Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the Soft Power Council has met.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Soft Power Council was convened in January 2025 and has met four times.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of Soft Power Council sessions have had a CMS Minister in attendance.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Soft Power Council has met four times. All Soft Power Council meetings have been co-chaired by a DCMS Minister. The Secretary of State has co-chaired the meeting twice, and I have co-chaired the meeting once, as did the previous DCMS Minister of State.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 cabinet colleagues to develop further details of the Government’s strategy on physical activity; and what role the Department of Health and Social Care is playing in that work.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is developing a cross-government National Plan for Physical Activity, fulfilling the recommendation of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and referenced in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Working jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, this Plan will tackle physical inactivity by embedding sport into local communities. It will align major cross-departmental investments to maximize impact, including DCMS facilities funding, Sport England reform, and Active Travel funding.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on setting out further details of the Government’s strategy on physical activity, as referenced in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan published in July 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is developing a cross-government National Plan for Physical Activity, fulfilling the recommendation of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and referenced in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Working jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, this Plan will tackle physical inactivity by embedding sport into local communities. It will align major cross-departmental investments to maximize impact, including DCMS facilities funding, Sport England reform, and Active Travel funding.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to develop a cross government strategy to increase physical activity levels, as recommended by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in its report on community and school sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is developing a cross-government National Plan for Physical Activity, fulfilling the recommendation of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and referenced in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Working jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, this Plan will tackle physical inactivity by embedding sport into local communities. It will align major cross-departmental investments to maximize impact, including DCMS facilities funding, Sport England reform, and Active Travel funding.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to ensure close cross-departmental working to maximise the effectiveness of Young Futures Hubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Young Futures Programme is a cross-Government programme overseen by a Ministerial board, which I chair and includes Ministers from DfE, Home Office, MoJ and DHSC. Officials from these departments are also working together closely to gather evidence and ensure the Young Futures Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs work in practice.
While offers vary to meet local needs, Early Adopters are already demonstrating strong partnerships through participation in Young Futures Panels, co-locating mental health services and links with Youth Employment Hubs. We are learning from these Early Adopters to inform future guidance and support from central government.
I regularly speak to my colleagues across Government on Youth policy including chairing a cross-government meeting to inform the National Youth Strategy last year. Young Futures Hubs are part of ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance is being provided to local authorities implementing Young Futures Hubs to ensure safe and effective responses when disclosures of VAWG-related incidents are made.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to ensuring the safety of girls and young women in all youth provision. Early adopter local authorities were provided with guidance on core requirements for Young Futures Hubs. Every hub should offer a consistent, safe, inclusive and welcoming experience, with a trained workforce and governance structures that support risk and safeguarding management.
In the cross government strategy on Freedom from Violence and abuse published 18 December 2025, we set out that we will empower all frontline professionals, such as GPs, teachers, youth workers and social workers, to spot the signs of abuse and connect individuals to specialist help.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance is being provided to local authorities on implementing Young Futures Hubs to ensure that they are safe spaces for children.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Early adopter local authorities were provided with guidance on core requirements for Young Futures Hubs. Local areas co-design their hubs with young people to ensure provision meets their needs. While facilities may vary, every hub should offer a consistent, safe, inclusive and welcoming experience, with a trained workforce and governance structures that support risk and safeguarding management. Learning from the early adopters will inform future guidance.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to bid for the 2031 Special Olympic Games; and whether she has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of such a bid.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK has a strong record of delivering events that unite diverse communities and reflect inclusivity, creativity, resilience and openness and the Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events. We recognise that major sporting events deliver significant socio-economic benefits and play a unique role in bringing people together, fostering a shared sense of belonging, and showcasing the UK’s cultural and sporting identity both domestically and internationally.
We are always keen to work alongside our arm’s-length body UK Sport and other stakeholders to grow and develop our strong pipeline of events. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a comparative assessment of trends in the level of participation in physical activity for people with intellectual disabilities with the national average.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that contribute to the persisting inequalities in participation and want to ensure that everyone can experience the physical, mental and social benefits that come with being active.
Our Arm’s Length Body Sport England engages with Special Olympics Great Britain and other sector partners to understand participation rates amongst underrepresented groups including people with intellectual disabilities, and how access for all can be improved. The most recent statistics from Special Olympics Great Britain outline that as many as 59% of people with a learning disability do not participate in sport. Sport England recognises these challenges, and has invested £1.5 million across 4 years into Special Olympics Great Britain as part of its Uniting the Movement strategy.