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 level of risk of closure of zoos and aquariums as a result of increased operating costs; and what steps she is taking to mitigate that risk.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution zoos and aquariums make to the visitor economy, supporting local growth and global conservation. DCMS monitors the sector's performance closely through VisitBritain/VisitEngland.
The Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2024 report demonstrates the sector's resilience, with England’s attractions reporting a 1.4% increase in visits and an 8% increase in gross revenue from 2023-2024. Major zoos remain among England's most popular paid attractions; Chester Zoo and ZSL London Zoo currently rank third and ninth respectively.
To support the sector, the Government has introduced targeted measures including permanently lower business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million annually.
DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside and our world-class attractions to a worldwide audience. Local Visitor Economy Partnerships also have an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that encourage more visitors to come and stay for longer and benefit local communities.
The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will also provide a long-term framework to increase visitor flows and deliver sustainable growth across the UK.
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 potential impact of current economic conditions on visitor numbers and income for zoos and aquariums.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution zoos and aquariums make to the visitor economy, supporting local growth and global conservation. DCMS monitors the sector's performance closely through VisitBritain/VisitEngland.
The Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2024 report demonstrates the sector's resilience, with England’s attractions reporting a 1.4% increase in visits and an 8% increase in gross revenue from 2023-2024. Major zoos remain among England's most popular paid attractions; Chester Zoo and ZSL London Zoo currently rank third and ninth respectively.
To support the sector, the Government has introduced targeted measures including permanently lower business rates for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million annually.
DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside and our world-class attractions to a worldwide audience. Local Visitor Economy Partnerships also have an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that encourage more visitors to come and stay for longer and benefit local communities.
The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will also provide a long-term framework to increase visitor flows and deliver sustainable growth across the UK.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what external oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure that publicly owned broadcasters investigate whistleblowing concerns independently of senior management.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our public service broadcasters are operationally independent of Government and so probationary periods rightfully remain a matter for them.
Employees of public service broadcasters, like most employees in Great Britain, who blow the whistle on certain types of wrongdoing are protected from retaliatory unfair dismissal and detriment under the Employment Rights Act 1996 if legislative conditions are met. This is a day one right, meaning employees do not need to satisfy any qualifying period of service to seek remedies in employment tribunals.
Employees of publicly owned broadcasters will be protected if they blow the whistle to Ofcom, the independent media regulator, if certain conditions in the legislation are met. Ofcom is a ‘prescribed person’ under the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Person Order) 2014. The Government is also exploring the addition of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to this list and the Secretary of State continues to call on the television sector and wider creative industries to support the work of CIISA to improve standards of behaviour across industry.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 trends in the use of extension of probationary periods in publicly owned broadcasters to detriment whistleblowing employees.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our public service broadcasters are operationally independent of Government and so probationary periods rightfully remain a matter for them.
Employees of public service broadcasters, like most employees in Great Britain, who blow the whistle on certain types of wrongdoing are protected from retaliatory unfair dismissal and detriment under the Employment Rights Act 1996 if legislative conditions are met. This is a day one right, meaning employees do not need to satisfy any qualifying period of service to seek remedies in employment tribunals.
Employees of publicly owned broadcasters will be protected if they blow the whistle to Ofcom, the independent media regulator, if certain conditions in the legislation are met. Ofcom is a ‘prescribed person’ under the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Person Order) 2014. The Government is also exploring the addition of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to this list and the Secretary of State continues to call on the television sector and wider creative industries to support the work of CIISA to improve standards of behaviour across industry.
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, whether she has considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry. Video games are already regulated by a number of legislative and voluntary measures, governed by several enforcement bodies.
Video games are regulated with age ratings, which protect children and vulnerable people from inappropriate content. The Government works closely with the Games Rating Authority (GRA) who are designated by Government to ensure games are appropriately rated and include information for buyers on potentially harmful content, for example violence or bad language.
