Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the levels of video games studio closures, and what steps she is taking to support the long‑term sustainability of the UK video games development sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 hep support the establishment and growth of video games studios in South Norfolk.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her department will review the effectiveness of the updated Standard Industrial Classification codes for the video games industry following their implementation.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The new 2026 UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) framework will introduce a new dedicated 4-digit code for video games development, alongside the existing 4-digit code for video games publishing and new activity such as esports.
My department will continue to work with the sector, including with the Video Games Council, to understand the impacts of these changes, and monitor data from official statistics published as part of our Sector Economic Estimates series.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 ensure the long-term presence of video game studios in a) the UK b) the East of England.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Entry Track grant of the UK Games Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 improve gender diversity within the video-games sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the UK Games Fund will be targeted to support early-stage video game studios.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government has committed to supporting the video games sector as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published last year, which sets out support for the industry in order to address the challenges it faces.
In April, we launched the £30 million Games Growth Package, which included a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund to support growth of UK games studios and talent from all regions of the UK, as well as new funding for London Games Festival to promote inward investment into the sector. This was informed by previous positive evaluation findings on the UK Games Fund, and our work with industry to understand investment gaps and opportunities for growth.
As part of that expansion, the new ‘Entry Track’ is focused on newly formed games development studios and graduates with limited experience, providing grants of up to £20,000 to support development of their first title.
The UK also offers competitive tax relief via the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which continues to make the UK one of the leading destinations in the world for making video games.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government, and we welcome the sector-led work to improve diversity through initiatives such as Women in Games. However, we understand that more work is needed to improve diversity and representation in the creative industries, so we are also encouraged by the creation of the UK Games Industry Shadow Council to oversee equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry until the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority expands its remit to cover the video games sector.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 encourage banks to provide financial support to video games developers at all stages of the development process.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has reaffirmed its support for SME growth and the startup ecosystem, extending both the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust scheme to 2035. Our 10-year Industrial Strategy and Creative Industries Sector Plan set out how we are driving targeted investment into the creative industries, including into video games.
The British Business Bank has received a record Spending Review settlement, increasing its financial capacity to £25.6 billion to support firms through programmes such as the Growth guarantee Scheme and Start Up Loans, particularly those in underserved, high growth sectors. As part of the Sector Plan’s commitment to increase private investment available to scaling creative businesses across the UK the Bank is significantly increasing its support for the creative industries with debt and equity finance. This includes a £32 million investment in a partnership with Haatch to fund diverse angel syndicates such as the UK Games Angels, and co-investment, alongside the Games Angels, in JECO: a toolset provider for games developers.
At the London Games Festival in April, we also announced the launch of a £30 million Games Growth Package, another commitment from the Sector Plan, which includes a substantial uplift to the UK Games Fund offering grants for games companies from £20,000 to £250,000 to help UK games studios create new IP and attract private investment.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 tackle antisocial behaviour in libraries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour. It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.
Libraries aim to deliver their services and activities within a safe and comfortable environment. The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 provides for a local authority to make byelaws regulating the use of and the conduct of persons in their public libraries.
The revised public library byelaws for England were published in March 2025, following close consultation between DCMS and Libraries Connected. The byelaws are intended to help libraries deliver their service within a safe and comfortable environment, to safeguard library property and to make libraries places everyone can enjoy. They assist the library workforce to deal with disruptive behaviour and allow for flexibility in dealing with local concerns.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much Youth Investment Fund money has been allocated to (a) organisations, (b) authorities and (c) other entities with premises within South Norfolk constituency in each year since applications were open.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.
Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.
The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.
The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.