Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 the competitiveness of the (a) visual effects and (b) animation industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has prioritised film and television as a high-growth sub-sector in the Industrial Strategy and Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Many of the interventions in the £75 million Screen Growth Package we announced in the Sector Plan will benefit VFX and animation. For example, we are scaling up the UK Global Screen Fund to £18 million per year, which will include a new majority co-production strand for UK animation. Through the Sector Plan, we will ensure that the UK continues to develop world-class talent, facilities and innovation in animation and VFX, including through £10 million to expand capacity and apprenticeships at the National Film & Television School, and £25 million for five new CoSTAR labs advancing augmented reality and motion capture technologies.
In addition, we continue to offer generous and stable tax credits - including the new credit for VFX costs in film and TV we introduced last year, and recent changes to R&D credits which now better recognise artists' roles in addressing scientific and technological challenges. In addition, the British Business Bank is increasing financial backing for the Creative Industries opening new opportunities for screen businesses and IP creators.
DCMS remains in close contact with UK Screen Alliance and Animation UK on the sector's opportunities and challenges.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of increasing funding for grassroots football on costs to (a) the NHS and (b) local authorities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s NHS 10 Year Health Plan recognises the importance of physical activity in tackling the nation’s health and relieving NHS pressures. The latest evidence provided by Sport England shows that physical activity directly prevents 3.2 million cases of long term health conditions per year, including 1.3 million cases of depression and 600,000 cases of diabetes, equating to over £10 billion worth of healthcare savings each year.
The FA’s Social Return on Investment 2024 report estimates the 15.7 million participants involved in grassroots football contribute £11.8 billion to society in direct economic value, as well as over £3.2 billion in savings to the NHS through prevention of diseases.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has held recent discussions with the Football Foundation on the level of funding it requires from the Government to (a) plan strategically and (b) implement community projects.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. This funding builds upon the additional £80.3 million being delivered in England this year through the Football Foundation as part of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
As part of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme’s ongoing delivery, officials are in regular contact with the Football Foundation to understand levels of demand, and how to best plan strategically to deliver community projects - now, and in the future. This includes engaging with the Football Foundation regarding their recently refreshed Local Football Facility Plans, which inform how they plan and target their investment.
In July, I held a roundtable with several of the sector’s National Governing Bodies and the Football Foundation to discuss future funding of community sports. We are continuing to work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, and will then set out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 funding for grassroots football facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That’s why the Government is investing £98 million throughout 2025/26 to build and upgrade pitches and facilities UK wide. Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation. The Football Foundation plans their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans which have been developed in partnership with local authorities, community FAs and other sport stakeholders.
On top of this, we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years.
The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports and health club facilities in England, through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, and will then set out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 local LGBT+ youth groups on supporting young LGBT+ people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Through our work on the National Youth Strategy, we’ve engaged with over 20,000 young people across the country — each with diverse and valuable lived experiences — to better understand their interactions with youth services and their hopes for the future.
In May and June, we conducted a series of in-depth ‘Deep Dive’ sessions, including one with LGBTQ+ young people. These were small, confidential discussions designed to create a safe space for more sensitive and honest conversations.
Our interim report, Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Nation, will be published shortly, with the full Strategy to follow in the autumn.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 swimming pool closures on the ability of children to meet national curriculum standards for swimming by age 11.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that sports clubs and facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people of all ages get active and provide vital facilities for children to learn to swim and about water safety. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure swimming facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector and by ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Government encourages local authorities and local leaders to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities (including swimming pools) for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities. This is complemented by the support and guidance available through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England.
Sport England tracks usage of swimming pools through Moving Communities to understand usage, including by children and by a user’s home postcode, to build an evidence base on usage in areas of higher deprivation.
Sport England are closely monitoring swimming pool stock through their Active Places tool. This evidence shows that since 2015 there has been a total of 291 swimming pool closures (on sites owned by Local Authorities), whilst there have been a total of 254 new swimming pools opened during this period.
We will continue to engage with a full range of stakeholders to explore how we can work towards securing a vibrant future for swimming pools, enabling them to continue delivering their full potential for public health, economic growth, and the wellbeing of our communities.
All future funding of sports facilities beyond 2025/26 will be considered following the Spending Review and the Government will set out further plans in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support available for publicly-funded swimming pools.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that sports clubs and facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people of all ages get active and provide vital facilities for children to learn to swim and about water safety. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure swimming facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector and by ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Government encourages local authorities and local leaders to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities (including swimming pools) for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities. This is complemented by the support and guidance available through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England.
Sport England tracks usage of swimming pools through Moving Communities to understand usage, including by children and by a user’s home postcode, to build an evidence base on usage in areas of higher deprivation.
Sport England are closely monitoring swimming pool stock through their Active Places tool. This evidence shows that since 2015 there has been a total of 291 swimming pool closures (on sites owned by Local Authorities), whilst there have been a total of 254 new swimming pools opened during this period.
We will continue to engage with a full range of stakeholders to explore how we can work towards securing a vibrant future for swimming pools, enabling them to continue delivering their full potential for public health, economic growth, and the wellbeing of our communities.
All future funding of sports facilities beyond 2025/26 will be considered following the Spending Review and the Government will set out further plans in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on funding for (a) leisure and (b) swimming facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that sports clubs and facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people of all ages get active and provide vital facilities for children to learn to swim and about water safety. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure swimming facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector and by ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Government encourages local authorities and local leaders to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities (including swimming pools) for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities. This is complemented by the support and guidance available through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England.
Sport England tracks usage of swimming pools through Moving Communities to understand usage, including by children and by a user’s home postcode, to build an evidence base on usage in areas of higher deprivation.
Sport England are closely monitoring swimming pool stock through their Active Places tool. This evidence shows that since 2015 there has been a total of 291 swimming pool closures (on sites owned by Local Authorities), whilst there have been a total of 254 new swimming pools opened during this period.
We will continue to engage with a full range of stakeholders to explore how we can work towards securing a vibrant future for swimming pools, enabling them to continue delivering their full potential for public health, economic growth, and the wellbeing of our communities.
All future funding of sports facilities beyond 2025/26 will be considered following the Spending Review and the Government will set out further plans in due course.