Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve the long-term viability of local authority-owned leisure centres.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.
Future funding of community sports facilities will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 the TV licence increase on household budgets.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In April 2025 the level of the licence fee increased in line with inflation, as set out in the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement that was reached under the previous government. The increase will mean that TV licence costs £5 more per year for households than in 2024/25. This uplift provides certainty and stability for the BBC and S4C, and supports them in delivering their essential public services remits and world-class educational and engaging programming, while also ensuring we deliver the best outcomes for licence fee payers.
The government recognises there is pressure on households and to support those most in need, has taken action to expand the Simple Payment Plan to help more households facing financial hardship pay their TV licence.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department is providing for the renovation of multi-use sports pitches.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.
We also deliver funding to support multi-use sport pitches through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. In March the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport announced an additional £100 million would be invested through the programme. Our funding is delivered through the Football Foundation in England and further detail on funded projects will be published on gov.uk in due course.
Future funding for grassroots facilities beyond 2025/26 is subject to the ongoing Spending Review.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote the National Youth Strategy survey in rural areas.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Our engagement for the National Youth Survey has proactively involved young people from urban and rural areas, as well as across a number of different demographic considerations.
In order to reach young people in all areas of the country, we developed a communications campaign and worked with a variety of stakeholders who support young people to disseminate information. We developed a toolkit for organisations to run their own consultation workshops with young people to feed in their views. In addition to this, we have run a wide-ranging survey, workshops, focus groups and ‘hacks’ to give young people the opportunity to develop solutions.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 improve funding available for youth sports competitions.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government puts children and young people at the heart of our priorities. This includes 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. We are committed to protecting time for physical education in school and supporting the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport.
The School Games Organisers are essential in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity competitions. In the 2023/24 academic year, the country-wide network of 450 SGOs provided 2.3 million opportunities for school children to engage in local and inclusive sporting competitions across 40 different sports and activities. The Government has confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers until the end of the 25/26 Financial Year.
We provide the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year and funds National Governing Bodies and sport organisations to deliver a range of local, accessible sport for young people, including competitions.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the tourism sector in South Shropshire.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
With coastal and countryside destinations making up 25% of domestic day trips and 31% of domestic overnight stays in 2023, tourism is recognised as a key sector with the potential to contribute strongly to economic growth and pride in place of an area.
The Government is implementing a range of measures to support the sector and maximise its benefits for local economies, including working with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience, and promoting rural areas
DCMS, through VisitEngland, has accredited 38 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) so far, which aim to drive investment and spend across the regions - including in rural and coastal areas. In November 2024, Telford and Shropshire became an accredited LVEP and continues to provide strong local leadership and governance.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 access to leisure facilities in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country.
The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector and provide advice and guidance.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help public libraries expand outreach work.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Public libraries are funded by local authorities. Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a delivery model to meet those requirements within available resources. This could include a mobile and or a home library service, as well as other outreach services.
The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024-25.
The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) has enabled library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them. £20.5 million across three rounds has already supported 95 projects which includes investment in outreach services, such as electric tuk-tuks in Portsmouth. On 20 February the Secretary of State announced a further £5.5 million round 4 of LIF for 2025/26.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 promote the availability of funding for small charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This government recognises the vital role that charities play in providing crucial support to different groups and communities. This Government is committed to resetting the relationship with civil society and treating them as an equal, expert partner who are integral to the delivery of the Government’s vision for national renewal.
DCMS is promoting the availability of funding for smaller charities in several ways. This includes delivery of a number of grant schemes, such as the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund and the £25.5m Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is supporting frontline organisations across England to improve their energy efficiency and sustainability.
Support for charities is also available through social investment which provides access to grants, repayable finance and a blend of the two. This government is continuing to look at how dormant assets can be used to support the availability of finance to facilitate VCSEs becoming more entrepreneurial and financially resilient. An estimated £350 million will flow into the Dormant Assets Scheme between 2024-28, with details on how this money will be distributed to be provided in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure the commercial viability of (a) racecourses and (b) associated supply chains.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A major source of support for all 59 racecourses across the country and the wider related industry is the Horserace Betting Levy, which generated £105m in 2023/4. The levy sits alongside commercial deals between the betting and racing industries. Approximately 70% of levy funds is used for prize money and invested into racing’s eco-system supporting owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff.
The Horseracing Betting Levy Board, which is tasked with the distribution of funds collected via the Levy, has also made funding available to support modernisation of weighing room facilities as part of a long-term programme of improvement works to future-proof facilities across all British racecourses, via a racecourse loan scheme.
In relation to any increase to the Horserace Betting Levy, the Government has written to both betting and racing industries to resume negotiations on a voluntary deal, focusing on areas where there has been previous agreement. One such area was on the merits of a potential fund to support reform and growth of the sport which would be beneficial for both industries. The Government supports the ongoing negotiations between racing and betting on a voluntary agreement as the quickest means of seeing additional funding flow into the sport.