Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report on What next for the National Lottery?, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of that report's recommendation that individual society lotteries should be able to set their own prizes, up to a limit of £500,000.
Answered by Paul Scully
The maximum prize for a society lottery draw was increased in July 2020 from £400,000 to £500,000 as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits. We are carefully considering the Committee's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support charity lottery fundraising.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations, and I am very appreciative of the role they play in supporting such a wide range of sectors. Large society lotteries raised a record £367 million for good causes between April 2019 and March 2020. Society lotteries are regulated under a different framework to the National Lottery and are exempt from paying Lottery Duty.
Reforms to society lotteries came into effect in July 2020, including significant increases in the sales limits, raising the limit for a single draw from £4 million to £5 million and the annual sales limit from £10 million to £50 million. I am pleased that since these changes we have started to see more lottery proceeds going to good causes, as the aim of these reforms was to enable both society lotteries and the National Lottery - often seen as complementary sources of income - to thrive.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which national sporting bodies are working on the pilot of the Sports Council Equality Group's guidance on transgender inclusion in domestic sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are currently eight England/UK sports governing bodies that are part of the pilot sports programme. Because sports are incredibly diverse, there can be no ‘one-size fits all’ approach and the Sports Councils Equality Group are focusing on providing space, time and support to help sports define the best options and determine whether it may be possible to offer more than one version of their sport to achieve their particular aims.
Due to the fluid nature of the process as the organisations go through their thinking and the potential for this work to come to fruition at different stages, the Sports Councils Equality Group are respecting and protecting this space and not disclosing the detail of these sports at this time.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many Sports' National Governing Bodies have attended the Sport Council's Equality Group training on the trans guidance since September 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Sports Councils Equality Group approached the training requirements around the Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport Guidance via three different approaches: briefings, workshops, and pilot sports.
Soon after the Guidance was launched in September 2021 the Sports Councils Equality Group delivered two high-level 60 minute briefings attended by 22 National Governing Bodies (NGBs). These were a precursor to more in-depth, 3 hour, training sessions which have been running, and continue to do so, at regular intervals. These, to date, have been attended by 24 NGBs and are continuing to attract new NGBs to each online delivered session.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with UK Athletics on the resignation of both the Chief Executive and Performance Director of that body on 20 October 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers have had no direct discussions with UK Athletics since October 2021. This relationship is managed by UK Sport who keep the government closely sighted on issues through Board meetings and regular engagement with Ministers and officials.
The Department is confident that fair and proper processes are in place to ensure the best candidates possible are appointed to leadership roles in National Governing Bodies which are funded by UK Sport.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Sport England and UK Sport on the future funding of national governing bodies that do not follow the Sports Councils Equality Group Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport 2021 on how to review their policies.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is clear that there is no place for discrimination or intimidation in any sport, at any level. The Sports Councils Equality Group (SCEG) transgender inclusion guidance is intended to help provide support and clarity for National Governing Bodies operating in a complex environment. The review was carried out in recognition that the previous guidance was outdated and that sport at every level required more practical advice and support.
With reference to the answer provided on 18th October 2021 to questions 56575-56576, the SCEG guidance provides a decision making framework and a variety of different approaches for the National Governing Bodies of each sport to define the best options for their sport, subject to their assessment of inclusion, fairness and safety.
Sports governing bodies each have their own rules on transgender issues and it is appropriate that they can determine the right position for their own sport.
The Sports Councils are not regulators of sport, and the SCEG document serves as guidance that is independent from funding. The expectations for sporting organisations that receive public funding are set out in the Code for Sport Governance.
The government will continue to work through our arm’s length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, to support National Governing Bodies in reviewing their policies for their sport.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of to Question 56576, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the interview conducted by the Sports Councils Equality Group as part of the evaluation of Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport 2021, published September 2021, that revealed problems with (a) intimidation, (b) threats of non-selection and (c) sanctions aimed at individuals in UK sports organisations that support fair sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is clear that there is no place for discrimination or intimidation in any sport, at any level. The Sports Councils Equality Group (SCEG) transgender inclusion guidance is intended to help provide support and clarity for National Governing Bodies operating in a complex environment. The review was carried out in recognition that the previous guidance was outdated and that sport at every level required more practical advice and support.
With reference to the answer provided on 18th October 2021 to questions 56575-56576, the SCEG guidance provides a decision making framework and a variety of different approaches for the National Governing Bodies of each sport to define the best options for their sport, subject to their assessment of inclusion, fairness and safety.
Sports governing bodies each have their own rules on transgender issues and it is appropriate that they can determine the right position for their own sport.
The Sports Councils are not regulators of sport, and the SCEG document serves as guidance that is independent from funding. The expectations for sporting organisations that receive public funding are set out in the Code for Sport Governance.
The government will continue to work through our arm’s length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, to support National Governing Bodies in reviewing their policies for their sport.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference Sports Councils Equality Group report entitled, Project for Review and Redraft of Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport 2021, published September 2021, what steps he is taking to address (a) intimidation, (b) threats of non-selection and (c) sanctions aimed at individuals in UK sports organisations who support fair sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as safety and fairness across all levels of sport. This is at the heart of our strategy ‘Sporting Future’. Sports governing bodies each have their own rules on transgender issues and it is appropriate that they can determine the right position for their own sport.
The Sports Councils’ Equality Group (SCEG) transgender guidance is a carefully considered report which addresses the complexities of transgender inclusion in sport. The report has concluded that there is an inherent tension between delivering inclusion, fairness and safety when including transgender women into the women’s sport category due to retained physiological differences.
The guidance advises the national governing bodies (NGBs) of each sport to define the best options for their sport, subject to their assessment of inclusion, fairness and safety. It also includes a decision making framework to help sports undertake such an assessment and if appropriate consider options to modify or adapt their offer to facilitate participation.
Our arm’s length bodies Sport England and UK Sport will continue to support NGBs to undertake the necessary assessment for their sport.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report from the Sports Councils Equality Group and its Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Sport, published in September 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as safety and fairness across all levels of sport. This is at the heart of our strategy ‘Sporting Future’. Sports governing bodies each have their own rules on transgender issues and it is appropriate that they can determine the right position for their own sport.
The Sports Councils’ Equality Group (SCEG) transgender guidance is a carefully considered report which addresses the complexities of transgender inclusion in sport. The report has concluded that there is an inherent tension between delivering inclusion, fairness and safety when including transgender women into the women’s sport category due to retained physiological differences.
The guidance advises the national governing bodies (NGBs) of each sport to define the best options for their sport, subject to their assessment of inclusion, fairness and safety. It also includes a decision making framework to help sports undertake such an assessment and if appropriate consider options to modify or adapt their offer to facilitate participation.
Our arm’s length bodies Sport England and UK Sport will continue to support NGBs to undertake the necessary assessment for their sport.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Sports Council Equality Group guidance on trans inclusion in domestic competition, which was commissioned in March 2020, will be published.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as the safety and fairness across all levels of sport. This is at the heart of our strategy ‘Sporting Future’. However, sports governing bodies each have their own rules on transgender issues and it is appropriate that they can determine the right position for their own sport.
The Sports Councils' Equality Group (SCEG) is in the process of reviewing Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport in the UK, commissioned in 2020. Subsequently a wide-ranging consultation has taken place. They are now processing the information they have collected as they work towards a carefully considered outcome in this complex environment. It is anticipated that the revised guidance on trans participation in sport will be released later this year.