Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the press release of 15 May 2025 entitled Media law reforms to boost press sustainability and protect independence, whether a company (a) wholly owned by and (b) under the majority control of the Chinese government would be permitted to buy a stake of up to 15 per cent in a UK newspaper.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The new foreign state intervention (FSI) regime, set out in the Entreprise Act 2002, seeks to preserve the freedom of the press. It applies to all foreign powers that may seek to acquire control or influence a UK newspaper or news periodical and will be applied case by case based on the facts presented.
Our assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers can be found in my Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 help improve access to sport for (a) children and (b) young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Every child should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Prime Minister recently announced a new School Sport Partnerships approach and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. The ongoing independent expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that all children can engage with a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport.
On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs, including for children and young people, and then set out further plans.
In the last financial year, 2024-25, Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for community sport, invested £43,803 into South Holland and the Deepings constituency to improve access to sport and physical activity.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Draft Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the partial ownership of UK newspapers by foreign governments on (a) democracy and (b) national security in the UK.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The new foreign state intervention (FSI) regime, set out in the Entreprise Act 2002, seeks to preserve the freedom of the press. It applies to all foreign powers that may seek to acquire control or influence a UK newspaper or news periodical and will be applied case by case based on the facts presented.
Our assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers can be found in my Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 cancellation of the communications campaign entitled, Better Health - Every Mind Matters: Loneliness, on mental health outcomes.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Whilst the Better Health - Every Mind Matters: Loneliness campaign is no longer running, information, advice and signposts to organisations which can support people experiencing loneliness remains available on the Better Health – Every Mind Matters website. The website receives an average of over 150,000 visits per month. In the last full year, this figure exceeded two million visits. Indicative evidence demonstrates that Better Health-Every Mind Matters is improving the nation’s mental health and wellbeing; 2 in 3 of those who complete the Mind Plan email programme report measurably better wellbeing than when they started.
In addition, a campaign toolkit on loneliness for use by local authorities, NHS organisations and community groups is available on the Department of Health and Social Care’s Campaign Resource Centre. The toolkit includes key messages and social media assets that can be used in locally-run campaigns.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 grassroots sports clubs in Eastbourne.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. This funding builds upon the additional £100 million that was announced for the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in March. Details regarding funded projects can be found via the recently updated 2024/25 project lists, which are publicly available here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2024-to-2025 - and is also available in the Library of the House.
The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports and health club facilities in England, through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, and then set out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to support the development of padel courts in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.
We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the closure of the FA Futsal Committee on futsal governance in England; and if she will publish a long-term development strategy for the sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I recognise the passion within the futsal community in England and the importance of effective governance for the sport's development. Last year, the Football Association (FA), as the sport's National Governing Body, evolved its structure for futsal, integrating its oversight within the Football Development Committee and collaborating with "England Futsal" for delivery.
Ultimately, the governance and strategic direction of futsal in England, including its long-term development, are matters for the recognised National Governing Body to lead. The Government continues to observe their progress and engagement with the futsal community as they implement their plans for the sport.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 implications for her policies of Ofcom’s proposals to remove the prohibitions on (a) matching rights and (b) bundling.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As we set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government wants a healthy and mixed TV ecology. This includes public service broadcasters providing an engine room of creativity whilst our independent production sector continues to create more intellectual property and British content that can be exported globally.
Ofcom, as the independent media regulator, is responsible for the guidance to public service broadcasters on commissioning codes of practice and has consulted on their proposals and will be carefully considering all of the responses they have received.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of dormant assets funds will be allocated to youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In November 2024, the government announced an even split of £350m between the four Dormant Assets causes. Since then an additional £90m has been split between Youth and Financial Inclusion.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 local media in(a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Eastbourne and East Sussex. Government understands the important work that local news does across the UK, including outlets such as the Argus, the Eastbourne Reporter and the Eastbourne Herald. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.
We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.