Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the correspondence between the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the National Citizen Service Trust, regarding their decision to remove funding for the service; and if not, what are their reasons for withholding such information.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Secretary of State met with the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the National Citizen Service Trust to communicate the decision verbally prior to the announcement to the House.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve communications between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and external stakeholders.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DCMS recognises the importance of building and maintaining external relationships for the public benefit and is always looking at ways to improve its communications. DCMS works hard to ensure it has strong and varied relationships in all areas of the country and across all relevant sectors. This includes the delivery of regular regional stakeholder events, receptions and roundtables to present the government's plans for change and to engage stakeholders in policy design and delivery and also has regular communications with stakeholders virtually.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the efficiency and productivity of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In this Parliament, DCMS will continue to prioritise operational efficiency and productivity, with plans to onboard the government’s shared corporate services model in 2026 and investing in new technology to improve interoperability with other government departments.

DCMS will continue to identify other ways to increase efficiency and productivity, reviewing the opportunity to use technology and digital solutions to streamline internal processes.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what definition they use for a football fan.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government does not see itself as the arbitrator of who counts as a football fan and instead it is something that fans and clubs themselves are in the best position to discern. The makeup of a fan base will differ from club to club and this diversity is what makes football so special. This is why the Government has designed the legislation so that it allows for a bespoke approach to fan engagement, shaped by the Regulator’s guidance and oversight.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the remarks by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at the RTS London Convention in September that media organisations telling the truth is not just a right but a duty, what steps they intend to take to ensure that broadcasters and newspapers uphold this standard, and what sanctions are being considered in cases where they fail to do so.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is committed to a free and independent media. Having a free and fair press that is completely independent of the Government, is important to ensure the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. We are clear, however, that with this freedom comes responsibility, which the media must take seriously. An independent self-regulatory regime is important to ensure the press adheres to clear and high standards, and offers individuals a means of redress where these are not met. These regulators enforce codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas, including discrimination, accuracy, privacy, and harassment. If they find that a newspaper has broken the code of conduct, they can order corrections. IPSO can also order critical adjudications and Impress can levy fines.

Ofcom is the UK’s regulator for broadcasting and by law carries out its duties independently of the Government. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code contains rules to ensure that broadcast news is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to determine whether there has been a breach of their rules and whether to apply sanctions.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of the Local Democracy Reporting Service; and whether they plan to enhance its effectiveness in supporting local journalism and democratic accountability.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) plays an important role in supporting local journalism. LDRS reporters have been able to uncover stories that publishers may have otherwise been unable to discover due to increasing constraints on their resources. This is an area of reporting that is often significantly under provided but is essential to journalism’s role of holding those in authority to account.

The Secretary of State has recently announced her plans to develop a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We are working across Government and with the sector and other stakeholders as we develop this strategy, and recognise the continued importance of the LDRS.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the effectiveness of the hybrid working policy of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Our department’s hybrid working policy expects the majority of our staff to spend at least 60% of their time in our offices or meeting key stakeholders.

To monitor the effectiveness of this policy, all Government departments publish HQ Office Occupancy data on a quarterly basis which shows the monthly average number of staff working in Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) buildings.

In September, which is the most recent monthly average published on gov.uk, our department had a 65% attendance at our London Headquarters.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding the investigation into allegations of sexist behaviour on MasterChef; and what was the (1) content, and (2) outcome, of those discussions.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Secretary of State has spoken with the BBC leadership on this matter and wider workplace culture issues, to seek assurances that there are robust processes in place to deal with complaints.

The Secretary of State set out her view at the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on the 10th December that we are seeing too many of these cultures of silence and issues being swept under the rug across the sector.

In relation to the complaints against Gregg Wallace it is essential that staff and the wider public have confidence that the BBC takes these issues seriously, and it’s right that a thorough investigation has been launched by Baniijay, the production company behind MasterChef.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government. The BBC is currently undertaking a workplace culture review, which must deliver clear and timely recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the higher rates of advanced prostate cancer diagnoses among black men.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A £42 million United Kingdom-wide trial, the TRANSFORM trial led by Prostate Cancer UK with £16 million funding from the Government, is under way and aimed at helping find best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms and could save thousands of lives.

This study will also aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment. This is vital as previous trials have not included enough black men to adequately demonstrate the harms and benefits of screening for this group specifically, despite their significantly higher risk.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings in the National Prostate Cancer Audit's State of the Nation Report, published in January, particularly regarding the disparities in health outcomes for black men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the findings in the National Prostate Cancer Audit's State of the Nation Report. However, the Government understands more needs to be done to improve outcomes for all people with prostate cancer, including for black men.

To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer, we have invested £16 million in the TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping to find a way of catching prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will ensure that one in ten participants are black men.

Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all tumour types, including prostate cancer. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be. We will provide updates on this in due course.

Found: Crossbench) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Kerr of Kinlochard Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Chair) Baroness Lea of Lymm Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Crossbench) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Crossbench) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Conservative) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Conservative) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: Conservative) Lord Meston (Crossbench) Lord Sahota (Labour) Baroness Sater (Conservative) Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Found: LORD MARKHAM 111_ Clause 11, page 7, line 28, leave out paragraph (b) 59/1 HL Bill 41—V LORD WATSON OF WYRE FOREST

Found: WHITLEY BAY LORD MARKHAM 111_ Clause 11, page 7, line 28, leave out paragraph (b) LORD WATSON OF WYRE FOREST