Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

The most recent Community Life Survey, which also looks at data on a local authority level, shows that 7% of adults in England (over three million people) say they are lonely.

This Government is committed to supporting people to have the social connections they need across the nation, including in Surrey and Surrey Heath. This is a key part of achieving wider government priorities including a healthier, more connected society and ensuring opportunities for all. Rather than treating loneliness as a stand alone issue we are embedding this across wider government strategies, including the National Youth Strategy, the Pride in Place Strategy and the Men’s Health Strategy.

This government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online community which enables over 1000 members to connect across sectors in England, share insights, and collaborate. My department is currently exploring how to make the Hub even more accessible to a broader range of people whose work can reduce loneliness and improve social connection.

The most recent Community Life Survey, which also looks at data on a local authority level, shows that 7% of adults in England (over three million people) say they are lonely.

This Government is committed to supporting people to have the social connections they need across the nation, including in Surrey and Surrey Heath. This is a key part of achieving wider government priorities including a healthier, more connected society and ensuring opportunities for all. Rather than treating loneliness as a stand alone issue we are embedding this across wider government strategies, including the National Youth Strategy, the Pride in Place Strategy and the Men’s Health Strategy.

This government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online community which enables over 1000 members to connect across sectors in England, share insights, and collaborate. My department is currently exploring how to make the Hub even more accessible to a broader range of people whose work can reduce loneliness and improve social connection.

The Government has recently announced the Small Business Plan. It outlines how we will make thriving small and medium sized businesses, which includes travel agents and tour operators, a reality across the UK through the most significant package of legislative reforms in 25 years to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in finance to support businesses to invest; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising the High Street as a place to do business; and delivering growth boosting support for Digital and AI Adoption with a new online Business Growth Service.

The British Tourist Authority (BTA) supports specialist travel businesses through marketing and trade opportunities, linking UK businesses with the travel trade globally through events.

In addition to this, the BTA offers training programmes, research insights, and targeted funding schemes that help travel businesses reach international markets and build capability. It connects operators with overseas buyers through both international trade events and UK based hosted buyer programmes, promotes bookable products via its platforms, and provides data, tools, and grants to strengthen the UK’s visitor economy.

The Government has also launched The Business Growth Service as part of the Small Business Plan. This makes it easier and quicker for businesses to get the help, support and advice they need to start, grow and succeed.

DCMS recognises the contribution of the outbound travel sector to the UK economy, which in 2024, saw pre-trip outbound spending reach £40 billion.

The Government is dedicated to ensuring smooth and efficient border crossings for UK citizens traveling to and from the EU. Following confirmation from the European Union that there are no legal barriers to the use of e-gates for UK nationals travelling in and out of EU Member States, the Government has proactively engaged with a wide range of counterparts across Europe.Several countries, including Bulgaria and Portugal, already expanded e-gate access to new locations for UK travellers, and many more countries including Switzerland, Estonia, and Austria have committed to further expansion in due course.

To provide a more stable environment for businesses that arrange overseas travel, the Department for Business and Trade have recently announced reforms to The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018. These changes simplify the regulations and provide stronger redress rights for travel providers, supporting UK tourism businesses selling holidays at home and abroad.

DCMS is also committed to working with airlines, rail and the cruise sector to support route development and encourage regional growth throughout the UK. This in turn benefits the essential infrastructure used by UK residents travelling overseas.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport does not have a record of the number of people its non-departmental public bodies employ through Skilled Worker visas as they are operationally independent.

Whilst there are currently no plans to use artificial intelligence in our efforts to reduce loneliness, the Government recognises the importance of using innovative approaches to address this issue.

The Government welcomes research and evidence on how artificial intelligence may be harnessed to safely support positive social connections. The government-funded Tackling Loneliness Hub recently published this blog on health innovation and the role of AI in strengthening social connection, and hosts a range of events for members to learn about novel approaches to addressing loneliness.

Our ambition to strengthen positive social connections and tackle loneliness is a key part of achieving wider government objectives to create a healthier society and more connected communities across all demographics. My department has been working hard to ensure social connection and loneliness are embedded across government policy making, including the recently published Pride in Place strategy, Men’s Health Strategy and National Youth Strategy.

The Government recognises that individuals, including those in the entertainment industry, wish to have control over the use of their voice or likeness in AI-generated content.

Government intervention requires careful consideration given the complex legal landscape.

The Government sought views on the issue in its copyright and AI consultation. It is considering all feedback received through the consultation and will publish a formal response in due course.

