising Company and Scottish Government to support Glasgow 2026. I was pleased to be able to visit Glasgow this summer and discuss with the Commonwealth Sport Coordination Commission and other partners the excellent work that is being done to ensure a successful event and legacy.
The Organising Company will publish further details in late 2025 on how the event will deliver lasting community benefits, alongside a range of other positive outcomes.
As a Government, we are proud to support the Glasgow Games, which will drive economic growth, showcase Scotland and the UK to the world, and build on the legacy of Glasgow 2014.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason a cap was introduced to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was previously due to end in March 2025. The Government extended this for one year with an overall budget of £23m. To ensure this budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship. These changes to the scheme were necessary given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors and we feel that the cap ensures the fairest distribution of the available budget. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
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 Team GB and ParalympicsGB to build on their successes in 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are fully committed to multi-year funding for our elite sport system and enabling our athletes to excel on the world stage.
This means supporting them financially to match and build on their success in Paris, helping them to deliver at LA 2028. We will set out further details at the Spending Review.