Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 increase funding for women and girls in sports.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.
The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active. 1.6 million women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.
We are committed to delivering best in class facilities, with the significant investment of £98 million in 2025/26 and a further £400 million over the next four years in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities. We are expecting to more than double the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams at Government-funded facilities across England over the next five years, with a clear long-term target of reaching equal access as demand grows.
We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport, kicked off by the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and we are using the Women's Football Taskforce and Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector.
Further to this, we are increasing visibility of women’s sport, including delivering a drumbeat of UK hosted major events, including this year’s Women's T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 and the Tour de France/Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart 2027, while also supporting the bid for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup.
We want to support women and girls at every stage of their lives to get involved in sport.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 the obstacles working class people face to working in the film and television sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham 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 improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham 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 prevent the planned obsolescence of (a) video games and (b) other consumer digital products.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is aware of concerns relating to the continued access to video games, including licensed, online-only video games, and we appreciate the frustrations of players of some games that have been discontinued. The Government has responded to a recent petition on this issue.
There are no plans to amend existing consumer law on disabling video games. Those selling games must comply with existing requirements in consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), giving clear advice to consumers. Video game sellers must not omit or hide material information, or provide it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 the potential impact of proposed changes to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on artists.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Service providers and those delivering public functions should note and follow the ruling. It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need within the ruling. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers and is currently consulting on its code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This consultation will close on 30 June 2025. The Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court's judgment.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to increase funding for arts and culture in the Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are in the early stages of the new Government and we are considering the full range of policy options to support the arts and creative industries, and help the cultural sectors to thrive.
This government is committed to supporting culture, and making sure the arts and cultural activities will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few. Although individual decisions on financial support for arts bodies are rightly subject to the arm’s-length principle and a matter for Arts Council England, we are keen to ensure that funding for the arts is fairly distributed across the country.
We are working with Arts Council England and others to understand what the challenges and opportunities are for our sectors. As part of the Government’s “Creating Growth” plan, DCMS is undertaking a review documenting current and past funding for the arts, culture, and heritage sectors.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham 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 with Ofcom to protect young women and girls from damaging diet and weight-loss adverts on social media.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating the creative content, media placement and audience targeting of advertising in the UK. The Advertising Codes which it administers contain dedicated rules for adverts relating to weight control or reduction, including prohibiting such adverts from being directed at or containing anything likely to appeal particularly to under-18s or those for whom weight reduction would produce a potentially harmful body weight. The ASA has banned a number of influencer posts promoting prescription-only weight loss injections, and also ran a call for evidence last year on advertising giving rise to potential body image concerns.
The Online Safety Act will require all user-to-user and search services accessed by children to put in place systems and processes designed to prevent children from encountering user-generated content, including advertising, that is harmful to them. Content that promotes, encourages or provides instructions for eating disorders has been designated as a type of ‘priority’ content harmful to children under the Act. The Act also requires providers to put in place age-appropriate protections from any other content, even where this has not been designated as ‘priority’ harmful content, that risks causing significant harm to an appreciable number of children.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 implications for its policies of the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken recent steps to help support the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will increase the number of grant schemes aimed at capacity building for third sector organisations.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This government is providing significant investment and support to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. For example, in March we announced a package of over £100 million to support charities and community organisations in England with cost of living pressures, and over this spending review period we are investing over £500 million in youth services in England.
Alongside this we are also providing targeted support that will build capacity across the VCSE sector. For example, we are delivering one-to-one business support and peer learning for early stage social enterprises in disadvantaged areas through the £4.1 million Social Enterprise Boost Fund. Similarly, the £900,000 VCSE Contract Readiness Programme is boosting the capacity of VCSE organisations in England to better compete for government contracts.
In addition, we recently announced further support for the youth sector. We have allocated £250,000 through the Local Youth Partnerships Fund to support the set up of additional local youth partnerships to boost the range, quality, accountability and sustainability of frontline services for young people through greater local coordination and cooperation. We are also providing core funding for 8 regional youth work units in England to improve their practices and ensure a consistent minimum level of regional leadership to develop and support the delivery of youth services. Finally, in order to further build the youth sector capacity, we have also announced £800,000 of new funding to provide bursaries for 500 people who would otherwise be unable to afford to undertake youth work qualifications. This builds on over 2,000 bursaries funded to date.
The department remains in regular dialogue with key VCSE sector stakeholders to monitor the health of the sector and to identify shared priorities.