Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role Young Futures Hubs will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Year of Reading is a Department for Education initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.
Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Local Authorities participating in the programme will co-design the services in each hub alongside young people in the community to ensure it meets local needs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape, and will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase library engagement during the National Year of Reading.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.
Within Northern Ireland, The Department of Communities funds the public library service and it is administered by the Northern Ireland Library Authority, known as Libraries NI. The National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland was launched on 2 February at Stormont with a roundtable event that brought together primary school pupils, authors, government officials, community groups, charities and businesses to explore how the initiative can help more of the nation’s children, young people and adults to rediscover reading through the things they already love. Libraries NI is actively celebrating and participating in the National Year of Reading programmes with various activities and events at their library branches throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.
Within Northern Ireland, The Department of Communities funds the public library service and it is administered by the Northern Ireland Library Authority, known as Libraries NI. The National Year of Reading in Northern Ireland was launched on 2 February at Stormont with a roundtable event that brought together primary school pupils, authors, government officials, community groups, charities and businesses to explore how the initiative can help more of the nation’s children, young people and adults to rediscover reading through the things they already love. Libraries NI is actively celebrating and participating in the National Year of Reading programmes with various activities and events at their library branches throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why those entitled to a free TV licence have to apply for it, rather than receiving it automatically, and whether they will ask the BBC to remove the need to apply for such licences.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the BBC about introducing pro-rata refunds when a TV licence is cancelled part way through the year, as is currently the case with road tax.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC is responsible for administering the Television licence, and as the BBC is independent from Government, refunds are an operational issue for the BBC. The Television Licensing website sets out that households can apply for a refund if they won’t need their licence again before it expires, and they have at least one complete month left on it. Households eligible for an over 75 or blind concession can apply for a refund at any time and for any length of time left on their licence.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they have taken to reverse the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from their game with Aston Villa.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave during the debate on the Urgent Question relating to this issue, held in the House on Wednesday 22 October 2025.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the British film industry of the proposed US tariffs on non-American films.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are in active discussions with senior members of the US administration and we are clear that the deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual benefits to both countries. This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to take a calm and steady approach.
We are engaging closely with industry and we are absolutely committed to ensuring our film and TV sector can continue to thrive and create good jobs across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to include events in Northern Ireland in their work commemorating Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Supported by DCMS, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is running the For Evermore Tour, with more than 250 mobile exhibitions and events across the UK and a number of global commemorative sites to the Pacific, highlighting the stories of those who fought in the Second World War.
CWGC has confirmed the Tour will visit Northern Ireland in June and is in the process of confirming venues at Stormont and Carrickfergus to coincide with the week leading up to and including National Armed Forces Day.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many black and white television licences have been issued in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC publishes information about the number of licences in force in its Annual Report and Accounts. For the years 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 there has consistently been approximately 4,000 monochrome licences in force.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with UEFA regarding the Football Governance Bill.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government, and the previous one, has engaged extensively with a wide range of stakeholders as the policy set out in the Football Governance Bill has developed over the last 3 years. This includes engagement with UEFA.
These discussions have been constructive, and we continue to speak to the relevant football authorities on a regular basis.