Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 impact of the British Youth Council on the political literacy of young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding to continue the operation of the Youth Parliament.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to help ensure that the British Youth Council remains active.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to BYC in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UKYP delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of BYCs closure for programme delivery. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25 and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised. In parallel, we will be leading engagement with young people and key stakeholders to plan for the longer-term future of the UKYP.
An evaluation of the impact of the Youth Parliament was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 and found that all stakeholders, participants, delivery staff and policy officials, agreed that the programmes were important vehicles to engage young people in the UK political processes and support youth-informed policy development. A new evaluation of the UK Youth Parliament programme was started in 23/24 and is due to conclude in 24/25.
Since 2017, Government has provided a total amount of c.£2.4m to the British Youth Council to deliver youth voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committees and Make Your Mark.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 reduce barriers to entry for young deaf people in sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises that there are significant benefits to participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people, including D/deaf people at both the grassroots and elite levels.
We believe that every child, no matter their background or ability, should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s arm’s length body, Sport England, is committing £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England have also agreed to work with UK Deaf Sport to help to identify a small number of governing bodies that, on a trial basis, will have their talent pathways supported to be as inclusive to D/deaf athletes as possible. This work with Sport England will help open up opportunities at all levels for D/deaf people.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 increase participation by deaf people in sport.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises that there are significant benefits to participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people, including D/deaf people at both the grassroots and elite levels.
We believe that every child, no matter their background or ability, should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s arm’s length body, Sport England, is committing £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England have also agreed to work with UK Deaf Sport to help to identify a small number of governing bodies that, on a trial basis, will have their talent pathways supported to be as inclusive to D/deaf athletes as possible. This work with Sport England will help open up opportunities at all levels for D/deaf people.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the Government's BBC funding model review.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has launched a review of the BBC’s funding model, to ensure it is fair to licence fee payers, sustainable for the long term, and supports the BBC’s vital role in growing our thriving creative industries.
This is an important cross-Government programme of work, HMT and DCMS are in regular engagement, and will continue to do so over the course of the review.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of her Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department does not hold comprehensive information to the level of detail requested without incurring a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
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 awarded by and (b) number of grant recipients for the Listed Places of Worship Scheme was since 2010.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was established to reimburse the VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. The grant scheme has been managed by multiple administrators on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since it was established in 2001, and there are limited data predating 2014. Since 2010, a total of £358,356,027 has been allocated in grant funding to support places of worship throughout the UK. Based on the data the Department does possess, it can be estimated that 22,633 listed places of worship were the recipients of grant funding through the scheme since 2014.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has allocated to councils to deliver cultural services in (a) 2010, (b) 2018 and (c) 2024 as of 17 April 2024.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The funding of local cultural services and organisations is a matter for individual local authorities, but the Government strongly supports their doing so, not least because of the significant economic, social, and wellbeing benefits cultural organisations deliver. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024–25 makes available up to £64.7 billion for local authorities — an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023–24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting local authorities. The majority of this funding is not ring-fenced, so local authorities can consider how best to balance their local priorities.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has for funding for councils to deliver cultural services in the next two years; and if she will increase such funding.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The funding of local cultural services and organisations is a matter for individual local authorities, but the Government strongly supports their doing so, not least because of the significant economic, social, and wellbeing benefits cultural organisations deliver. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024–25 makes available up to £64.7 billion for local authorities — an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023–24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting local authorities. The majority of this funding is not ring-fenced, so local authorities can consider how best to balance their local priorities.