Market Towns: Cultural Heritage
Catherine Fookes Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
Thank you for calling me, Sir Jeremy. In Monmouthshire, we are really lucky: we have not one, two or three but five market towns. I thought that would be a record, but it is not, because there is a constituency with 10. Our largest town is Abergavenny, which Members might be familiar with, and it is beautiful. It has an iconic town and market hall built in 1869, which is home to the market, the Borough theatre, the library and our world-famous Abergavenny food festival, which has been described as the Glastonbury of food festivals. The Beatles played there in 1963, which I think trumps all the other bands we have heard mention of today.
The Welsh Government have done really well in supporting our market towns and our culture. They have just announced an extra £4.4 million to support our arts and culture sectors. They have used the transforming towns grant to support our market towns, and the upcoming Budget commits to a £335 million package of non-domestic rates support for businesses, which will be hugely important for our businesses. I will close by asking the Minister to share how she will work with our Welsh Government colleagues to ensure that our market towns continue to flourish.
Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)
I thank all colleagues for their brevity. We now move to the Front Benchers.
Oral Answers to Questions
Catherine Fookes Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Chris Bryant
That was four questions, and the answer is yes to nearly all of them, other than the one about the fan-led review. The Secretary of State has charged me with coming up with a 10-point plan for music this year, and I have turned it into a 12-point plan. I very much hope to work with the Select Committee on delivering that plan. Music is an important part of the UK’s soft power around the world. There is nothing better than seeing a band that we first saw in a tiny venue many years ago playing in a massive arena. We want that success for all our musicians in the UK, and it starts with creative education.
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)
The Government are committed to reducing gambling-related harm and its impact. That is why we are introducing a range of reforms to ensure that people can gamble safely, including a stake limit for online slot games, financial vulnerability checks and tougher regulations on direct marketing. We are also aware of the concerns around the blurring of boundaries between gambling and video games, and we are paying close attention to novel and emerging gambling and gambling-like products.
Catherine Fookes
I thank the Minister for her response. We all know that 2.5% of the population are considered to be problem gamblers, and 44% of that population is at high risk of suicidal behaviour, according to the excellent charity Gambling with Lives. Of course, the loss of any life to gambling addiction is deeply saddening, and I give my condolences to all the affected families. The impact of problem gambling stretches far and wide across the UK, including in my constituency of Monmouthshire, and it should be considered a public health issue. What cross-departmental work is being done to tackle the concerning issue of suicide due to gambling?
Stephanie Peacock
I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important question. Of course, any life lost is an absolute tragedy. When I was the shadow gambling Minister, I visited the Gordon Moody residential treatment centre, which supports people with gambling-related harm. On that visit and at other meetings, I heard at first hand about the devastating impact that gambling can have. We are committed to working across Government on this issue, particularly with the Department of Health and Social Care, including by establishing a comprehensive support and treatment system, funded by the statutory levy, and by strengthening messages in order to raise awareness of the risks of harmful gambling.