Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) football, (b) rugby union, (c) rugby league, (d) cricket, (e) basketball and (f) netball facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme since 2021.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is acting to support more people in getting onto the pitch wherever they live via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is investing £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25. This will ensure that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Programme’s aim is to provide a multi-sport benefit with up to 40% of funded projects supporting at least one other sport on a sustainable and regular basis. Our delivery partner for the programme in England, the Football Foundation, works closely with Sport England and the respective National Governing Bodies of other sports to encourage development of multi-sport projects and promote collaboration between clubs at local level. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, our delivery partners are the Scottish Football Association, Cymru Football Foundation and Irish Football Association, who each work with applicants to ensure that there is a multi-sport offering in various projects.

Between 2021 and 2024, Sport England and delivery partners in other parts of the UK invested £204 million into Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities, providing new and upgraded pitches and facilities.

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 the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of planned increases in restrictions on (a) TV and (b) online advertising for products high in (i) fat, (ii) salt and (iii) sugar on the (A) advertising and (B) broadcasting sectors.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care as it implements the restrictions on advertisements for less healthy food and drink which are due to come into force in October next year.

The impact of the policy on DCMS sectors was assessed as part of the impact assessment completed by the previous Government. The full impact assessment can be found on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to introduce a football governance bill.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Football Governance Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 24 October 2024. I look forward to working across the House in due course to progress the Bill through Parliament and ensure we deliver on much needed regulation for the game.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answers of 17 September 2024 to Questions 4627, 4628, 4629, 4630 and 4631, what funding Sport England has provided to the Football Association in the same five year period referenced.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England. They invest £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.

The Football Association will receive up to £26.1 million from Sport England between 2022 and 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to assess the impact on the health outcomes of people with dementia of the (a) average length of time people with dementia stay in hospital relative to people over 65 without dementia and (b) availability of specialist dementia nurses to meet the needs of people with dementia during hospital stays.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England does not hold this information centrally. However, the provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.

Employers determine the number of specialist nurses needed to provide care for the population. However, there is no specific regulatory requirement for post registration education, and people can choose to upskill to meet their own educational requirements.

Student nurses do receive broad preparation, so they are able to support adults needing care, including those with dementia. The Advanced Clinical Practice programme supports the progression of clinicians, enabling them to take on more specialist roles.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to support the development of the broadcasting industry outside of London.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Our world-leading TV sector is too centralised in London and the South East. We need to spread the benefits of the sector into our towns and cities, so that more people can see themselves and their experiences reflected on screen as part of our national story. This is why my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State and I have already called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission more content from across the whole of the UK.

My Department is taking forward work in this area to understand the barriers to further development of the industry outside of London and we are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative measures to require power tool manufacturers to include unique product code numbers to help deter rural crime.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We recognise the significant impact the theft of tools can have, especially on people who rely on these to earn a living.

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

The Act requires secondary legislation before it can come into effect. We will be carefully considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of women’s health provision.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Women's Health Strategy call for evidence in 2021 received nearly 100,000 responses from individuals, and over 400 written submissions from expert groups and researchers. It identified a range of issues including women not feeling listened to by healthcare professionals, damaging taboos and stigmas in women’s health that can prevent women from seeking help and that can reinforce beliefs that debilitating symptoms are normal, healthcare services not considering women’s needs by default, and under-representation of women in research.

We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and we will put women’s equality at the heart of our missions.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to enhance mobile phone reception in Maidstone and Malling constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from mobile connectivity.

Ofcom’s reporting shows that 92% of the pre-boundary change constituency area has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, and that basic (non-standalone) 5G is available from at least one mobile operator outside 99% of premises.

I am aware that Ofcom’s data does not always reflect consumers’ experience of mobile networks. I recently wrote to Ofcom, asking them to set out steps to improve their reporting.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to enhance broadband speed in Maidstone and Malling constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 98% of premises in the Maidstone and Malling constituency can already access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 88% have access to a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection.

The information that broadband suppliers share with Building Digital UK (BDUK) indicates that there is significant further commercial rollout planned in the area. Remaining premises that are unlikely to be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans will be considered for support through Project Gigabit.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to launch her consultation on secondary ticketing and dynamic pricing.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

This autumn.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Project Gigabit.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 85% of UK premises are now able to access a gigabit-capable broadband connection.

As of February 2024, over 1 million premises had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes. In total, 36 Project Gigabit contracts have now been signed, to bring fast, reliable broadband to over 1 million more homes and businesses, with more contracts to be awarded in the coming months.