Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ensure compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, published on 16 December 2016.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
My department remains absolutely committed to the highest standards for all public appointments campaigns; DCMS is responsible for over 400 public appointment roles and has handled 80 appointments so far this year. The Department has recently reviewed all DCMS public appointments processes and systems in order to ensure that they are as robust as possible. This included confirming compliance with the revised Governance Code of Public Appointments published on 30 October 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what processes were followed in the (a) longlisting and (b) shortlisting of candidates for the role of Independent Football Regulator Chair.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All regulated public appointments roles follow the same processes as outlined in the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
A full account of the appointment process for the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator is available in the recent report by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 support public libraries in Fylde constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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. The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils' Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
The Secretary of State announced in February 2025 a further £5.5 million of the Libraries Improvement Fund for 2025-26 to enable library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria will be used to determine eligibility for funding under the scheme for the repair and conservation of local war memorials.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government announced on 9 November 2025 the new £2 million fund for the repair and maintenance of war memorials. Further details, including criteria, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 79081 on Tourism, what her Department's objectives are for the Local Visitor Economy Partnership programme; and how her Department plans to measure the effectiveness of the programme (a) locally and (b) nationally.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The purpose of the LVEP programme is to attract investment and ultimately drive growth, training, and help places tell their own unique stories to visitors. Through a collaborative approach that unites local authorities, businesses and regional partners, LVEPs enhance the quality of the visitor offer and ensure that the positive impacts of tourism are distributed widely across communities. economy together.
37 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are currently accredited across England, covering a broad mix of urban, rural and coastal destinations. In some other places, such as Bedfordshire, LVEPs are still in development. These areas are still working through how best to organise their destination management functions, align multiple local authorities, and secure the long-term funding and governance arrangements required for accreditation.
The current geographical distribution reflects a strong spread of partnerships across regions, and the Department continues to work with VisitEngland to provide guidance, regional development support and resources to all destinations. VisitEngland offers dedicated assistance through Regional Development Leads and programme tools to help local areas strengthen governance, build capability and work towards accreditation. This support is available to both accredited and aspiring LVEP areas, including Bedfordshire.
LVEP performance is monitored locally through delivery plans and nationally through evaluation by VisitEngland. VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s Business Plan 2025-26 allocated £1.5 million to supporting regional and local growth. This includes working with LVEPs to achieve local growth strategies and supporting the LVEP structure. VisitEngland’s regional leads and the regional pilots in the NorthEast and West Midlands have also benefited from a direct £1.35 million funding boost in 2025/26 to help the regions attract even more tourists and investment to the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 79081 on Tourism, how much funding her Department has allocated to support the (a) development and (b) operation of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The purpose of the LVEP programme is to attract investment and ultimately drive growth, training, and help places tell their own unique stories to visitors. Through a collaborative approach that unites local authorities, businesses and regional partners, LVEPs enhance the quality of the visitor offer and ensure that the positive impacts of tourism are distributed widely across communities. economy together.
37 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are currently accredited across England, covering a broad mix of urban, rural and coastal destinations. In some other places, such as Bedfordshire, LVEPs are still in development. These areas are still working through how best to organise their destination management functions, align multiple local authorities, and secure the long-term funding and governance arrangements required for accreditation.
The current geographical distribution reflects a strong spread of partnerships across regions, and the Department continues to work with VisitEngland to provide guidance, regional development support and resources to all destinations. VisitEngland offers dedicated assistance through Regional Development Leads and programme tools to help local areas strengthen governance, build capability and work towards accreditation. This support is available to both accredited and aspiring LVEP areas, including Bedfordshire.
LVEP performance is monitored locally through delivery plans and nationally through evaluation by VisitEngland. VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s Business Plan 2025-26 allocated £1.5 million to supporting regional and local growth. This includes working with LVEPs to achieve local growth strategies and supporting the LVEP structure. VisitEngland’s regional leads and the regional pilots in the NorthEast and West Midlands have also benefited from a direct £1.35 million funding boost in 2025/26 to help the regions attract even more tourists and investment to the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 79081 on Tourism, how many Local Visitor Economy Partnerships have been accredited; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of their geographic distribution.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The purpose of the LVEP programme is to attract investment and ultimately drive growth, training, and help places tell their own unique stories to visitors. Through a collaborative approach that unites local authorities, businesses and regional partners, LVEPs enhance the quality of the visitor offer and ensure that the positive impacts of tourism are distributed widely across communities. economy together.
37 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are currently accredited across England, covering a broad mix of urban, rural and coastal destinations. In some other places, such as Bedfordshire, LVEPs are still in development. These areas are still working through how best to organise their destination management functions, align multiple local authorities, and secure the long-term funding and governance arrangements required for accreditation.
The current geographical distribution reflects a strong spread of partnerships across regions, and the Department continues to work with VisitEngland to provide guidance, regional development support and resources to all destinations. VisitEngland offers dedicated assistance through Regional Development Leads and programme tools to help local areas strengthen governance, build capability and work towards accreditation. This support is available to both accredited and aspiring LVEP areas, including Bedfordshire.
LVEP performance is monitored locally through delivery plans and nationally through evaluation by VisitEngland. VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s Business Plan 2025-26 allocated £1.5 million to supporting regional and local growth. This includes working with LVEPs to achieve local growth strategies and supporting the LVEP structure. VisitEngland’s regional leads and the regional pilots in the NorthEast and West Midlands have also benefited from a direct £1.35 million funding boost in 2025/26 to help the regions attract even more tourists and investment to the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) UEFA and (b) FIFA on the participation of Israel in international football.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State has not had such discussions with UEFA and FIFA. The government fully respects the independence and autonomy of sports organisations. Decisions on participation in international sports events are a matter for the relevant international sport federations and their national representatives.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many visits by Ministers in her Department took place in constituencies represented by (a) Labour, (b) Conservative and (c) other hon. Members in the period between 4 July 2024 and 2 July 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has provided to help support deaf-led (a) arts and (b) cultural projects in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). While ACE does not collect data specifically on deaf-led organisations, it does track funding for D/deaf and/or disabled organisations and cultural projects. Since April 2024, these groups have received over £4 million in funding. This includes £363,718 in annual funding to Stagetext, a deaf-led charity who provide accessible captions and subtitles, so that deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing people can access creativity and culture. ACE also funds a number of projects and programmes across England that do not fall within this funding category, but which directly or indirectly benefit the D/deaf community.
DCMS is also supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.