Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether decision-making process on the proposed switch off the UK's digital terrestrial television will take into account the impact on low-income households, particularly in the North West of England.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I can confirm that my department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure that the impact on low-income households across the UK, including in the North West of England, is fully considered as part of any decisions on the future of digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for covered tennis and padel facilities in Lancaster and Wyre constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for funding for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.
We are intent that our investment in community grassroots sports facilities reaches as many people as possible. This will allow us to make progress in reducing inactivity levels and improving the physical and mental health of the nation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will support the development of covered tennis, padel and multi-sport facilities to facilitate year-round, all-weather participation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for funding for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.
We are intent that our investment in community grassroots sports facilities reaches as many people as possible. This will allow us to make progress in reducing inactivity levels and improving the physical and mental health of the nation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for court-based sports facilities such as tennis and padel.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for funding for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.
We are intent that our investment in community grassroots sports facilities reaches as many people as possible. This will allow us to make progress in reducing inactivity levels and improving the physical and mental health of the nation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will commit to funding court-based sport facilities such as tennis and padel to support economies of scale and partner funding.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for funding for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.
We are intent that our investment in community grassroots sports facilities reaches as many people as possible. This will allow us to make progress in reducing inactivity levels and improving the physical and mental health of the nation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme she plans to spend on (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities in each of the next three years.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
The majority of funding for grassroots sport is provided through Sport England, our arm’s length body. Sport England provides long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel in Britain, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years (between 2022-2027) to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives.
The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme is focused on investment into sports pitches and ancillary facilities, like changing rooms and clubhouses.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to support (a) sports with higher levels of female participation, (b) tennis and (c) netball through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and committed to ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality facilities. On Friday 21 March, we confirmed that DCMS is investing £100 million in high-quality sports facilities over the next year in communities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
All projects - which primarily focus on pitches and ancillary facilities like changing rooms - funded through this programme are required to demonstrate how they increase access and participation levels among under-represented groups, which includes women and girls.
Of the funded projects, at least 40% will have a multi-sport offer so that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many women and girls will be impacted by the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and committed to ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality facilities. On Friday 21 March, we confirmed that DCMS is investing £100 million in high-quality sports facilities over the next year in communities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.
All projects - which primarily focus on pitches and ancillary facilities like changing rooms - funded through this programme are required to demonstrate how they increase access and participation levels among under-represented groups, which includes women and girls.
Of the funded projects, at least 40% will have a multi-sport offer so that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to consider evidence related to advertising when strengthening protections against gambling harms.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to considering the best available evidence, including on advertising, from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on strengthening protections. Developing quality evidence is a key priority for the statutory levy and funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill key gaps in the evidence base. This could include research on the impacts of advertising. We will continue to monitor developments in the evidence and take action when appropriate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 youth work as a profession by providing (a) financial support for students and (b) fieldwork placements.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS works with the National Youth Agency (NYA) to fund bursaries for individuals to obtain youth work qualifications. Since 2019, £4 million of funding has been provided to the NYA via the Youth Worker Bursary Fund, allowing over 2,500 individuals from underrepresented groups to gain a qualification.
We have committed to co-producing a new National Youth Strategy, which is an opportunity to look afresh at the support, recruitment and retention of youth workers. The Strategy will be published this summer.