Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

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In January, the DCMS Secretary of State announced a historic £1.5 billion funding package for culture, to save more than 1000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England from closure. £160 million of this funding is earmarked for local museums. Many museums face financial challenges, and we take their concerns seriously: this year alone (2025/26), we have delivered £20 million through the new Museum Renewal Fund, supporting 75 museum organisations across England to keep sites open, and allocated £25.5 million towards essential infrastructure projects via the Museum Estate and Development Fund. This investment doubles the £44 million that Arts Council England invests annually in museums through their core funding programmes, including core funding for over 200 National Portfolio museum sites.

In the coming weeks, DCMS and ACE will set out how museums can apply for new funding programmes available from next financial year. As the National Development Agency for museums, ACE also provides critical support for smaller museum sites via the Museum Development Network. Museums also benefit from further support, via the VAT Refund Scheme and Exhibitions Tax Relief. DCMS-sponsored national museums receive annual funding to support their operations and for critical infrastructure works.

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will award grants for projects to cover capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project, as is the case with the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In some cases the amount granted could be greater than just the VAT element currently funded.

In addition to the forthcoming Places of Worship Renewal Fund there is other funding available via DCMS and the Department’s arm’s length bodies. Between 2024 and 2027 the National Lottery Heritage Fund expects to have invested around £100m in places of worship. Around £30m a year is available through their National Lottery Heritage Grants open programme and an additional £15million is available through a strategic initiative to provide targeted support to build capacity in the sector. Additionally, and in exceptional circumstances, some listed places of worship in England may be eligible for Heritage at Risk funding via Historic England.

The Government recognises that trust in and independence of the levy system are crucial. We have appointed expert public bodies to lead on research, prevention and treatment of gambling related harm. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and NHS England, together with appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, are responsible for day-to-day levy spending. These bodies have set up their own governance arrangements and conflict of interest policies to ensure these decisions are independent of industry and led by the evidence of what works.

Furthermore, the Gambling Levy Programme Board oversees the statutory levy system to ensure that funding is being spent appropriately and efficiently. The Terms of Reference for the Board can be found on GOV.UK.

A TV licence is currently required to watch live TV, and to watch or download any BBC programme on iPlayer. Households are therefore already required to hold a TV licence to watch live TV on a subscription-based streaming service.

The Government launched the BBC Charter Review last year. As part of the BBC Charter Review, we are looking at a range of options to support the BBC with sustainable and fair funding, including how the BBC can operate more efficiently, generate more commercial revenue, and how the licence fee could be reformed including the scope of services for which a TV licence is required.

The Government is now considering responses to the public consultation, and these will inform policy decisions for the next BBC Royal Charter. These will be set out in a White Paper, expected to be published later this year.

The TV Licensing website states that in 2024/25, approximately 72 million items of mail for TV Licensing were sent. This information is published at https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-administering-the-licence-fee-AB20

The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations and we do not hold exact information on the number of letters it sends to households, or how many of these would relate to enforcement.

The Government is committed to ensuring a healthy and plural local media for the benefit of communities and citizens across the UK. We have launched a Local Media Action Plan to help local newsrooms across the country innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high quality, trustworthy news.

Local media already has a strong propensity to innovate and many local publishers are shifting towards digital subscription models in an effort to secure their financial sustainability. This is an understandable response to the financial pressures faced by the industry and a reflection of the significant costs involved in provision of high quality journalism.

The purpose of the subscriptions regime set out in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act is to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscriptions. Government has consulted on how the regime will be implemented, and I have engaged alongside the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection with representatives from the news media sector and other DCMS stakeholders on this consultation. More broadly, DCMS continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to reflect on the issues raised during the consultation and a Government Response will be published in due course.

The government’s full response to Baroness Hodge’s independent review of Arts Council England was published on 26 March and deposited in the House Library.

DCMS officials engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation. DCMS will continue to engage with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport clubs, which play an important role within communities across the country.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport clubs through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.

Through its Movement Fund, Sport England allocates funding to grassroots sports clubs primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

This Government has agreed an important new deal that will open up opportunities for people to study, live and learn in the EU through our reassociation into the Erasmus+ programme in 2027.

We have noted the report published on 26 February 2026 by LEAP Sports Scotland regarding the benefits of Erasmus+. The government recognises the value of international exchange and will consider all relevant evidence as we prepare for reassociation.

Our approach to EU relations will always respect the role of the devolved governments and legislatures. We are working closely with colleagues in the devolved governments to achieve this.

This Government is committed to rebuilding and improving local youth services to ensure every young person across the country has a community.

We’re also investing in the #iWill Movement to support place-based youth social action work. In this work, young people will play an active role in addressing local issues, supporting their sense of belonging and connection to community.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.

Sport England allocates funds to National Governing Bodies and grassroots sports providers primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

As part of this, Sport England are committed to reducing inactivity within lower socio-economic groups. Through their place partnership work, they have invested into more than 90 places across England, focusing resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality. Each place is in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national level.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.

