Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 January 2026 on Launch of new capital fund for places of worship, HCWS1268, and the evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, what evidence her Department has used to support the determination that 80% of respondents would have undertaken works without the rebate; and what steps her Department took to assess whether those works would have been delayed, scaled back, or funded through additional fundraising and debt.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report. Our evaluation showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 January 2026 on Launch of new capital fund for places of worship, HCWS1268, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the financial sustainability of (a) historic churches and (b) other faith buildings; what estimate she has made of the potential number of repairs likely to be (i) delayed and (ii) cancelled as a result; and what estimate she has made of the additional financial burden placed on congregations and local communities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report. The evaluation did not assess the impact of ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the financial sustainability of places of worship. Our evaluation showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most. Over the next four years, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship and is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 of the potential implications for her diplomatic policies of broadcasters in other countries boycotting the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on political grounds.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Any decisions made by international broadcasters regarding the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest are for them alone. The Government is committed to a free and independent media.
Determination of who takes part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Content is a matter for the European Broadcasting Union and its individual members. The BBC is fully participating in Eurovision, and has said it supports the collective decisions made by members of the EBU.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the Legacy and Impact Fund will be spent in the West Midlands; and on what legacy programmes for grassroots sport, community cohesion and youth participation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is great that Birmingham is a host city, and Villa Park is a brilliant venue. As part of the UEFA EURO 2028 tournament launch on 12 November 2025, the government announced it is investing up to £557 million into hosting the tournament, which will generate significant socio-economic benefits of £3.2 billion across the UK.
As part of this funding, the UK Government will contribute £23 million towards a wider commitment from Government and Football Partners to a social impact fund of around £45 million. The UK Government is working in close collaboration with host cities, including Birmingham, to ensure that we deliver a safe and successful tournament that benefits the whole of the UK.
Plans for the legacy and impact fund are still in development. We will have more to share on this in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 hosting games in UEFA Euro 2028 on the West Midlands; and how much Government funding will be allocated to support (a) infrastructure, (b) security and (c) legacy activity linked to Villa Park as a tournament venue.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
With four matches due to be played at Villa Park, hosting UEFA EURO 2028 games in the West Midlands will help to deliver on the government’s mission to boost economic growth by creating jobs, driving regional prosperity and encouraging visitors to the region.
As part of the UEFA EURO 2028 tournament launch on 12 November 2025, the government announced it is investing up to £557 million into hosting the tournament, which will generate significant socio-economic benefits of £3.2 billion across the UK. The government’s investment will ensure the tournament is safely and securely delivered, with fans, players and officials having a positive experience. We are working closely with a number of partners across the UK and Ireland to ensure we host an outstanding tournament. As part of our investment, the UK Government will also contribute £23 million towards a wider commitment from Government and Football Partners to a social impact fund of around £45 million.
Regular financial updates on the allocation of government funding will be provided in the lead up to the event, including via the DCMS Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 of the potential impact of bin strikes in Birmingham on levels of international tourism to the area.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No, because it is obvious that it would be better for all if the strikes were to end.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason it is her policy to place a mandatory gambling levy on society lotteries while not requiring the National Lottery to make a mandatory problem gambling contribution.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Under the terms of the fourth licence, the National Lottery operator, Allwyn, is required to make a £1.6million annual contribution to socially responsible purposes such as research and treatment.
Society lotteries will be charged the levy at the lowest rate of 0.1%, in recognition of the comparatively low rates of harm associated with participation in society lotteries and the important benefits they bring to good cause fundraising.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 potential impact of the planned changes to the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme on listed places of worship.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.
The changes announced were necessary given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector.Will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 (a) transparency and (b) accountability of lottery fundraising by charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The transparency and accountability of society lottery operators is a matter for the Gambling Commission through its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The Minister for Gambling has no current plans to take action in this area.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 remove the cap on charity lottery ticket sales.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations.
We are carefully considering calls to increase or remove limits on ticket sales, alongside the results of independent research into the lotteries sector.
We will provide an update on our policy position before the Summer Recess.