Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timeline is for the regulation of short-term lets.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Following public consultation in 2023, Parliament legislated for a registration scheme for short-term lets in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. The Government is committed to delivering this scheme as soon as possible to support our thriving visitor economy while protecting local communities through improved oversight of the short-term lets sector. The Government has now concluded the initial development state of the registration scheme and expects to begin publicly testing the scheme in 12 months time.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to support grassroots sport in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government supports grassroots sport through our ongoing investment into Sport England, our arm’s length body, which annually invests over £250 million of Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. In the last financial year, Sport England invested £166,607 into grassroots sport in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
The Government has also committed to continued funding for grassroots sports facilities via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which will invest £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how she plans to support small music venues.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. In particular, the Government is urging the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to help safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector.
The Government has also announced £2.5m of continued funding for the Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025-26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for music lovers across the UK.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 the disparities in (a) pay and (b) prize money on the future development of (i) men’s and (ii) women’s football.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is fully committed to supporting and growing women’s sport and ensuring that women’s sport is on an equal footing with men’s sport.
The ambition of equal prize money where possible across sport is absolutely the right one. The FA took steps last season to increase the total prize fund for the Women’s FA Cup, however we recognise there is more to do. We will continue to keep this under review.
In 2023, Karen Carney OBE published a Review of Women’s Football which set out a route to raise minimum standards and deliver bold and sustainable growth at elite and grassroots level. The review made a series of recommendations for key stakeholders to take forward. I recently convened stakeholders to discuss updates on progress and will convene further meetings in 2025 to drive action.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) capital and (b) revenue funding her Department provides for local authority leisure centres.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government encourages local leaders to prioritise access to sport and physical activity wherever possible. Local Authorities are responsible for decisions regarding sport and leisure provision in their area. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not provide capital or revenue funding for local authority leisure centres.
This Government recognises that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country and is acting to support more people to get active wherever they live through the delivery of the £123 million Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what capital funding is available to local authorities to help (a) develop and (b) refurbish leisure centres.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public sport and leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services.
Decisions on future funding available for Local Authorities will be set out as part of departmental spending plans in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 trends in the number of youth clubs available to young people since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold the data requested. Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which is due to rise to more than £64 billion in 2024-25. We have worked with local authorities and with the youth sector to update the statutory guidance that underpins local authorities’ duty to support them in adequately meeting the needs of young people.
The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people, which is why we have committed to the National Youth Guarantee. This includes the delivery of up to 300 new and refurbished youth spaces and services in left behind areas through the Youth Investment Fund, totalling over £300 million.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation of the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance on a transfer levy on premiership football clubs; and whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the matter of that proposed levy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. The Government recognises the need for the long-term financial sustainability of football clubs, throughout the football pyramid.
The Government will publish a White Paper on Football Governance reforms imminently, and it will set out our detailed plans to improve the financial stability and governance of football clubs across all leagues.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the need to accelerate the roll-out of high speed internet in rural communities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Over 73% of premises in the UK can now access gigabit-capable broadband, which is a huge leap from January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. The competitive and pro-growth regulatory environment we have created is enabling suppliers to expand their networks to reach more homes and businesses, and we are making excellent progress with Project Gigabit, rolling out fast, reliable broadband to rural and hard-to-reach parts of the UK.
We are awarding a series of contracts to suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable connectivity to areas that the market will not go to without subsidy. We have already awarded six contracts and in total, we have made almost £1 billion of funding available through our live contracts and procurements, to cover up to 681,500 premises. We have also recently increased the maximum value of vouchers through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, to support suppliers to connect premises in particularly hard-to-reach areas.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that companies that are given contracts for high-speed internet installation deliver on the promised broadband speeds.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Project Gigabit (Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy) contracts and the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme require suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable infrastructure as part of the specification. The full requirements are set out in the terms and conditions for both interventions.