Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how community sports teams can become youth hubs; and how they can access funding for community sports facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live.
On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs, including for children and young people, and will then set out further plans.
DCMS funding for youth spaces is delivered through the Better Youth Spaces (BYS) fund. This is £30.5 million of capital funding for small scale capital equipment to help youth organisations to better support the young people they work with across England.
DCMS also has responsibility for Young Futures Hubs. The first eight of 50 hubs will be operational by the end of this financial year, with a remaining 42 to be established where they will have the most impact by March 2029.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 address regulatory failings highlighted in the independent review by Malcolm Sheehan KC concerning the collapse of football index.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Independent Review announced by the previous Government and conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC made a number of recommendations for the Gambling Commission and Financial Conduct Authority, both of which are independent of Government. All recommendations of the report have since been implemented.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 adequacy of the distribution of financial awards by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As an MP representing a mining community and previous member of the Coalfields Communities APPG, I understand the concerns raised about the performance of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO). As a constituency MP I have spoken to both ex-miners and stakeholders about the practices of CISWO. I would strongly encourage CISWO to strengthen its engagement with the coalfield communities that it was established to support.
As the Minister for Civil Society, I have met with the Charity Commission to discuss CISWO’s support for coal mining communities, and I know that the Charity Commission is in contact with CISWO directly. CISWO is an independent charity that does not receive direct government funding. It is for the charity trustees to make decisions about how it should deliver its charitable purpose. If the trustees are acting within the law, fulfilling their duties and furthering their charitable purpose, the Charity Commission cannot become involved in the internal decision making of a charity.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with ex-miners and stakeholders on the financial practices of CISWO.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As an MP representing a mining community and previous member of the Coalfields Communities APPG, I understand the concerns raised about the performance of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO). As a constituency MP I have spoken to both ex-miners and stakeholders about the practices of CISWO. I would strongly encourage CISWO to strengthen its engagement with the coalfield communities that it was established to support.
As the Minister for Civil Society, I have met with the Charity Commission to discuss CISWO’s support for coal mining communities, and I know that the Charity Commission is in contact with CISWO directly. CISWO is an independent charity that does not receive direct government funding. It is for the charity trustees to make decisions about how it should deliver its charitable purpose. If the trustees are acting within the law, fulfilling their duties and furthering their charitable purpose, the Charity Commission cannot become involved in the internal decision making of a charity.