Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

We are working on a plan to bring forward more philanthropy in the UK, as well as social impact investing. We think there is enormous untapped potential, and we are looking at all aspects of that. We will bring more detail to the House shortly.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

This Government are betting big on the creative industries. We have put them at the heart of our industrial strategy, with a sector plan backed by £380 million of investment that will boost regional growth, stimulate private investment and create thousands more high-quality jobs. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and this Government have wasted no time in turning that around.

[Alison Hume]

Scarborough Athletic football club is proudly 100% fan owned. Recently, the home ground that it rents from North Yorkshire council was declared unfit to play on due to botched astroturf installation. The club faces significant financial losses now that they need to play matches at another ground. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what support is available to secure the future of this beloved club, which is at the heart of our community?

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work championing such an amazing local club, and we are pleased to support her in that endeavour. I encourage her to explore the support available via the premier league stadium fund delivered by the Football Foundation. The Government are pleased to be supporting grassroots clubs with £98 million of funding for the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme through the next financial year, which will build new facilities and upgrade facilities. If she wants to get in touch with me directly, we will work together to ensure that that benefits Scarborough, like every other part of the country.

Market Towns: Cultural Heritage

Alison Hume Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) on securing this debate. The medieval market fair in Scarborough has entered world culture thanks to Simon and Garfunkel, who popularised the medieval English folk song, although we all know that that was not the subject of the song. In fact, Scarborough fair was an important event for merchants all over Europe as it attracted buyers and sellers who, as well as being entertained by local minstrels and fortune tellers, had to be kept in food and drink.

Although the Scarborough fair had died out by the end of the 18th century, that same mixture remains central to the current market hall and vaults, which were built in 1853 and renovated in 2016. On the ground floor there are traditional market stalls offering meat, fruit and vegetables, such as our wonderful butcher Mark Nockels, Solange Bakery and Deli Delicious—a café I make a beeline for whenever I can. In the gallery and vaults, there are more cafés alongside quirky independent shops.

It remains a challenging time for retailers, so I am pleased that the Government have committed to permanently reducing business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026, funded by a tax rise for the largest business properties such as online sales warehouses. The Labour Government are also investing in Scarborough with our plan for neighbourhoods, through which about £20 million will go towards regenerating our town centres, supporting parks and libraries, and building stronger communities. That is a welcome boost to protecting our cultural heritage for the future.

The original Scarborough fair has been reimagined in a stunning year-round series of festivals such as Scarborough Lights, Scarborough Art and Scarborough Streets. They increase local pride, enhance aspirations and provide wonderful entertainment for locals—as well as a treat for the thousands of visitors who flock to Scarborough every year. The new Scarborough Fair links to the heritage, geography, culture and people of our town in a way that articulates our story. The story of Scarborough is in the future, not the past.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I was grateful to the hon. Gentleman for coming to speak to me about this issue. I will speak to my officials and make sure that we approach Sport England very speedily.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

I would like to highlight the richly deserved King’s award for voluntary service that has been given to the 60 volunteers at Newby and Scalby library in Scarborough. The library’s services are innovative, including a summer reading challenge for children, an IT buddy service and a garden growing produce. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating Newby and Scalby library on its award, and on the enormous contribution that it makes to our community in Scarborough?

[Lisa Nandy]

I am very happy to congratulate Newby and Scalby library. I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the enormous work that libraries do in helping to promote children’s literacy in this country, which could not be more important.

Film Industry

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I do not think it has been said in this House that Berkshire is the Hollywood of the United Kingdom, but I will take his word for it, and I look forward to visiting at some point. He is right to raise the guidance on business rates, which we are aware is a pressing issue. I am afraid that I cannot give him a date today, but it is at the top of our agenda and will be forthcoming.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Does she agree that it is vital that our creative skills pathway reaches coastal communities, so that talented young people in constituencies such as mine have access to training and the opportunity to help fill the creative skills gap?

[Lisa Nandy]

My hon. Friend is right, and she is a fantastic champion for Scarborough and Whitby. Our coastal communities have so much to offer this country. They have offered so much in the past when it comes to tourism, music and nightlife. I was privileged to go with my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) to see the incredible work going on in that coastal community, to help to develop the incredible creative pipeline of talent that comes out of communities like his and hers. We are committed to ensuring that coastal communities that have played such an important part in our cultural life for generations and mean so much to so many families in the UK, including my own, are at the centre of our new renaissance.