DCMS has not received any direct representations from the Government of Gibraltar regarding the potential impact of changes to gambling levies on its economy.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes information on the number of vacancies at UK-level, by industry, and by size of business as part of the vacancies and jobs in the UK release. Using that data, we see that in August to October 2025 there were 15,000 vacancies in arts, entertainment and recreation, 33,000 vacancies in information and communication and 76,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. Parts of these industries are included in DCMS sector definitions.

Compared to August to October 2024:

• Arts, entertainment and recreation vacancies are down 14.0%

• Accommodation and food service activities vacancies are down 16.5%

• Information and communication vacancies are down 13.5%

DCMS uses a more granular industry classification (4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes) to define our sectors and ONS vacancy data is not publicly available at this level.

DCMS publishes official statistics in development estimating the number of vacancies, alongside skills shortages and skills gaps, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey. Two regular data releases have been published so far: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019 and DCMS Sector Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2022, UK, as well as additional analysis for the Creative Industries. The 2022 data showed that 25.5% of DCMS Sectors businesses in the UK had at least one vacancy open at the time of the survey. This was significantly higher than All Sectors (23.2%).

Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS’s Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. DCMS has published additional estimates by SOC code for the Creative Industries using the DfE’s Employer Skills Survey.

The Government recognises that harmful gambling can wreck the lives of individuals, families and communities. Working with the Gambling Commission, we are committed to strengthening protections for those at risk through a range of new safer gambling requirements.

The vast majority of banks offer gambling bank blocks, a useful tool to help vulnerable customers control their gambling. We encourage all banks to offer gambling blocks to improve the availability of these tools and support the work of organisations, such as Money Mental Health Lab, to improve the safer gambling tools offered by the financial sector.

We are confident in the findings set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 June 2025 on society lotteries and prize draws. They are supported by a wide range of data and analysis, including official Industry Statistics published by the Gambling Commission, publicly available data published by operators, and from the robust independent research which was published on the same day.

The Government is aware that Netflix has submitted a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets as part of an ongoing acquisition process. Given the legal and commercial sensitivities involved, it would not be appropriate to comment on live discussions regarding this or any other potential merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

As set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is aware of the evolving nature of the TV and streaming landscape. Should any merger progress, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for examining implications for competition and consumers, provided that the relevant jurisdiction criteria are met. The Government has committed to asking the CMA, working with Ofcom, to set out how changes in the sector could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of the television and advertising markets.

We recognise the importance of cinemas to our high streets and our communities, and we will remain in regular contact with stakeholders including the British Film Institute and the UK Cinema Association on how best to support the UK film and cinema sectors.

The Government is aware that Netflix has submitted a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets as part of an ongoing acquisition process. Given the legal and commercial sensitivities involved, it would not be appropriate to comment on live discussions regarding this or any other potential merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

As set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is aware of the evolving nature of the TV and streaming landscape. Should any merger progress, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for examining implications for competition and consumers, provided that the relevant jurisdiction criteria are met. The Government has committed to asking the CMA, working with Ofcom, to set out how changes in the sector could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of the television and advertising markets.

We recognise the importance of cinemas to our high streets and our communities, and we will remain in regular contact with stakeholders including the British Film Institute and the UK Cinema Association on how best to support the UK film and cinema sectors.

A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. However, we know that informal working and recruitment practices, and the concentration of creative jobs in London, can act as barriers to the inclusion of people who come from working-class backgrounds.

Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why in our Creative Industries Sector Plan we committed to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, with a particular focus on priority areas where children and young people face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities. Building on this we announced in November that we have invested £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.

We are also working across the economy to address the issue of unpaid internships, as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay. Unpaid internships, which are not part of a formal educational or training course, are already largely banned. The law is clear: if someone is a worker, calling them an unpaid intern does not mean they are not entitled to pay. The commitment to ban unpaid internships reflects our vision for a fair and inclusive labour market where everyone has the opportunity to succeed based on their talent and not their financial circumstances. The recent call for evidence on unpaid internships is the first step in tackling this issue.

A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. However, we know that informal working and recruitment practices, and the concentration of creative jobs in London, can act as barriers to the inclusion of people who come from working-class backgrounds.

Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why in our Creative Industries Sector Plan we committed to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, with a particular focus on priority areas where children and young people face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities. Building on this we announced in November that we have invested £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.

We are also working across the economy to address the issue of unpaid internships, as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay. Unpaid internships, which are not part of a formal educational or training course, are already largely banned. The law is clear: if someone is a worker, calling them an unpaid intern does not mean they are not entitled to pay. The commitment to ban unpaid internships reflects our vision for a fair and inclusive labour market where everyone has the opportunity to succeed based on their talent and not their financial circumstances. The recent call for evidence on unpaid internships is the first step in tackling this issue.