Sport England allocates funds to National Governing Bodies and grassroots sports providers primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

As part of this, Sport England are committed to reducing inactivity within lower socio-economic groups. Through their place partnership work, they have invested into more than 90 places across England, focusing resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality. Each place is in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national level.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.

Sport England allocates funds to National Governing Bodies and grassroots sports providers primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

As part of this, Sport England are committed to reducing inactivity within lower socio-economic groups. Through their place partnership work, they have invested into more than 90 places across England, focusing resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality. Each place is in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national level.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.

Sport England allocates funds to National Governing Bodies and grassroots sports providers primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

As part of this, Sport England are committed to reducing inactivity within lower socio-economic groups. Through their place partnership work, they have invested into more than 90 places across England, focusing resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality. Each place is in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national level.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

The local Active Partnership for the constituency, Yorkshire Sport Foundation is best placed to provide guidance on how to access support for swimming pools. I would be happy to ask my officials to facilitate a conversation with the Yorkshire Sport Foundation and relevant stakeholders, if that would be helpful.

This Government is doing much to reset the relationship with civil society and ensure we listen to - and heed - a broad range of voices from across the sector, including those from small charities. The Civil Society Covenant, launched by the Prime Minister in July 2025, sets out the ambition of this government to fully recognise the value of civil society. No.10 has established the Civil Society Council, to work in partnership with government at the highest level to drive and oversee the implementation of the Covenant.

Our recently-launched £11.5 million Local Covenant Partnerships (LCP) Fund puts many of the Covenant’s principles into practice, including testing new approaches to commissioning and procurement. The LCP Fund will invest in 15 places across England to develop innovative partnership models between VCSE organisations and local public sector bodies. This in turn will increase levels of local VCSE delivery of public services, including from small charities, and work towards developing the local sector’s knowledge and confidence of commissioning structures and procurement processes.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport commissioned an independent provider (Ipsos) to conduct an evaluation covering the Uniformed Youth Fund from 2022 to 2025, which was published on 11th September 2025.

The research found uniformed youth organisations (UYOs) contribute to the social and emotional development of young people by providing them with structured activities and supportive environments, enhancing young people’s cooperation skills, communication, and confidence. UYOs also enhance education and career opportunities for young people by providing them with valuable skills for life and work and supporting their academic attainment through diverse activities.

The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government. We are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed.

As part of the 2025 Budget, the Treasury announced that the Gambling Commission will receive an additional £26 million across three years to increase investment, resources and capacity to tackle the illegal market. The government has also launched the Illegal Gambling Taskforce which brings together a wide range of stakeholders to take action against the illegal market.

We will continue to engage with the sector and the Gambling Commission to understand any impacts of duty changes.

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process will be published in due course. The fund will begin in the financial year 2026-27.

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process will be published in due course. The fund will begin in the financial year 2026-27.

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process will be published in due course. The fund will begin in the financial year 2026-27.

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

The government notes the findings of Raffaello Rossi, Edoardo Tozzi and Agnes Nairn published in Psychology and Marketing on 7 March. We remain committed to protecting children and young people from gambling related harm.

Operators must ensure that advertising is not targeted at children. In October 2025, the Advertising Standards Authority updated their guidance to rule that personalities or influencers with under-18s social media followings totalling at least 100,000 across all platforms is indicative of strong appeal to children and young people, and gambling advertisements cannot be promoted through these channels. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders on gambling protections for children.

As part of the Statutory Gambling Levy, the Office for Health, Inequalities and Disparity (OHID, are developing a robust spread of measures of gambling harm prevention activity, and are utilising a ‘test and learn’ approach to prevention activity such as gambling education.

The Government understands the importance of everyone being able to access information in times of national emergency. Both television and radio play a vital role in providing such access for a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications in a range of scenarios.

The Government’s project looking into the future of TV distribution is considering a range of relevant factors, including the future resilience requirements for broadcast networks. It is important that audiences continue to receive consistent levels of service regardless of how they receive their television, and ensuring that this can happen will be a priority for the project.

Neither the Department for Culture, Media and Sport nor its arm’s length body Sport England are regulators of sport in England. National Governing Bodies of sport are independent of Government and are responsible for the rules and regulation of their sports. Sport England recognises the Hurlingham Polo Association as the National Governing Body for Polo in England.

UK Sport and Sport England as arm's-length bodies of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provide funding to a range of sporting organisations including National Governing Bodies, and have strict eligibility criteria for funding along with financial assurance.

The British fashion industry is a key driver of economic growth, estimated by the British Fashion Council to employ over 800,000 people and contribute nearly £30 billion in gross value added to the UK economy. London Fashion Week is a world-leading event in the fashion calendar, featuring over 250 designers to a global audience of media and retailers.

As part of our Creative Industries Sector Plan we’re continuing our support for the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN scheme for emerging designers. This funding helps the next generation to develop the global high-end brands of the future through opportunities to showcase their work at London Fashion Week and take part in mentoring from business experts, showing the best of British to the world.

Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music.

Through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, we collaborated on this matter with key industry stakeholders, including major and independent record labels and music creator representatives.

