Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department have made an assessment of the viability of the United Kingdom hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK is proud to have hosted the Commonwealth Games twice in the past decade. The record-breaking Birmingham Games in 2022 came in under budget and added at least £870 million of Gross Value Added to the UK economy, and hundreds of millions to the local economy in the West Midlands.
We are committed to working with the Commonwealth Games Federation and other Commonwealth countries to support a sustainable future for the Games. It is important that the Games remain a truly global event that gives athletes from around the world the chance to compete, and we continue to encourage the Commonwealth Games Federation to explore all hosting possibilities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat on the potential merits of including the (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) Crown Dependencies as independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Answered by David Rutley
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are represented through the UK's membership of the Commonwealth and are able to participate in many aspects of the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Games. The UK supports closer links between the British Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth and is committed to working together to examine options for the greater participation of the Territory Governments and peoples in its organisations.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided for bus services in real terms in each of the last five years.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Transport has provided a total of £3.47 billion (£2.8 billion in real terms (2010/11 prices)) for bus services between 2018/19 to 2022/23. This includes the Bus Service Operators Grant, Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant, Bus Recovery Grant, Commonwealth Games funding, £2 Bus Fare Cap, and Bus Service Improvement Plan funding.
The breakdown of this by year is as follows:
2018/19 - £244 million (£215 million in 2010/11 prices)
2019/20 - £249 million (£214 million in 2010/11 prices)
2020/21 - £1.2 billion (£974 million in 2010/11 prices)
2021/22 - £899 million (£729 million in 2010/11 prices)
2022/23 - £873 million (£671 million in 2010/11 prices)
In addition, on 4 October, as part of Network North, we announced a further £1 billion from redirected HS2 funding to level up bus services in the North and Midlands via BSIP, making them more frequent, more reliable, cheaper, and easier to use. We are also extending the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, meaning we are investing nearly £600 million in total to cap bus fares across England since the scheme was launched. On top of this, we have announced that a new uplift of 60% will be added to Community Transport Operators’ (CTOs) Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) claims until 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the withdrawal of Victoria and Alberta as hosts for the 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games respectively, whether they intend to invite expressions of interest to host the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games from UK cities and regions; whether they have spoken to any UK cities or regions interested in hosting the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games; and whether they are aware of any other Commonwealth countries that have expressed an interest in hosting the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The announcement by the Victorian Government was disappointing for fans and athletes across the Commonwealth. HM Government is keen that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia should work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete in, and fans have the opportunity to enjoy, this incredible event.
The UK is proud to have hosted the Games twice in the past decade, including in Birmingham last year – coming in under budget and adding at least £870 million of Gross Value Added to the UK economy. We are committed to working with the Commonwealth Games Federation and other Commonwealth countries to support a sustainable future for the Games.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 implications for her policies of the decisions made by (a) Victoria, Australia and (b) Alberta, Canada to withdraw from hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026 and 2030 respectively.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The announcement by the Victorian Government was disappointing for fans and athletes. The government is keen that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete and fans have the opportunity to enjoy this incredible event.
The UK is proud to have hosted the Games twice in the past decade, including in Birmingham last year: coming in under budget and adding at least £870 million GVA to the UK economy. We are committed to working with the CGF and Commonwealth countries to support a sustainable future for the Games.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the government of Victoria, Australia, in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The announcement by the Victorian Government was disappointing for fans and athletes. The government is keen that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete and fans have the opportunity to enjoy this incredible event.
The UK is proud to have hosted the Games twice in the past decade, including in Birmingham last year: coming in under budget and adding at least £870 million GVA to the UK economy. We are committed to working with the CGF and Commonwealth countries to support a sustainable future for the Games.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is working with devolved Administrations to bid for the (a) 2026 or (b) 2030 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The announcement by the Victorian Government was disappointing for fans and athletes. The government is keen that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete and fans have the opportunity to enjoy this incredible event.
The UK is proud to have hosted the Games twice in the past decade, including in Birmingham last year: coming in under budget and adding at least £870 million GVA to the UK economy. We are committed to working with the CGF and Commonwealth countries to support a sustainable future for the Games.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) applicability for high-profile sporting events in the UK of the anti-drone technology used by French authorities during the Rugby World Cup.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Following publication of the Government’s Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy in 2019, the Home Office supported the development of a police national counter-drone capability, with the specialist National Police Chief’s Council Counter-Drone team implementing this across the UK. It comprises a range of specialist equipment, vehicles, and personnel to provide a flexible counter-drone capability to detect, track, identify and effect drones.
Counter-drone equipment has been successfully deployed at major events, including sporting events, such as: COP26, the Commonwealth Games, The Coronation of His Majesty The King, and Eurovision. The equipment has a proven track record, and the Home Office continues to support further capability development. The Home Office does not routinely comment on police operations.
The Government works closely with international partners around the world to develop a common approach to addressing shared threats and challenges associated with the misuse of drones.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate her Department has made of the contribution of sport and sporting activities to the economy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The government is committed to supporting economic growth in the sector, and ensuring this translates into tangible outcomes that span grassroots participation through to elite performance. In turn, this can help stimulate the contribution sport makes to growing the national economy.
The government’s previous Sport Satellite Account estimated that the gross value added (GVA) of the sport sector in 2019 was £48.9 billion. This marked an increase of 2.9% between 2018 and 2019, and of 20.4% between 2010 and 2019, in real terms. In addition, major sporting events have significant benefits for the national economy and for attracting investment to the UK. The hosting of the 2022 events (excluding Commonwealth Games), had a direct economic impact of £132 million, supported 1,600 jobs and had a 6:1 return on investment. The short-term impact alone of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games contributed almost £871 million GVA to the UK economy.
In our new sport strategy, Get Active, we have set out our ambition to deliver a new economic snapshot that articulates the economic value and growth opportunities that exist within sport in the UK. This will replace the previous government Sport Satellite reporting mechanism.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the financial impact on Birmingham of hosting the 2026 European Athletics Championships.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Major sporting events contribute a wide range of benefits for host cities and the entire UK. Sport is estimated to be worth over £38 billion a year to the UK’s economy, and major sporting events play a significant role in delivering continued growth across many key sectors.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, hosted in Birmingham, were a huge success, coming in under budget and delivering at least £870 million gross value add (GVA) for the economy. Over half of this was generated in the West Midlands specifically.
Following the Section 114 notice on 5th September, Birmingham City Council is developing a financial management plan on future spending, including the 2026 European Athletics Championships.