Oral Answers to Questions

Stephanie Peacock Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to support owners of listed buildings with the cost of essential repairs and maintenance.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

Our listed buildings stand at the heart of our communities, and we are investing in heritage across the country with £230 million by 2030 to support listed buildings across England. That includes £75 million through the heritage at risk capital fund to support the repair and conservation of buildings at risk, and £92 million through the places of worship renewal fund for urgent repairs that keep buildings in use.

[Sarah Bool]

Many churches relied on the listed places of worship grant scheme to reclaim VAT paid on essential repairs and maintenance. The Government say that the new places of worship renewal fund will be targeted at areas with the greatest disadvantage and need. Can the Minister clarify the metrics being used and reassure my constituents that rural churches in areas such as South Northamptonshire will not be overlooked?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady and I appreciate that she is a huge champion for her local community, which has a rich heritage. The reality is that, under the previous scheme, 80% of those who got funding said that they would have done it anyway, so it was hugely under-targeted. The reality was also that more deprived areas simply could not raise the capital needed in the first place to qualify for the VAT rebate. Our places of worship renewal fund targets those places with the greatest levels of both deprivation and need.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

Listed places of worship, such as St Mary de Haura in Shoreham, are not just places to pray; they are at the beating heart of our community. Following the listed places of worship grant scheme closing and being replaced by the more competitive and VAT-included places of worship renewal fund, my constituents are concerned about their ability to repair and maintain their places of worship. Will the Minister tell the House how the Government intend to ensure that our places of worship can continue to serve our communities long into the future?

[Stephanie Peacock]

My hon. Friend is right to point out how important they are to local communities. We have the places of worship renewal fund, which I have just spoken about. In addition, the Government have made available £230 million for heritage. Further, we have the National Lottery Heritage Fund and I also encourage him to engage with the Church of England.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

6. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Independent Football Regulator.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

Through our Arts Everywhere programme, we are investing £1.5 billion into culture and heritage infrastructure in places with the greatest need. That includes funding the Art Centre Penryn in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which was awarded project development grants through the heritage revival fund.

[Jayne Kirkham]

Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery is essentially the national museum for Cornwall. While £7 out of £8 of DCMS’s museum funding goes to our 15 national museums, which are free to enter, the Cornwall museum charges a fee, does not get funding from the local authority any more and, as it is trustee run, is not eligible for many funding streams. What options are there for the Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery in Truro to close that funding gap?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I thank my hon. Friend for her advocacy on that issue. As an Arts Council England accredited museum, Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery is eligible to apply for the museum estate and development fund, which provides capital funding for urgent repairs and infrastructure maintenance. For other funding opportunities, the museum could also explore Arts Council and national lottery project grants and support from philanthropic organisations.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

Essex and the Witham constituency have a range of fantastic heritage houses, museums and venues for people to visit. It will come as no surprise to the Minister and the Front Bench team that those venues are struggling because of increases in employment taxes and some of the other burdens they are now facing. Has the Department done a cumulative impact assessment on what that means for the sustainability of some of those big cultural heritage sites, and what more can the Government do to assist them?

[Stephanie Peacock]

The right hon. Member is a strong advocate for her constituency. This Government are investing in heritage across the country, with £230 million committed by 2030. I am sure the Minister for Heritage would be delighted to discuss it with her further.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

8. What steps she is taking to support local journalism.

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[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

T4. I was elected on the back of three clear pledges, one of which was to work to revitalise our towns. As part of that, I promised to end the impasse around the derelict General Wolfe building in St Austell, which had gone to rot under council ownership. That has now been done. I have said that I will work closely with the buyer to ensure the fullest access to heritage funding, to ensure that the building can be restored and used as quality homes for local people, contributing to my mission to revitalise our town centre in the process. Will the Minister work with me to support that mission? What suggestions can she make to me and the developers?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I was pleased to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency earlier this year. The best way to protect our heritage is to use it and I thank him for his work to secure a future for the General Wolfe building. I encourage developers and historic building owners to engage early with our arm’s length body Historic England, and I am sure that the Heritage Minister will be happy to meet him to discuss it further.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

T6. There are currently 1.2 million flats in multi-dwelling units across the UK that are at risk of missing out on full fibre upgrades, including 3,528 in my constituency. This leaves a real danger that a digital divide becomes a reality, and vulnerable people will miss out on the benefits of faster and more reliable broadband. Will the Minister consider granting automatic upgrade rights for network builders as a cost-neutral solution that will ensure everybody has access?

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

T5. Across Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, we have some of the most incredible heritage buildings, such as the Queen’s theatre, the Burslem indoor market and the Wedgwood Institute, so I welcome the recent announcement of over £2.5 million from the derelict buildings fund for Stoke-on-Trent, for which I campaigned. Will the Minister outline how her Department can work alongside other Departments, such as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to bring our beautiful buildings back into use?

[Stephanie Peacock]

My hon. Friend is right to talk about stronger co-ordination between heritage planning, regeneration and housing policy. I know how important heritage-led regeneration is for local growth, and I understand that the Heritage Minister is looking forward to holding a roundtable on that issue in my hon. Friend’s area.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

T7. I recently visited Wombat Cricket in Ivybridge, where self-taught Harry and his team make handcrafted cricket bats from local willow. The trade agreement with India, negotiations for which began under the previous Conservative Government, will phase out tariffs on cricket bats over five years. Does the Secretary of State agree that we should make the most of this freedom to support British sports manufacturers and grassroots sport?

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[Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

In response to Blackpool being shortlisted to be city of culture, Lynn Williams, the leader of Blackpool council, rightly said:

“We have a proud working-class culture and a wonderful history of entertainment, music and performance.”

Our bid to become the next city of culture for the UK is the right and only choice for the panel. It will allow us to celebrate our iconic history and shape our future, because Blackpool never settles for anything small. Will the Secretary of State support our ambition by supporting our much-loved heritage venues and my campaign for a new arena to create a year-round resort, showing Blackpool in a new light?

[Stephanie Peacock]

My hon. Friend is a huge advocate for his constituency. I have to stay neutral, but I am absolutely delighted to be visiting his area tomorrow as part of the shortlist process for the city of culture.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

The AI teddy bear that said unprompted, “I can’t help with killing you”, shows that online harms are extending to software within toys. Will the Government consider the Lib Dem approach of having a framework of harm that can look online and at the software in products with these developing technologies?