Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 impact of weather related postponements on grassroots football clubs.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 Football Association’s decision not to allow an extension to the season for junior football on clubs.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 venues with artificial surfaces increasing prices for junior sides on clubs.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 the Football Association on increasing funding for drainage works on grass pitches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to provide financial assistance to non-league football clubs impacted by weather related postponements.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many junior football matches have been postponed this season as a result of weather.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Maintenance of grass football pitches is the responsibility of individual clubs in conjunction with the FA. Clubs that play at Step 1 to 6 of the National League System and Tiers 1 to 4 of the Women’s Football Pyramid are eligible to apply for grants through the Premier League Stadium Fund in order to make improvements to their grounds. Administration of the grants is managed by the Football Foundation.
Government is also delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. This includes £327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
The Government recognises the logistical difficulties posed by weather-related postponements, and the consequent fixture congestion caused. This is exacerbated for clubs that have been forced to play their home fixtures at an alternative venue where the surface at their home ground is unplayable. However, the decision of whether or not to extend a football season is one that must be made by the FA as national governing body of the sport.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the practice of intentionally rendering commercial videogames inoperable when support ends.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises recent concerns raised by video games users regarding the long-term operability of purchased products. Video games publishers must comply with existing consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).
The CPRs protect consumers from being given false or misleading information by businesses. If consumers purchased a game on the understanding that it would continue to be playable, even when support ends, then the CPRs may provide recourse.
Under the CRA, consumers have clear rights when buying digital content, such as video games, supplied in digital form. Any digital content the consumer has paid for must be as described and of a satisfactory quality. If digital content does not meet these requirements, the consumer is entitled to a repair or replacement, or a price reduction or refund if the fault cannot be fixed. The CRA has a time limit of up to six years after a breach of contract during which a consumer can take legal action.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses attended the (a) export licencing, (b) doing business with prime contractors, (c) working with the media, (d) preparing for events, (e) finance for export, (f) support from other government departments and bodies, (g) developing export strategies, (h) global market focus, (i) business culture and know how across the world and (j) pitching for international contracts sessions led by the UK Defence and Security Exports export faculty in each year since 2019.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
a) export licencing – No information available.
b) doing business with prime contractors – 26 individuals attended live.
c) working with the media – No session held to date.
d) preparing for events – 29 attended live.
e) finance for export – 11 attended live.
f) support from other government departments and bodies – No session held to date.
g) developing export strategies – No session held to date.
h) global market focus – No session held to date.
i) business culture and know how across the world – No session held to date.
j) pitching for international contracts sessions – No information available.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients of funding from the National Citizen Service was in (i) Suffolk Coastal constituency, (ii) Suffolk and (iii) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following Covid-19 and a strategic review, in 2023 the NCS Trust launched a new delivery model for the NCS programme. The new programme consists of residential, community and digital experiences. NCS Trust provides grant-funding to local organisations across England to deliver these community experiences.
In Suffolk, two organisations have received a total of £321,445 grant-funding. Volunteering Matters have received a grant to work with targeted groups of young people in Suffolk. Hear2Listen have received a grant, and are delivering programmes for young people in their local communities through Inspire Suffolk and Ipswich Town Football Club. Currently NCS Trust have not funded organisations that work exclusively in the Suffolk coastal constituency, however the grant funded organisations they work with in Suffolk cover this area in their remit.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) number and (b) value was of grants made to grassroots sport in (i) Suffolk and (ii) Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to levelling up access to community and grassroots sport - physical activity should be accessible to all, no matter a person’s background or location. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. The total of this investment is £409 million. This includes:
£327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
£21.9 million to renovate over 3,000 tennis courts across Scotland, England and Wales between 2022 and 2024.
Over £60 million via the Swimming Pool Support Fund in 2023/24 to support public swimming pool providers in England with immediate cost pressures, and provide investment to make facilities sustainable in the longer-term.
In total, Suffolk has received over £1.9m in funding through these programmes:
Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme: Over £1 million has been awarded through 38 grants since 2021. Over £74k has been invested into Suffolk Coastal specifically through 16 grants. All funded sites are listed on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2021-to-2025
Swimming Pool Support Fund: Over £900,000 has been awarded to 7 individual facilities across 5 Local Authorities in the Suffolk region by March 2025. All funded sites are listed here on Sport England’s website: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/swimming-pool-support-fund-helps-facilities-prepare-future
Funding for football and multi-sport projects awarded in England prior to 2021 were delivered by the Football Foundation, funded through Sport England. Sport England’s funding to the Football Foundation is available on their website, along with all awards made by Sport England to football clubs since 2009: https://www.sportengland.org/
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloat
Sport England has also invested an additional £85 million into projects which facilitate participation in grassroots football. For a breakdown of the projects funded across this period, Sport England publishes an updated register of grant awards on a quarterly basis, with awards dating back to 2009 listed in full.