Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to secure a sustainable future for clubs in the English Football League.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. The Government recognises the need for the long-term financial sustainability of football clubs, throughout the football pyramid.
The Government will publish a White Paper on Football Governance reforms imminently, to set out our detailed plans to improve the financial stability and governance of football clubs across all leagues. The Government remains clear that the preferred outcome on financial distributions is a football led solution. The football authorities can take forward some of the reforms needed now, and we continue to work with industry to push toward this.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government will give a new independent regulator for football the necessary powers to ensure fair distributions from the Premier League to the rest of the clubs in line with the recommendations of the Fan Led Review.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. The Government recognises the need for the long-term financial sustainability of football clubs, throughout the football pyramid.
The Government will publish a White Paper on Football Governance reforms imminently, to set out our detailed plans to improve the financial stability and governance of football clubs across all leagues. The Government remains clear that the preferred outcome on financial distributions is a football led solution. The football authorities can take forward some of the reforms needed now, and we continue to work with industry to push toward this.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to ensure spending on repairs and renovations to listed places of worship are permanently exempt from VAT to enable conservation of heritage sites.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that listed places of worship represent some of the nation's finest heritage, and that there are particular burdens to the upkeep of such spiritual architecture. The Government funded Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme aims to support the works by giving grants that cover the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings in use as places of worship. This supports the effective conservation of these sites.
In 2012, my Department and the Treasury became joint funders, with annual funding increased up to £42 million per annum. I am pleased to confirm this amount of funding has been secured for the current spending period until 31st March 2025. Whilst the government cannot confirm this funding permanently, my officials remain in close contact with the sector and are aware of the ongoing need for support for this scheme.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
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 Government response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, published on 25 April 2022, CP 658, when she plans to (a) publish the white paper on reforming football governance and (b) introduce an independent regulator.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. We absolutely recognise the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s sustainability in the long term. We are now taking the time to consider the policy, but we remain committed to publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the fan led review of football governance, and will set this out in due course.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government will publish its proposals in response to the Fan-Led review of Football Governance.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance. This was in April 2022.
The Government accepts or supports all of the ten strategic recommendations which set out the government’s planned reform of football. The Queen’s Speech confirmed our commitment to an independent regulator for English football and we will bring forward proposals in this Parliamentary session. A White Paper will be published in the summer that will set out the details on the implementation of our football governance reforms. We are working at pace to deliver these measures that will bring sustainable reform that ensures current and future fans continue to enjoy our national game.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme beyond March 2021; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We do recognise the importance of this scheme and the reliance which is placed on it. We are presently working through the implications of DCMS's Spending Review settlement with HMT and within DCMS. We will be able to provide an update shortly on the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has deprioritised any Statutory Instruments in relation to the UK leaving the EU; and if he will publish the criteria his Department uses to deprioritise those Instruments.
Answered by Margot James
Our objective has always been to have a functioning statute book in place by Exit Day and to ensure that the most critical secondary legislation was made by this point.
Each SI was carefully considered on a case-by-case basis to assess the impact of it not being in force on exit day, which informed scheduling decisions. These considerations and assessments have meant that the Government has been able to lay the critical secondary legislation required before we exit the EU.
In the case of the Electronic Communications (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, the department accepted the recommendation of the European Statutory Instruments Committee that the SI should use the affirmative procedure, notwithstanding that this would mean the SI would be unlikely to come into force on exit day (as defined, at that time, as 29 March 2019). This was because it was not essential that the provision made by the SI be in force from exit day, principally because it made very minor technical changes or revoked EU law which would be redundant if retained on the UK's statute book.
The laying of EU Exit SIs allows Parliament to fulfil its essential scrutiny role. The exact nature of this scrutiny, and the steps required before an SI completes its passage, is dependent on the type of SI. The Government remains confident of passing the necessary legislation required to ensure a functioning statute book by exit day.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many buildings his Department sold in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
Answered by Helen Grant
DCMS has not sold any buildings between 2010 and 2014.