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 guidance the Government provides to membership-based charities to ensure compliance with charity law where benefits are restricted to members.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All charities in England and Wales must have wholly charitable purposes that are for the public benefit, in order to enjoy the advantages of charitable status. Unless the purpose is for the relief (and in some cases the prevention) of poverty, a charitable purpose cannot exist for the benefit of an organisation’s members only. The exception to this is if a sufficient section of the public can access those benefits by becoming members and the membership is a suitable way of carrying out the charity’s purpose for the public benefit.
The Charity Commission has published guidance which explains the public benefit requirement.
The honourable member may be aware that Membership-based Charity Organisations was debated on Wednesday 17th December in Westminster Hall.
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 4 December to Question 95479, on Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: VAT, how many applications to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in the last 12 months exceeded the new £25,000 cap.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since 1 December 2024, the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has received a total of 222 applications that exceeded a value of £25,000, with a combined requested value of £12,442,052. Of these, 162 claims totalling £8,793,024 were subsequently approved for payment. All approved claims relate to the 2024/25 financial year, before the new cap came into effect.
A total of 38 applications with a value in excess of £25k have been submitted since 1st April 2025. However, the value of grant award approved for payment against these claims was capped at £25k. I can confirm that since the annual cap of £25,000 per listed place of worship came into effect from 1 April 2025, no applicant has received funding above this £25,000 limit.
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, when she expects to announce whether the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will be renewed beyond 31 March 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Future funding beyond March 2026 will be considered as we work through the output of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process. An announcement will be made once this decision is finalised.
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 13 November 2025 to question 90762 on BBC: Royal Charters, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of perceived bias in the programme Question Time on the priorities of the new BBC Royal Charter.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent from the Government and this is a crucial component of why people trust it. Under its Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content, and the Government expects the BBC to uphold these standards.
It is then for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences, including on impartiality and accuracy, as outlined in the Charter.
The forthcoming Charter Review will provide an opportunity for the Government to consider a range of issues and to set the BBC up for success long into the future.
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 recent discussions she has had with regional leaders on supporting tourism growth outside London.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS is committed to ensuring that tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country and particularly in coastal areas including Fylde, home to attractions including Lytham St Annes and the historic Lytham Hall.
A number of regional leaders are represented in the joint industry and Government-led Visitor Economy Advisory Council, which I co-chair. In this way, the views of regional leaders help to inform and shape Government policy. The Council is also helping to deliver the forthcoming sector growth plan which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.
The Lancashire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), which includes the constituency of Fylde, works collaboratively with both local authority and private sector partners to communicate investment opportunities and to showcase Lancashire’s strengths as a place to live, work, study and invest in, as well as a premier destination for visitors.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of the VAT-recovery cap on the number of listed places of worship that are proceeding with planned repair or reordering works.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impact on introducing an annual cap of £25,000 per place of worship for the 2025/26 financial year.
The changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.
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.