The Department does not hold information on the proportion of concert ticketing companies that allow disabled customers who are using accessible seating to have one accompanying person with them.

However this Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability or location, can access the creative industries and cultural opportunities. We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF), which as well as aiming to bolster the grassroots music ecosystem, aims to promote inclusivity within the sector. For example, through support from the SGMF, a music venue in Bristol has become the first grassroots music venue in the country to secure an Attitude is Everything Gold Award, a widely-coveted Industry award, given only to those that show a significant and ongoing commitment to improving accessibility.

The Government also supports the Arts Councils of each UK nation and Ireland working together with partners, such as the British Film Institute, in launching All In, a free, UK wide arts access scheme. This scheme will help remove barriers for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people in music venues, festivals, theatres, museums, galleries, libraries and more. This initiative introduces the UK and Ireland’s first set of industry standards to improve access to arts and culture as well as launch new digital tools to support accessible ticket booking.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity has also appointed David Stanley as Disability and Access Ambassador for arts and culture - to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the sector for disabled people, helping to ensure businesses are doing all they can to support disabled customers.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC is an incredibly important institution, it plays a crucial role in ensuring all communities are heard and feel valued as part of our public life. That is the standard that we expect the BBC to be held to. The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short.

The Secretary of State has had regular conversations with the Chair to understand the BBC’s plans to address concerns that have emerged in recent months, including how the BBC is approaching the issue of antisemitism.

In particular, the Government welcomes the actions taken by the BBC to strengthen editorial quality and standards for the BBC Arabic Service, as set out in the BBC Chair’s letter to the Media, Culture and Sport Committee of 10 November.

What is important moving forward, is that the BBC continues to demonstrate how it is working diligently to maintain the high standards for which it is rightfully recognised.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC is an incredibly important institution, it plays a crucial role in ensuring all communities are heard and feel valued as part of our public life. That is the standard that we expect the BBC to be held to. The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short.

The Secretary of State has had regular conversations with the Chair to understand the BBC’s plans to address concerns that have emerged in recent months, including how the BBC is approaching the issue of antisemitism.

In particular, the Government welcomes the actions taken by the BBC to strengthen editorial quality and standards for the BBC Arabic Service, as set out in the BBC Chair’s letter to the Media, Culture and Sport Committee of 10 November.

What is important moving forward, is that the BBC continues to demonstrate how it is working diligently to maintain the high standards for which it is rightfully recognised.

The BBC is responsible for administering the Television Licence, and as the BBC is independent from the Government, this is an operational issue for the BBC. The BBC does not hold the necessary information to automatically determine which households are eligible to receive free TV Licences. However, the BBC is able to verify automatically whether a person applying for a free TV Licence is on Pension Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions, meaning in most cases eligible applicants can apply online or over the phone without any need to supply additional paperwork.

UK newspapers at national and local level play an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and we are committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape. Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media, including with regard to the scraping of news articles for use in AI development.

We are engaging with press stakeholders on this. The Media Minister and the Technology Secretary each held roundtables earlier this year with publishers and broadcasters to discuss the impact of AI on journalism.

The Government intends to support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology, while mitigating its risks. This includes with regard to our work to ensure a copyright framework which values and protects human creativity, can be trusted, and unlocks new opportunities for innovation across creative sectors, including news media, and the wider economy. A number of news media representatives are also involved in the Government’s Technical Working Groups established in November to consider this work in more detail.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (2024) gave new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) to both boost competition and innovation in the UK digital tech sector, and ensure the largest digital firms treat consumers and UK businesses fairly, including news publishers. The CMA concluded its first investigations in October 2025, designating Google with SMS in search, and both Apple and Google with SMS in mobile ecosystems. The CMA will now consult on conduct requirements which Google and Apple must adhere to. These conduct requirements will be based on fair dealing, open choices, and increasing trust and transparency.

The Government is developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. 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.

Following a roundtable between ministers and local news editors in the Spring to discuss our planned approach to the Strategy, an industry working group was established to consider the issues in more detail and explore areas for collaboration. The group has met so far on six occasions, on the following dates:

• 5th June 2025

• 25th June 2025

• 10th July 2025

• 24th July 2025

• 2nd September 2025

• 16th October 2025

At least one more meeting of the group is intended in 2026 before the Strategy is published.

The Government committed to a review of statutory notices as part of the response to recommendations made by the Licensing policy taskforce in July, including in relation to alcohol licence notices. The review is being taken forward as part of the Local Media Strategy to support local journalism.

