Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 effectiveness of the UK Games Fund in supporting the (a) long-term growth and (b) global competitiveness of the UK video game industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector as part of the upcoming creative industries sector plan, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.
We recognise the challenges faced by the video games sector, and the wider creative industries, when it comes to accessing finance. These challenges are outlined in the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre 2024 report on Growth Finance for the Creative Industries.
To address these issues at an early stage, the Government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. Previous independent evaluation found that UKGF programmes served a well-established and identifiable gap within the sector – the provision of early stage funding and support to companies and teams seeking to develop video games. DCMS has commissioned a further independent evaluation of the UKGF which will be published in due course.
Additionally, video games companies can benefit from Video Games Expenditure Credit, the UK Global Screen Fund, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.
In January 2025 we announced that the British Business Bank will increase its support for the creative industries, including video games, as an area of high growth potential as part of the Industrial Strategy. Further detail will be set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 barriers to accessible finance faced by video game developers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector as part of the upcoming creative industries sector plan, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.
We recognise the challenges faced by the video games sector, and the wider creative industries, when it comes to accessing finance. These challenges are outlined in the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre 2024 report on Growth Finance for the Creative Industries.
To address these issues at an early stage, the Government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. Previous independent evaluation found that UKGF programmes served a well-established and identifiable gap within the sector – the provision of early stage funding and support to companies and teams seeking to develop video games. DCMS has commissioned a further independent evaluation of the UKGF which will be published in due course.
Additionally, video games companies can benefit from Video Games Expenditure Credit, the UK Global Screen Fund, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.
In January 2025 we announced that the British Business Bank will increase its support for the creative industries, including video games, as an area of high growth potential as part of the Industrial Strategy. Further detail will be set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 improve access to investment and funding for video game developers in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector as part of the upcoming creative industries sector plan, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.
We recognise the challenges faced by the video games sector, and the wider creative industries, when it comes to accessing finance. These challenges are outlined in the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre 2024 report on Growth Finance for the Creative Industries.
To address these issues at an early stage, the Government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. Previous independent evaluation found that UKGF programmes served a well-established and identifiable gap within the sector – the provision of early stage funding and support to companies and teams seeking to develop video games. DCMS has commissioned a further independent evaluation of the UKGF which will be published in due course.
Additionally, video games companies can benefit from Video Games Expenditure Credit, the UK Global Screen Fund, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.
In January 2025 we announced that the British Business Bank will increase its support for the creative industries, including video games, as an area of high growth potential as part of the Industrial Strategy. Further detail will be set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reduction in VisitBritain's budget.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 access to spectrum for (a) new entrants and (b) underrepresented groups under the Community Radio Order 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The community radio sector is a key part of the UK radio landscape – there are now around 320 analogue (AM / FM) services, plus a further 75 unique community digital services that exclusively broadcast on small-scale DAB to local communities across the UK.
The changes made by the Community Radio Order 2025 will enable Ofcom to extend the duration of community radio licences for a fourth time and to remove restrictions that limit the amount of income a community radio licence can receive from advertisements and sponsorship, except for a small number community radio stations whose coverage area overlaps with small independent commercial stations.
The Order does not include measures that deal with access to spectrum for community groups wanting to establish new services. Ofcom has a wide range of powers to license new community radio stations on analogue or on DAB digital radio, including specific requirements to roll out new small-scale DAB services, which remains its stated priority for the time being. The timing of any new licence awards is a matter for Ofcom.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ban the ownership of UK newspapers by foreign states.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
On 24 May 2024, new legislation came into effect which prevents newspaper and news magazine mergers resulting in any ownership, influence, or control by foreign states. This change was introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Act 2024, which added new powers to the Enterprise Act 2002.