Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the provision of a wider range of railway services on Boxing Day in 2026.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The department currently requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer. Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, GBR, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether South Western Railway, Greater Anglia or c2c will run Boxing Day services this year, following the nationalisation of those companies.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Greater Anglia plans to run Stansted Express services on Boxing Day this year. Services are expected to operate every 30 minutes and due to engineering work these services will start and terminate from Tottenham Hale.
South Western Railway and c2c are not running Boxing Day services this year.
The Department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer.
Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, Great British Railways, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
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 support grassroots boxing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government believes that too many sports, whether that is boxing or rugby league, have been overlooked for far too long, and we are determined to bring them back into focus. Boxing brings joy to millions of people, and it ought to be celebrated.
The Government will continue to champion grassroots boxing. I have met with the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Boxing, and recently met with both Southend Amateur Boxing and recently opened the South Cheshire Amateur Boxing Club.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.1 of the report of the Ministerial Envoys to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to Ministers, published on 9 July 2025, what assessment the Ministerial Envoys have made of the potential impact of the council not renewing long-term leases for community groups in relation to (a) The Old Ship pub in Limehouse, (b) the Bethnal Green Boxing Club, (c) Millwall Rugby Club, (d) Mudchute Farm, (e) Stifford Centre, (f) Glamis Hall and (g) the Attlee Centre on community relations.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The statutory intervention in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets put in place a team of Ministerial Envoys to work comprehensively within the Council to oversee and support its work to improve. This includes supporting the Council’s work to improve the openness and transparency of its decision making.
The Ministerial Envoys do not take or assess the impact of decisions relating to specific cases; the responsibility for which remains with the Council.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide funding for association football in Northern Ireland, following the decision to contribute £50 million for the redevelopment of Casement Park.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government wants to see infrastructure in Northern Ireland for all sports. That is why we have invested, between 2021-2025, over £12 million of UK Government funding through the Grassroots Facilities Investment Fund, the Levelling Up Fund, and the Community Ownership Fund to improve and refurbish grassroots football facilities. The Government has also provided £5.1 million to Ulster Rugby for its Club Capital Improvement Project, to upgrade thirty rugby clubs under Ulster Rugby’s remit. And, between 2022-2025, the Government has invested over £30 million through the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Ownership Fund into a range of other sports and leisure facilities, including the redevelopment of Dundonald Ice Bowl in Belfast, the construction of Ballycastle Leisure Centre, and the construction of Canal Boxing Academy Sports Hub in Lisburn.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently met with Gerard Lawlor, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Football League, and Patrick Nelson, the Chief Executive of the Irish Football Association, to discuss football funding and other related matters.
The Culture Secretary confirmed on 19 June that work is continuing with the Home Nation football associations and devolved administrations to develop a bid for the UK to host the Women’s FIFA World Cup in 2035.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 tackle homophobia in boxing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport must be open to everyone. There is absolutely no place for homophobia, or discrimination of any kind, in sport or society.
The Government expects sports bodies, including the boxing authorities, to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for future years to ensure train operators provide services on Boxing Day.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer.
Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, Great British Railways, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.
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 encourage more women and girls to participate in non-professional sport in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport.
Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body, directly supports Active Dorset to help get people active in the area. To date, activities have reached over 1500 participants, 58% of whom are girls.
There are also some fantastic initiatives that exist to encourage women to take up sport and physical activity, for example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which has already inspired millions of women and girls to get active.
We, as Government, are committed to supporting girls and boys across the country to get more access to sport and physical activity, this includes a review of the curriculum to protect time for PE. Sport England has also developed the Studio You PE teaching resource which aims to get young girls engaged in PE lessons by offering a range of non-traditional activities, like boxing, dance, pilates and yoga.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken recent steps to designate football club grounds as assets of community value.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Assets of Community Value scheme has successfully helped community groups to take ownership of the publicly and privately-owned local assets of community value which would otherwise be at risk of loss.
The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets at risk of closure.
The Community Ownership Fund has provided £550,000 to the Oldham Boxing Club, to assist the club to carry out essential repair works, keeping the historic building open to the whole community.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) steps taken to safeguard of local arts and cultural venues and (b) the benefits of protection as Assets of Community value.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Assets of Community Value scheme has successfully helped community groups to take ownership of the publicly and privately-owned local assets of community value which would otherwise be at risk of loss.
The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets at risk of closure.
The Community Ownership Fund has provided £550,000 to the Oldham Boxing Club, to assist the club to carry out essential repair works, keeping the historic building open to the whole community.