We recognise that local press and statutory notices in particular continue to play a central role in keeping communities informed about decisions that affect local services and amenities. In this context, the industry’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions, helping public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively. DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of statutory notices and overall public engagement.

This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future, and will be taken into account in the statutory notices review, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place statutory notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and the newspaper industry. The review will also take forward final decisions on the future of alcohol licence notices. More detail including timescales of the review, and the Local Media Strategy more broadly, will be announced in due course.

The Government committed to a review of statutory notices as part of the response to recommendations made by the Licensing policy taskforce in July, including in relation to alcohol licence notices. The review is being taken forward as part of the Local Media Strategy to support local journalism.

We recognise that local press and statutory notices in particular continue to play a central role in keeping communities informed about decisions that affect local services and amenities. In this context, the industry’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions, helping public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively. DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of statutory notices and overall public engagement.

This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future, and will be taken into account in the statutory notices review, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place statutory notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and the newspaper industry. The review will also take forward final decisions on the future of alcohol licence notices. More detail including timescales of the review, and the Local Media Strategy more broadly, will be announced in due course.

The Government is aware of the National Union of Journalists’ (NUJ) calls to confer Asset of Community Value status on local newspapers.

We are committed to supporting local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops. While there is limited evidence to show that this proposal would have a substantial impact on the sustainability of local media, we have not yet ruled any options out for the Strategy as we continue to engage with stakeholders, including the NUJ.

The challenges of quantifying the value exchange between newspapers and online platforms have been explored by a number of studies, including the independent Cairncross Review into sustainable journalism and advice from the CMA and Ofcom on how a digital markets regime might govern the relationship between platforms and content providers such as news publishers.

Regardless of the exact transfer of value, the imbalanced commercial relationship between newspapers and online platforms has been raised as a key driver in the financial sustainability challenges facing news publishers in recent years. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (2024) gave new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority to boost competition in digital markets and help rebalance the relationship between online platforms and the businesses which rely on their services, including news publishers. The Government will continue to monitor this relationship and whether further action is required to ensure a level playing field with online platforms as AI and other new technologies continue to disrupt the market.

The Secretary of State meets with the BBC regularly and discusses a range of issues.

The BBC has duties under the Charter to be independent, to act in the public interest and provide impartial services. The BBC is operationally independent of the Government in delivering on those duties, and it is for Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to hold the BBC accountable against these responsibilities. The Secretary of State has been clear that the Government supports a strong independent BBC. In an age of disinformation, the argument for robust and impartial BBC services are stronger than ever.

The BBC is editorially and operationally independent from the Government and this is a crucial component of why people trust it. Under its Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content, and the Government expects the BBC to uphold these standards.

It is then for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences, including on impartiality and accuracy, as outlined in the Charter.

The forthcoming Charter Review will provide an opportunity for the Government to consider a range of issues and to set the BBC up for success long into the future.

The Government is committed to tackling gambling-related harm. DCMS regularly reviews the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) from the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey of Great Britain and uses it as one of a range of sources of evidence.

In 2024, the proportion of National Lottery players who experienced ‘problem gambling’ (a PGSI score of 8+) is 3.9% for draw games, 9.5% for instant win games, and 7.9% for scratchcards.

The rate of Society Lottery PGSI 8+ scores is 4.9%.

The rate of non-National Lottery scratchcards PGSI 8+ is 14.5%.

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

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. As outlined in my answer to PQ 96846, the Secretary of State met with Sport England’s Chair and CEO in October to discuss priorities and plans moving forward, including how the organisation can best deliver and measure impact for the investment they make in sport and physical activity.

In June, following the Spending Review we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working with sporting bodies, including Sport England, and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events and we recently announced a series of measures to end the scourge of ticket touting and protect consumers on the ticket resale market. We will legislate to introduce these measures when parliamentary time allows.

The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils' Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities as part of this broader settlement. Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.

The Government is acutely aware of the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families, and we are committed to strengthening measures to protect those at risk.

In November 2025, we launched a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators. The Code was developed in collaboration with the prize draw industry. It aims to promote best practice standards to strengthen player protections, transparency and accountability for those participating in prize draws.

In the development of the Code, we consulted with broadcasters and their trade associations and concluded the Code would not apply to this sector. We are satisfied that the fundamental principles of increased player protections, transparency and accountability that underpin the Voluntary Code are largely addressed by broadcasters through their existing regulatory bodies and governing principles. In particular, broadcasters’ draws and competitions are already subject to established, comprehensive regulatory frameworks enforced by different bodies, such as Ofcom.

