Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Command Paper Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom on 9 March, which (1) authorities, (2) individuals, (3) groups, (4) organisations, (5) businesses, or (6) bodies, will be supported by the new co-operative development unit.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My department is working across Government to deliver our manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, following the commitment to establish a Co-operatives Development Unit in Protecting What Matters and the Pride in Place Strategy. We will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Command Paper Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom on 9 March, which local settings will be trusted to deliver support for the proposed jobs and careers service.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we recognise the importance of designing support for diverse communities to ensure that it reflects the opportunities and challenges in each local labour market and works effectively with services available locally.

Jobs and Careers Service local plans help jobcentres analyse customer needs, labour market trends and local opportunities, so they can work with partners to design targeted local solutions.

Alongside the support delivered in Jobcentres, we are exploring more community-based employment and careers support, such as jobcentre vans and working with local partners to deliver employment and careers support in libraries, GP surgeries and local authority buildings.

We will continue to work with local partners to meet the needs of diverse communities, delivering support through trusted local settings.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters published on 9 March 2026, which local authorities and grassroots organisations will obtain up to £5 million over financial year 2026–27 to deliver targeted cohesion and integration initiatives through the Common Ground Resilience Fund.

Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Common Ground Resilience Fund 2026-27 will support a range of activity to strengthen social cohesion, build resilience and respond to community tensions. This includes funding for locally led interventions in Blackpool Council, Nottingham City Council and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and support for local authorities through the Government's Areas Team.

Up to £2.5 million will also be awarded through the Common Ground Award, a competitive grant scheme for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations working to strengthen social cohesion and build connections between communities. Successful organisations will be identified through the competition process. Funding is also available to support local areas in responding to emerging cohesion risks and threats.

Separately, the Government has made available an additional £1 million through the Common Ground Resilience Fund to support communities and places facing the greatest risk of antisemitism.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters published on 9 March 2026, which authorities, individuals, groups, organisations, businesses or bodies will provide training to major employers, including the NHS, on preventing and responding to religious hatred.

Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

It is for individual organisations and employers to determine which training offer and provider is best suited to their sectors. As set-out in Protecting What Matters, tackling religious hatred requires a whole-of-society response, and improving understanding across society of how religious hatred manifests and how it should be addressed is vital.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters published on 9 March 2026, for how long the special representative on anti-Muslim hostility will serve in post.

Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Details of the role of the Special Representative on anti-Muslim hostility will be published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Command Paper Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom on 9 March, what measures they have taken to boost the Home Office's due diligence capacity to ensure that evidence-based decisions can be taken about engagement.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

As announced in the Protecting What Matters publication on 9 March 2026, The Home Office is in the process of updating the engagement principles and accompanying guidance. This includes ensuring that our due diligence and risk assessment capability is proportionate and fit for purpose when considering engagement with external individuals, organisations and groups.

The updated guidance will support ministerial departments to undertake appropriate due diligence and other relevant checks to identify and manage risks, ensuring that engagement decisions are informed, evidence-based and consistent with the Government's responsibilities. Decisions on engagement will continue to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Command Paper Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom on 9 March, whether they will publish details of how the £1.5 billion invested in cultural organisations will be spent.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund is made up of the Creative Foundations Fund, Museum Renewal Fund, Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, Heritage Revival Fund, Places of Worship Renewal Fund, and Libraries Improvement Fund.

Funding details for each area are publicly available on gov.uk in the press release of 21 January 2026, titled “Government announces bumper £1.5 billion package to restore national pride”. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-bumper-15-billion-package-to-restore-national-pride

Details regarding the initial round of funding are also available in the 14 April 2026 press release, titled “130 cultural venues, museums and libraries to receive funding boost that will improve access to arts and culture across the country”. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/130-cultural-venues-museums-and-libraries-to-receive-funding-boost-that-will-improve-access-to-arts-and-culture-across-the-country

Details of further awards made in future funding rounds will be published in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters published on 9 March 2026, what youth, sport and community infrastructure will receive £750 million over the next four years.

Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The referenced Protecting What Matters commitment is being led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS is investing £400 million in new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities through to 2030.

In 2026/27, this includes the following commitments:

• £85 million will be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to build and upgrade pitches and facilities UK-wide, funding projects such as artificial grass pitches, changing rooms, and floodlights. This funding is designed to benefit the areas most in need, with 50% of investment going to the 30% most deprived areas in the UK. At least 40% of funded projects have a multi-sport offer, and the programme also aims to increase access and participation levels for under-represented groups, including women and girls, across the UK.
• The UK Government and NBA will invest £5 million each into basketball and basketball-led multi-sport facilities in England.
• At least £2.5 million will be invested via the Lawn Tennis Association into covered courts in England for tennis, padel and other activities, and additional funding to enable a wider range of sporting bodies to trial innovative funding pathways.
• £3 million will be invested via the England and Wales Cricket Board to build covered, all-weather multi-sport domes in Birmingham, Bolton, Derby, Newcastle, and Nottingham.

Additionally, DCMS’ Youth Matters Fund is a merged capital and revenue fund that will provide over £400 million over the next few years to enable youth organisations across the country to deliver high-quality youth work and activities as well as refurbish or build up to 250 youth facilities. Further details on when it will open to applicants, along with guidance on the application process and eligibility criteria, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters, published on 9 March 2026, whether they will publish the details of how the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund will be spent.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

On 20 May 2026, Historic England published its webpage and guidance for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, setting out how financial support will be targeted toward areas of greatest need and deprivation. This publication coincided with the launch of the £92 million scheme, which Historic England administers on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Information regarding the successful applicants for Round 1 will be published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters, published on 9 March 2026, by what date will they have refreshed the content of the Life in the UK Test.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government committed in Protecting What Matters to reviewing and refreshing the Life in the UK Test so that it better reflects modern life in the UK and supports integration objectives.

This work is underway. The Home Office is considering how the test can best reflect contemporary British society, values, institutions and civic participation, while remaining accessible and appropriate for those seeking settlement or citizenship.

Details will be announced in due course.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the command paper Protecting What Matters, published on 9 March 2026, which civil society organisations will help to spend the £11.5 million invested in Local Covenant Partnerships which also include local authorities and public service providers.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Following an open and competitive process, Locality UK in a consortium with Collaborate CIC, Renaisi-TSIP and Demos, was selected to deliver the £11.59m Local Covenant Partnerships Fund. The Fund will be delivered in 15 areas to support civil society organisations to work collaboratively with local authorities and public service providers, to better meet the needs of their communities. We are in the process of selecting the 15 target areas. The specific civil society organisations receiving funding will be identified and confirmed once these 15 areas have been selected.