Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote cultural awareness of patron saints of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DCMS has no such plans, but we know that St David, St Andrew, St Patrick and St George are as well-sewn into the fabric of our national identities as they are inscribed on many of our buildings, including in the mosaics above Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Crown Dependencies to tackle illegally-operated online gambling in the (a) Isle of Man and (b) Channel Islands.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As set out by the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission regulates gambling in Great Britain only.
Both DCMS and the Commission stand ready to support the Crown Dependencies on matters relating to gambling if requested. The Gambling Commission has a Memorandum of Understanding on Gambling with the Isle of Man regulator, the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to provide funding for local sports clubs in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises that grassroots sports clubs are central to communities up and down the country.
The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.
The Government has also committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities, investing £123 million UK-wide via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2024/25, working with our delivery partner the Football Foundation. In this year, Romford has had one funded project in Raphael Park.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help promote tourism within the Channel Islands.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DCMS is responsible for tourism within England, however the UK Government continues to consult and engage with the self-governing Crown Dependencies within the Channel Islands and their respective tourism boards (Visit Jersey and Visit Guernsey).
These tourism boards for the Channel Islands are accountable to their respective Governments and the UK works in collaboration with the Crown Dependencies on tourism policy issues as part of the Common Travel Area.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote Morris dancing in England.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in March 2024.
Intangible Cultural Heritage, also known as living heritage, includes the folklore, performance, customs and crafts that play an important role in the identity, pride, and cohesion of communities across the UK, and includes traditions such as Morris dancing.
The Government is committed to ensure the safeguarding of living heritage and as a first step of implementing the Convention will be creating, with the Devolved Governments, an inventory of living heritage in the UK later this year.
We would expect this to include Morris dancing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with local authorities to maintain community libraries in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Public libraries are funded by local authorities and 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. DCMS Secretary of State has a duty to “superintend and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in England” under the Public Libraries and Museum Act 1964.
I understand that Havering had 10 static libraries as of December 2023, all local authority run, with three (Collier Row, Gidea Park and Romford) in Romford constituency.
The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the greyhound racing industry.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of Greyhound Racing to our economy - providing employment to 5400 people across Britain - and its contribution to British cultural life.
The greyhound racing industry is supported by the British Greyhound Racing Fund in the form of voluntary contributions from bookmakers on betting turnover on licensed greyhound racing. The Government remains committed to ensuring that those voluntary contributions reflect the benefits the betting industry derives from Greyhound Racing as a betting product. The levy has an important role in supporting the growth and sustainability of the sport.
The Government welcomes the progress of the industry’s regulatory body, the Greyhound Board for Great Britain, in driving improvement in rehoming and overall welfare standards through its Greyhound Commitment and its long term national welfare strategy, “A Good Life for Every Greyhound”. The Government is committed to continuing to work with the greyhound and betting industries to deliver a more sustainable future for the Sport.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Church of England in maintaining its built heritage.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to support listed places of worship.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support press freedom.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Having a free and fair press in an age of misinformation and disinformation, is more important than ever. It is vital that the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources.
To ensure journalists operating within the UK can do so free from physical, legal and online threats, abuse and violence, I am reconvening the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, together with the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, in December. The Committee facilitates collaboration between government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and civil society in support of this aim. I will continue to work with members on this important issue, including by delivering the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.