Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 tackle misleading advertising online.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator for advertising in the UK and enforces the Advertising Codes. These codes include specific rules intended to protect consumers from misleading marketing communications, including online. If advertising includes the omission, exaggeration, or ambiguous presentation of information, it can be considered misleading. The ASA works with online platforms via its Intermediary and Platform Principles to promote greater adherence to the non-broadcast advertising codes, resulting in more responsible advertising online.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also prohibits unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decisions. The Government commenced Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Act, which sets out rules on unfair trading, in April 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 help ensure that public procurement for heritage projects support the use of locally sourced stone appropriate to local architectural traditions.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst DCMS does not have public procurement policies relating to the use of locally used stone, there are a number of ways in which the Government supports the use of stone appropriate to local architectural traditions.
If anyone wants to alter or extend a listed building in a way that affects its character or appearance as a building of special architectural or historic interest they must first apply for Listed Building Consent from the local planning authority. This process will typically consider whether appropriate materials are being used as the Government’s planning policy means Local Planning Authorities give particular attention to the desirability of preserving the building, its setting and those features which make it special.
In addition, our arm's-length body, Historic England, takes steps to support applicants seeking approval for changes to heritage buildings. Historic England has published advice on how to obtain matching stone for repairing historic buildings and monuments. They have also made available the Building Stones Database for England which brings together information on local building stones, their uses and sources as an online interactive GIS (Geographical Information System) resource.
Working with the British Geological Survey (BGS), local geologists and historic buildings experts, Historic England has identified important building stones, where they came from and potential alternative sources for repairs and new construction.
Historic England's Repair Grants guidance advises that they expect any works that they fund to be carried out using traditional methods and materials appropriate to the history and condition of the building, monument, park or garden, stipulating that when replacement is necessary, it should normally be done on a like-for-like basis.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to help support the development of covered (a) tennis, (b) padel and (b) multi-sport facilities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
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 following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to support the development of (a) affordable and (b) accessible padel courts in (i) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (ii) England.
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 following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding for (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
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 following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of press regulation in preventing press intrusion.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our aim as a Government is ensuring the balance is right between press freedom and instances of intrusion. The government recognises that for victims and their families, incidents of undue attention and harassment from the media cause significant distress. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is important for press freedom, and the Government therefore does not intervene in or oversee the work of press regulators in preventing press intrusion. These independent regulators enforce codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas, including on accuracy, privacy and harassment. We are also clear, however, that with this freedom comes responsibility, and newspapers must operate within the bounds of the law and have a responsibility to uphold high professional and ethical standards. This includes ensuring access to clear, timely and effective routes to redress.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to finance for creative SMEs in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The new Creative Industries Sector Plan, published as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, recognises that outside London and the South East, creative businesses find it harder to access finance. The £43 million DCMS Create Growth Programme supports thousands of creative SMEs to grow and access finance, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, providing grant funding, investor capacity building activities and investment readiness support.
The Sector Plan sets out further support for creative SMEs, including significantly increased support for the sector from the British Business Bank and UKRI as well as a £380 million funding package over the Spending Review period.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to encourage local government support for arts and culture in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Cabinet colleagues across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts and culture with their counterparts across His Majesty’s Government.
In last month’s spending review, the government committed to providing an additional £3.4 billion of grant funding to local government in 2028‑29 compared to 2024‑25. This equates to an average annual real terms increase in overall local authority core spending power of 3.1% across the spending review period. Whilst individual decisions on how to invest departmental resources will be determined in due course, there will be significant investment into Arts and Culture over the spending review period, including to Arts Council England (ACE) who will continue to support local arts programmes and projects across the country.
In the 2024-25 financial year, ACE provided over £22k of funding to arts projects in the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. Details of this funding can be found on the ACE website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the British film industry, in the context of potential US tariffs.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Creative Industries Sector Plan announced significant support for the UK film industry, including a new £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years. This includes a scaled-up £18 million per year UK Global Screen Fund; support for the London Film Festival; funding to attract inward investment; and an expansion of the BFI Film Academy to get more 16-25 year olds from underrepresented backgrounds into the industry.
In addition to this package, we are devolving £150 million to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities through our Creative Places Growth Fund, which can be used by local leaders to boost their film and TV industries. We are investing £25 million to fund five new CoSTAR labs to develop innovative technologies like augmented reality and motion capture and two showcase spaces to demonstrate new innovations, working with partners including the BFI. And we are delivering £10 million to expand the world-leading National Film and Television School, unlocking £11 million of private investment.
There are no tariffs on the UK’s film industry. The deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual economic and cultural benefits to both countries and we are committed to maintaining our strong partnership. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will continue to take a calm and balanced approach to our engagement with the US.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 freelancers in the creative industries in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DCMS has committed in the recent Creative Industries Sector Plan to appoint a Freelance Champion, who will give freelancers a voice within government.
DCMS will work with industry to develop Terms of Reference for this role. We envisage that it will represent the interests of creative freelancers in areas such as the development of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Small Business Commissioner, the Fair Work Agency, and the Department for Business and Trade’s Small Business Growth Forum.
Skills Bootcamps continue to support adults across England to build sector-specific skills, including those needed for the creative industries. The government is allocating up to £5.6 million for Skills Bootcamps in 25/26 for Hertfordshire County Council, to support training for local learners, including those that are freelance or self-employed. This includes production assistant training and training in content creation for the creative industry.