Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the decision to issue a licence authorising the release within 90 days of the proceeds from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club for humanitarian support in Ukraine, what the deadline is for the completion of this process.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 17 December 2025, His Majesty's Government issued a licence which permits the transfer of over £2.5 billion proceeds from the club's sale into a new foundation for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. We would have preferred to take this action with the cooperation of Mr Abramovich and his company, Fordstam Ltd, and we continue to urge him to honour the commitments he made in 2022. But if Mr Abramovich fails to act quickly, this Government is fully prepared to go to court to enforce his previous commitments if necessary.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
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 the proposed changes to the Women’s FA Cup on (a) domestic women’s leagues, (b) player welfare and (c) fans.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Association (the national governing body for football) is independent of the Government and independently determines how they organise their competitions.
Karen Carney’s 2023 Independent Review of Women’s Football made a series of recommendations for key stakeholders in the game to take forward which included a recommendation that the FA make a clear commitment to equalising FA Cup prize money as soon as is feasible. Following the review, the Minister for Sport has convened the Women’s Football Taskforce with industry stakeholders including the FA and Football Supporters’ Association, to drive forward the recommendations of Karen Carney’s review.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Football Supporters Association regarding proposed changes to the Women’s FA Cup.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Association (the national governing body for football) is independent of the Government and independently determines how they organise their competitions.
Karen Carney’s 2023 Independent Review of Women’s Football made a series of recommendations for key stakeholders in the game to take forward which included a recommendation that the FA make a clear commitment to equalising FA Cup prize money as soon as is feasible. Following the review, the Minister for Sport has convened the Women’s Football Taskforce with industry stakeholders including the FA and Football Supporters’ Association, to drive forward the recommendations of Karen Carney’s review.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the FA regarding proposed changes to the Women’s FA Cup.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Association (the national governing body for football) is independent of the Government and independently determines how they organise their competitions.
Karen Carney’s 2023 Independent Review of Women’s Football made a series of recommendations for key stakeholders in the game to take forward which included a recommendation that the FA make a clear commitment to equalising FA Cup prize money as soon as is feasible. Following the review, the Minister for Sport has convened the Women’s Football Taskforce with industry stakeholders including the FA and Football Supporters’ Association, to drive forward the recommendations of Karen Carney’s review.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her department provides on ensuring that sports facilities and stadia in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK are safe and welcoming environments for women and girls.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all sports facilities and stadia are welcoming and safe for women and girls.
We’ve launched the Women’s Sport Taskforce to tackle challenges and barriers facing women and girls in sport, from grassroots to elite, and are harnessing the power of hosting major sporting events, such as investing £6.7 million into the Impact 25’ programme for the Women’s Rugby World Cup to make facilities more accessible for women.
We are also investing £80.3 million in high-quality grassroots sports facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme in England in 2025/26, and will also invest £68.35 million in 26/27. We will more than double priority access to grassroots football pitches for women and girls over the next four years. MSGF funded facilities should reserve at least 20% of priority use slots for women and girls teams. Our delivery partner in England, the Football Foundation, has recently announced the Lionesses HERe to Play Fund which will help to ensure grassroots sports facilities across England are welcoming, safe and accessible for a new generation of women and girls.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has also worked with ukactive, CIMSPA and Women’s Aid to publish new guidance to help fitness and leisure facilities continue to create safer spaces for women and girls to be active.
In addition, the safety of all those who attend sporting fixtures is a priority for the Government. The Government funds the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) whose purpose is to ensure sports grounds are safe for everyone, including women and girls. The SGSA continues to support world class standards of physical supporter safety for all attendees.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 support ex-footballers with neurodegenerative diseases.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
My department is taking important steps to ensure that former football players with neurodegenerative diseases, and their families, receive the support they need.
The Secretary of State and I have met with affected family members and ex-footballers, including individuals associated with the Football Families for Justice organisation, to discuss player safety and welfare for those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.
Our immediate priority is to push the football authorities for greater clarity on the funding available through the Brain Health Fund, and ensure that there is a clear and publicly available articulation of the scope of this funding and process for accessing it. Further to this, we are actively discussing with relevant stakeholders to explore whether funding can be expanded to involve other footballing organisations.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Rugby Football Union and Sport England on the financial sustainability of Premiership Womens Rugby clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government monitors the financial situation of rugby union closely and continues to work with the RFU, PWR, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport and we are using the Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector. The Women’s Sport Taskforce was launched at the Women’s Rugby World Cup and seeks to understand and tackle challenges facing women and girls in sport from grassroots to elite.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the grassroots sports facilities fund will be used to promote women's football in Scotland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s announcement of £8.14m investment in Scotland in 2026/27, via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, will encourage more people to be active by delivering high-quality grassroots sports facilities.
This funding is designed to benefit areas most in need, based on deprivation and inactivity rates, with 50% of investment being allocated to the 30% most deprived areas in Scotland. Additionally, at least 40% of projects will have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a broader range of sports.
The programme also aims to increase participation levels for women and girls in Scotland and across the UK, through ensuring priority use slots for women and girls teams. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded changing pavilions, which create more appropriate facilities for women and girls.
The Secretary of State and I recently visited facilities in East Kilbride and The Spartans FC where we saw the impact of this investment.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with sports authorities on ensuring that (a) football-related Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is recognised as a public health issue and (b) appropriate education and guidance is made available to players.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm.
Mitigating the causes and effects of head injuries in sport is of huge importance to the Government. The Secretary of State for Culture and I have met with affected family members and ex-footballers, including individuals associated with the Football Families for Justice organisation, to discuss player safety and welfare for those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. We heard first-hand about players’ experiences and the views of the group on how safety and welfare at all levels of the sport could be improved.
The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place, including the UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport, to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will work with sports charities to create a national education programme and slogan to raise awareness of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in football.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm.
Mitigating the causes and effects of head injuries in sport is of huge importance to the Government. The Secretary of State for Culture and I have met with affected family members and ex-footballers, including individuals associated with the Football Families for Justice organisation, to discuss player safety and welfare for those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. We heard first-hand about players’ experiences and the views of the group on how safety and welfare at all levels of the sport could be improved.
The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place, including the UK Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport, to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.