DCMS is committed to ensuring that tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country and particularly in coastal areas including Fylde, home to attractions including Lytham St Annes and the historic Lytham Hall.

A number of regional leaders are represented in the joint industry and Government-led Visitor Economy Advisory Council, which I co-chair. In this way, the views of regional leaders help to inform and shape Government policy. The Council is also helping to deliver the forthcoming sector growth plan which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.

The Lancashire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), which includes the constituency of Fylde, works collaboratively with both local authority and private sector partners to communicate investment opportunities and to showcase Lancashire’s strengths as a place to live, work, study and invest in, as well as a premier destination for visitors.

Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.

Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.

This government recognises the vital role that charitable organisations and community groups play in providing crucial support to families and individuals across the country. These organisations, as well as the wider voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, are integral to the Government’s vision for national renewal and delivery of the five national missions.

DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the VCSE sector and are aware of their concerns about changes to National Insurance Contributions (NICs). We recognise the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change in 2025/26.

The UK continues to have one of the most generous charity tax regimes in the world. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs were provided to charities, community amateur sports clubs and their donors last year.

In January 2025, NHS England published Standardising community health services which outlines the core community health services that integrated care boards (ICBs) should consider when planning services for their local population. Community rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions is named as one of the ICB-funded core components of community health services.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services in helping young people live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives. I have worked closely with Cabinet colleagues from over ten departments to develop ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ which we published on 10th December. This is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 15 years. It is backed by over £500 million of new money over the next 3 years from DCMS for fun things to do outside of school, support when and where you need it, more youth clubs and trusted adults.

The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to enable young people to learn about the democratic process, engage with policy and decision makers, and have a say on issues that matter to them.

UKYP is not designed to be a schools programme. We do not therefore hold data on the amount or type of school involvement.

UKYP is made up of approximately 300 Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) aged 11-18. MYPs are elected every 2 years to represent the views of their young constituents to government and to national and local youth service providers. A small number of MYP elections are delivered by schools, who provide ongoing support to the elected young people. In most cases, MYP elections are delivered by local authorities and support for MYPs is provided by UKYP delivery partners and local youth workers.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, alongside the Gambling Commission, are currently conducting an evaluation of some of the key measures set out in the white paper ‘High Stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, including online measures. The outcomes of this evaluation will be published in due course.

We continue to engage with racing and betting stakeholders to understand the impact of recent changes made by His Majesty’s Treasury.

The horserace betting levy is based on the profits of bookmakers, which fluctuate according to the results of races. The levy is designed in this way so that the risk is shared between betting and racing stakeholders.

The levy, which reached £108m in 2024/5 represents a small proportion of racing’s overall income when compared with contributions from betting operators for media rights, income from racegoers and contributions from owners and trainers. The levy yield for the year to 31 March 2025 is a new high since the Levy collection reforms of 2017/18, exceeding the 2023/24 figure of £105m.

As detailed at Budget 2025, DCMS has £0.7bn of Capital DEL in each year of the Spending Review. The Department is currently completing its Business Planning process, which will allocate the funding to specific programmes. As such, we cannot yet confirm programme by programme allocations or what remains unallocated in each year.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recognises the importance of Irish Heritage, with funding administered through Arms-Length Bodies.

Since November 2024, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded three grants totaling £290,074 to projects exploring the history and experiences of the Irish diaspora in Britain.

A grant of £138,758 was awarded to the project St. Brigid’s Arms: Voices of Womxn of Irish Heritage in the North of England in Trafford in Greater Manchester from Emerald LENS CIC, which is exploring the stories and experience of womxn of Irish heritage in the north of England. A grant of £57,210 was awarded to Liverpool Irish Festival Resolve. This project will continue the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail heritage work by bringing compelling stories to audiences through innovative, accessible approaches as we approach the 180th anniversary of An Gorta Mór. A grant of £94,106 was awarded to the project Mix’n’Mortar: Plugging into Camden. This will go towards local audience development and co-programming for the world's first Museum of Youth Culture opening Spring 2026, which includes experiences of the Irish diaspora.

Whilst no such discussions have taken place directly, the Department is in contact with National Museums Liverpool (NML) on the development and refurbishment of the International Slavery Museum, which is being co-produced working closely with Liverpool’s communities. Current proposals include a space for a new National Centre for Teaching Black History, which will continue NML’s partnership with the University of Liverpool by developing a research lab with the Centre for the Study of International Slavery and supporting organisations, through the Transatlantic Slavery & Legacies in Museums Forum.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government's consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.