The Online Safety Act, made law on 26 October 2023, applies to online services which allow users to share content and interact with one another. This definition includes some video games, for example those with in-game chat functions. The Act is enforced by Ofcom.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes; which includes online and in-game advertisements, such as advertising of microtransactions or loot boxes.
Finally, where video game products amount to unlicensed gambling, such as skins gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown it will take strong enforcement action.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 support orchestras.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is proud to champion our world-class orchestras and musicians, and help them to thrive. Through Arts Council England’s (ACE) 2023–26 National Portfolio Investment Programme, more money is going to more orchestral organisations in more parts of the country than ever before.The National Portfolio is supporting 139 organisations classed as ‘music’ by investing around £65 million of public funding per annum. ACE investment in classical music remains high, in particular in orchestral music organisations, with 23 such organisations being funded to the tune of around £21 million per annum. We are also supporting orchestras through the tax system, confirming from April 2025 that Orchestra Tax Relief on production costs would be set at the generous rate of 45 per cent.
Over the course of this Parliament, we will also make a £1.5 billion capital investment into fulfilling our Arts Everywhere ambitions. This funding package includes £425 million for the Creative Foundations Fund, revitalising and renewing performing arts buildings across England, including resident venues and key stops on orchestral tours. We will also, for the first time, provide £80 million of capital funding to the National Portfolio Investment Programme over the next four years. This means that Arts Council England will be able to give around 1,000 cultural organisations a 5% uplift in their regular funding; the single biggest uplift to an existing Portfolio in decades.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will review the decision taken earlier this year not to award funding to the Wellington Orbit from the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Creative Foundation Fund, announced in 2025 as part of the Arts Everywhere Fund, is being delivered by Arts Council England. The Arts Council makes decisions about which organisations and projects to fund independently of government and Ministers, which means there is no question of any political involvement in arts funding decisions. It would, therefore, be inappropriate for Ministers to ask Arts Council England to revisit their decision on the application made by Wellington Orbit. Demand for this fund in its first round was extremely high, with a large number of applicants demonstrating the ability to meet the programme aims. As a result, the Arts Council had to make very difficult decisions about which applicants to invite to the full application stage. This was to ensure that applicants did not spend time and resources completing an application with very limited chance of success in that round.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has recently announced a new round of the Arts Everywhere Fund, including up to £340 million of new funding for the Creative Foundations Fund, which will be invested from 2026/27 up to and including 2029/30. Wellington Orbit may wish to submit an application. Arts Council England will announce further details regarding the application process and eligibility criteria in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 Formula One bodies on further support for Formula One in the UK.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Formula One is a British success story and this government is proud to champion and support the sport. My Department frequently engages with Formula One and wider stakeholders across the motorsport industry to champion the sport and identify shared opportunities including recently at the Motorsport UK Night of Champions and at the iconic British Grand Prix in July.
The Government recognises manufacturing, engineering and other STEM advances generated in our domestic motorsport sector are a vibrant part of regional growth in Motorsport Valley and beyond.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the unification of England next year.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are no plans at present for the Government to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the unification of England.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 support the holiday parks industry.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the significant value that the holiday parks industry provides in supporting our rural and coastal economies. The Government is committed to ensuring their long-term viability by modernising the business rates system and providing targeted marketing to overseas visitors.
From April 2026, we are replacing temporary reliefs with permanently lower business rate multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties. This structural shift provides long-term certainty and is worth nearly £900 million annually. To protect businesses from sudden valuation shocks, we have introduced a £3.2 billion Transitional Relief scheme, which caps bill increases at 15% for most businesses
The Government has set out a package of pro-growth regulatory changes for the retail and hospitality sectors, including the first National Licensing Policy Framework, which supports the flexible growth of hospitality services within holiday parks.
DCMS and VisitBritain are actively working to boost visitor numbers and extend the tourism season for coastal and rural operators. The ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign uses the UK’s film and television heritage to drive international visitors into rural destinations, increasing the profile of areas where many premier holiday parks are located.
The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will cement these measures, providing a long-term plan to increase visitor flows, maximise sector value, and deliver sustainable growth for our coastal and rural communities.