Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department provides to increase participation in grassroots sport in (a) Leicester and (b) Leicestershire.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
That is why we provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and exchequer funding. The City of Leicester received a total of £971,350 of Sport England funding in 2024/25. The County of Leicestershire received a total of £1,937,467 million of Sport England funding in 2024/25.
In addition, on 27 January, the Government announced that £85 million of the £400 million package for grassroots sport facilities will be invested in during 2026/27, funding the continuation of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. This funding is designed to increase participation opportunities and benefit the areas most in need, with 50% investment going to the 30% most deprived areas in the UK.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her department provides on ensuring that sports facilities and stadia in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK are safe and welcoming environments for women and girls.
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 sports facilities and stadia are welcoming and safe for women and girls.
We’ve launched the Women’s Sport Taskforce to tackle challenges and barriers facing women and girls in sport, from grassroots to elite, and are harnessing the power of hosting major sporting events, such as investing £6.7 million into the Impact 25’ programme for the Women’s Rugby World Cup to make facilities more accessible for women.
We are also investing £80.3 million in high-quality grassroots sports facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme in England in 2025/26, and will also invest £68.35 million in 26/27. We will more than double priority access to grassroots football pitches for women and girls over the next four years. MSGF funded facilities should reserve at least 20% of priority use slots for women and girls teams. Our delivery partner in England, the Football Foundation, has recently announced the Lionesses HERe to Play Fund which will help to ensure grassroots sports facilities across England are welcoming, safe and accessible for a new generation of women and girls.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has also worked with ukactive, CIMSPA and Women’s Aid to publish new guidance to help fitness and leisure facilities continue to create safer spaces for women and girls to be active.
In addition, the safety of all those who attend sporting fixtures is a priority for the Government. The Government funds the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) whose purpose is to ensure sports grounds are safe for everyone, including women and girls. The SGSA continues to support world class standards of physical supporter safety for all attendees.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of national cultural funding for (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands compared with other regions.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department has carried out internal policy work to ensure there is a clear understanding of the publicly funded arts, culture and heritage sectors, including looking at national and local government funding. This work ensures future policy development is evidence driven.
Ministers also launched a review of Arts Council England who are responsible for the distribution of arts funding across England. The review will examine everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement. Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the review and will provide government with her report and recommendations in the autumn of 2025. The government will then publish the conclusions of the review along with the government’s response in 2026.
Details of Arts Council England funding, including that for Leicester and the East Midlands, can be found on the Arts Council England website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts, culture and heritage with their counterparts at our arms-length bodies.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish a breakdown of departmental funding allocated to major cultural festivals in the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided funding for some cultural festivals and events. For example, Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 received £18.41 million of support, and Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 received £15 million. Many other cultural festivals have received funding indirectly; through other organisations that have received funding from DCMS, or via Arts Council England (ACE), our arms-length body.
Expenditure by DCMS is published annually on https://www.gov.uk in the DCMS annual report and accounts. Arts and culture in England, including cultural festivals, are funded through a combination of public funding, lottery funding, private investment, and earned income. ACE is the main public body responsible for distributing government and National Lottery funding to the arts. Details of ACE funding is published on the ACE website here: https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map and is available in their annual reports which are also published online.
If you require funding details about a specific cultural festival, you can write directly to the DCMS for that information.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 an assessment of the compliance of the BBC’s closure of Asian Network News with its (a) service agreement and (b) Charter duties to reflect diverse communities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) meets regularly with representatives of the BBC on a range of matters, including how it engages and reflects listeners in the UK. However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government, and it is solely responsible for all editorial, budgetary and scheduling decisions.
Ofcom as independent regulator, is required to set the regulatory conditions it considers appropriate for requiring the BBC to fulfil its Mission and promote the Public Purposes. It does this through setting an Operating Licence. The BBC is responsible for complying with its Operating Licence requirements, and Ofcom monitors and reports annually on the BBC’s performance and its compliance with its licence conditions.
In October 2024, BBC News announced plans to make changes to some of its services, including closing the Asian Network’s bespoke news service. The BBC did not require Ofcom’s approval to close it because all budgetary and editorial decisions remain the responsibility of the BBC Board. However, in April 2025 the BBC submitted a request to change its news and current affairs quota on BBC Asian Network from 1,224 hours to 675 hours per financial year in the Operating Licence.
On 29 May 2025 Ofcom consulted on this request, and in that consultation Ofcom set out its provisional view that it is minded to approve the change, recognising changing audience habits. Ofcom will announce its final decision in due course.
The Government does not hold information about whether the BBC conducted a race equality impact assessment ahead of closing the Asian Network News Service.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether Ofcom approval was sought before the BBC announced the closure of Asian Network News; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of seeking retrospective approval.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) meets regularly with representatives of the BBC on a range of matters, including how it engages and reflects listeners in the UK. However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government, and it is solely responsible for all editorial, budgetary and scheduling decisions.