We were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions, including the commitment to provide legacy artists with further clarity on how they can seek and obtain contract renegotiation that appropriately remunerates them. The UK’s major labels have also launched bespoke packages to deliver benefits for UK creators.

The government has committed to monitoring and reviewing the impact of the label-led principles in one year’s time. At that point, we will assess the need for further intervention to ensure this package delivers on its objective to bring about real change.

DCMS has not had discussions with the Charity Commission for England and Wales regarding the activities of IM01 Limited.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers will be extended to tackle extremist abuse of charities. This includes: extending its ability to suspend trustees and close down charities; introducing mandatory trustee ID verification; and digitising charity accounts to improve transparency and accountability. As a first step we will shortly consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting violence or hatred. These changes can be implemented through secondary legislation. DCMS will engage the sector on any further changes which may require primary legislation.

The Government intends for the Charity Commission’s powers to be used proportionately to protect charities. In rare cases that charitable status is abused for extremist purposes the Charity Commission must be able to act swiftly and decisively to safeguard charitable funds and to protect public trust and confidence in charities.

The Government recognises the significant role that the UK’s cultural sector plays in attracting international visitors and supporting the visitor economy. The UK’s museums, galleries, heritage sites, and wider cultural offer are a key part of the country’s global appeal and contribute strongly to the UK’s reputation as a world class tourism destination.

Evidence from VisitBritain indicates that cultural and heritage assets are key motivations for inbound visitors. Data from the International Passenger Survey shows that visiting museums or art galleries is the ninth most popular activity among overseas visitors, with around 11.8 million visits in 2024 (30% of inbound visitors) and associated visitor spending of around £12.7 billion. Cultural heritage more broadly also attracts significant participation, with around 11.2 million visitors (29%) visiting castles or historic houses and 7.9 million (20%) visiting religious buildings.

Through VisitBritain’s international marketing activity and the Government’s support for the cultural sector, the UK continues to promote its rich cultural offer to international audiences. This supports inbound tourism, drives visitor spending across the UK’s regions and nations, and strengthens the UK’s global soft power and reputation as a leading cultural destination.

The BBC Charter Review was officially launched on 16 December with the publication of the Terms of Reference and Green Paper. The Charter Review is looking at a range of issues to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country, including the broadcast technologies the BBC should use to deliver its services. The Government is now considering responses to the public consultation, and these will inform policy decisions for the next BBC Royal Charter. Decisions will be set out in a White Paper, expected to be published later this year.

The White Paper will also be informed by the Government’s project to assess the future of TV distribution. Once the Government’s approach to the future of TV distribution has been decided in consultation with the public, we will need to consider how the BBC’s obligations might need to change, and how the BBC can make sure that no one is left behind in any transition to online viewing by centering digital inclusion in its services and activities.

The BBC Charter Review was officially launched on 16 December with the publication of the Terms of Reference and Green Paper. The Charter Review is looking at a range of issues to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country, including the broadcast technologies the BBC should use to deliver its services. The Government is now considering responses to the public consultation, and these will inform policy decisions for the next BBC Royal Charter. Decisions will be set out in a White Paper, expected to be published later this year.

The White Paper will also be informed by the Government’s project to assess the future of TV distribution. Once the Government’s approach to the future of TV distribution has been decided in consultation with the public, we will need to consider how the BBC’s obligations might need to change, and how the BBC can make sure that no one is left behind in any transition to online viewing by centering digital inclusion in its services and activities.

The Government has now tabled an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill with the intention of introducing Gambling Impact Assessment (GIAs), formerly referred to as Cumulative Impact Assessments. The implementation date will be confirmed in due course.

DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.

The Resilience Action Plan sets out the Government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. DCMS officials regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.

The department is actively contributing to this work and regularly attends Cross-Whitehall fora on national resilience including meetings on the Home Defence Programme.

Ofcom, by law, carries out its duties independently of the Government. Ofcom has an ongoing duty, under the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996, to be satisfied that any person holding a broadcasting licence is, and remains, fit and proper to hold those licences. Ofcom can revoke a licence if it ceases to be satisfied that this is the case. In making a fit and proper assessment, Ofcom can consider all relevant circumstances, including the broadcaster’s own conduct, and the behaviour of people who exercise material influence or control over the broadcaster. This could include criminal behaviour or links to proscribed organisations.

The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating the National Lottery under the National Lottery etc Act 1993, and non-commercial lotteries (such as society lotteries and Local Authority lotteries) under the Gambling Act 2005.

It is not within the Commission’s remit to regulate or licence syndicates as long as they operate in a specific way that avoids them being classed as “promoting a lottery” under the Gambling Act 2005. Consequently, the Commission does not mandate any requirements with regards to their operation.

The Government has no plans to make changes to the operation of syndicate lotteries.

Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process will be published in due course. The fund will begin in the financial year 2026-27.

I can confirm that my department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure that the impact on low-income households across the UK, including in the North West of England, is fully considered as part of any decisions on the future of digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.