Ofcom as independent regulator, is required to set the regulatory conditions it considers appropriate for requiring the BBC to fulfil its Mission and promote the Public Purposes. It does this through setting an Operating Licence. The BBC is responsible for complying with its Operating Licence requirements, and Ofcom monitors and reports annually on the BBC’s performance and its compliance with its licence conditions.
In October 2024, BBC News announced plans to make changes to some of its services, including closing the Asian Network’s bespoke news service. The BBC did not require Ofcom’s approval to close it because all budgetary and editorial decisions remain the responsibility of the BBC Board. However, in April 2025 the BBC submitted a request to change its news and current affairs quota on BBC Asian Network from 1,224 hours to 675 hours per financial year in the Operating Licence.
On 29 May 2025 Ofcom consulted on this request, and in that consultation Ofcom set out its provisional view that it is minded to approve the change, recognising changing audience habits. Ofcom will announce its final decision in due course.
The Government does not hold information about whether the BBC conducted a race equality impact assessment ahead of closing the Asian Network News Service.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on whether the BBC conducted a race equality impact assessment prior to the decision to close Asian Network News.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) meets regularly with representatives of the BBC on a range of matters, including how it engages and reflects listeners in the UK. However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government, and it is solely responsible for all editorial, budgetary and scheduling decisions.
Ofcom as independent regulator, is required to set the regulatory conditions it considers appropriate for requiring the BBC to fulfil its Mission and promote the Public Purposes. It does this through setting an Operating Licence. The BBC is responsible for complying with its Operating Licence requirements, and Ofcom monitors and reports annually on the BBC’s performance and its compliance with its licence conditions.
In October 2024, BBC News announced plans to make changes to some of its services, including closing the Asian Network’s bespoke news service. The BBC did not require Ofcom’s approval to close it because all budgetary and editorial decisions remain the responsibility of the BBC Board. However, in April 2025 the BBC submitted a request to change its news and current affairs quota on BBC Asian Network from 1,224 hours to 675 hours per financial year in the Operating Licence.
On 29 May 2025 Ofcom consulted on this request, and in that consultation Ofcom set out its provisional view that it is minded to approve the change, recognising changing audience habits. Ofcom will announce its final decision in due course.
The Government does not hold information about whether the BBC conducted a race equality impact assessment ahead of closing the Asian Network News Service.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to discuss the closure of Asian Network News with the BBC Director-General.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) meets regularly with representatives of the BBC on a range of matters, including how it engages and reflects listeners in the UK. However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the Government, and it is solely responsible for all editorial, budgetary and scheduling decisions.
Ofcom as independent regulator, is required to set the regulatory conditions it considers appropriate for requiring the BBC to fulfil its Mission and promote the Public Purposes. It does this through setting an Operating Licence. The BBC is responsible for complying with its Operating Licence requirements, and Ofcom monitors and reports annually on the BBC’s performance and its compliance with its licence conditions.
In October 2024, BBC News announced plans to make changes to some of its services, including closing the Asian Network’s bespoke news service. The BBC did not require Ofcom’s approval to close it because all budgetary and editorial decisions remain the responsibility of the BBC Board. However, in April 2025 the BBC submitted a request to change its news and current affairs quota on BBC Asian Network from 1,224 hours to 675 hours per financial year in the Operating Licence.
On 29 May 2025 Ofcom consulted on this request, and in that consultation Ofcom set out its provisional view that it is minded to approve the change, recognising changing audience habits. Ofcom will announce its final decision in due course.
The Government does not hold information about whether the BBC conducted a race equality impact assessment ahead of closing the Asian Network News Service.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 a recent assessment of the potential impact of public libraries on adult education.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Public libraries are an important part of our local communities, providing people with knowledge to help with education, social skills, boosting employment and capturing the imagination of readers of all ages and backgrounds.
The DCMS Participation Survey 2023-24 found that 30% of adults had engaged with public libraries in England in the previous 12 months. This is a 6 percent point increase from the previous year.
Libraries are used as a venue for local authority adult learning provision funded through the Department for Education's Adult Skills Fund. Libraries enable providers to offer courses in local communities which are often targeted at learners with barriers to learning. The Department for Education does not collect data on the use of libraries or other venues for adult learning.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 increase youth participation in (a) civil society and (b) sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS is committed to the inclusion of young people in civil society, particularly through youth social action and youth voice. DCMS funds the direct youth participation programme #iwill, which supports young people to engage in social action in their communities. DCMS also encourages participation through other funded programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh and the Uniformed Youth Fund. We are developing a National Youth Strategy and this is an opportunity to look afresh at youth participation in volunteering and civil society.
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child to access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active. The majority of our funding for grassroots sport is through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year to improve opportunities for local communities to access sport, including children and young people. The Government has also confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers network up to the end of the Financial Year 25/26, which provides over 2 million opportunities for school children to engage in local and inclusive sporting competitions across 40 different sports and activities.