Louie French

Ministers and officials have undertaken significant engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including those with lived experience of gambling-related harm, to inform the government’s work to reduce gambling harm in line with its manifesto commitment.

As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on the statutory levy, it is a priority that in this crucial transition period, the valuable experience and services in the current system, particularly treatment and support services which help people in need across Great Britain, are protected. We are clear that operators must continue to provide financial contributions at their current levels until the levy is in force, and have received reassurances from the industry that this will be delivered. The Government is also clear that the third sector, which has delivered important work to tackle gambling harm, will continue to play a key role in the future system and contribute to the research, prevention and treatment supported by levy funding.

The listed events regime aims to ensure many of the nation's biggest sporting events are free-to-air wherever possible while protecting competition organisers' ability to raise income from the sale of broadcast rights to invest in their sports. The government has no plans to amend the regime at this time.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engages with the Secretary of State for Education on a range of issues, including school sport. Minister Peacock recently attended a roundtable discussion with PE and school sport sector leaders, hosted by the Minister for Schools.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work closely with the Department for Education on the curriculum review.

The Football Governance Bill will create a Regulator that will be able to prevent English clubs from joining a future breakaway competition, taking into account factors like sustainability, heritage, fairness and meritocracy.

The Regulator will be obliged to gather the views of fans and consult the FA before it prohibits a competition.

This approach is the most effective way of stopping unwanted competitions that do not adhere to the principles of how sport operates in this country, are not supported by fans, and that risk undermining the English football pyramid.

The Shadow Football Regulator is a transition team that is working in parallel with the passage of the Football Governance Bill to set up the Independent Football Regulator. It does not have powers to regulate or take forward the provisions in the Football Governance Bill until after Royal Assent.

Protecting children and young people from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core priority for the Government and a Gambling Commission objective. Under the Gambling Act 2005, gambling is defined as playing a game of chance for a prize of money or money's worth. Gambling-like features in video games, such as loot boxes, do not meet this legal definition of gambling.

We are aware that there are instances where third party websites allow players to gamble using prizes that can be transferred in and out of some video games. Where these instances of illegal gambling are identified, the Gambling Commission takes swift action to disrupt these websites and protect players. The Government and the Gambling Commission continue to pay close attention to novel and emergent forms of gambling and gambling-like products, including within video games, to ensure that appropriate regulation is in place.

The Government is committed to reviewing all official statistics assessing gambling harm in the United Kingdom to help to build our picture of gambling harm. This includes the NHS Health Survey, and we will continue to engage with relevant officials in the Department for Health and Social Care about the NHS Health Survey and the evidence it provides on gambling harm.

We are aware that the harms that can ensue from harmful gambling are many and diverse and we will use all available evidence to better understand the impact that harmful gambling can have on people. Considering the NHS Health Survey alongside the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain provides us with a wider understanding of the potential consequences that can arise from gambling and ensures that we have more frequent statistics on gambling harm rates. Policy and regulatory change is not based on single statistics or evidence sources, and we will continue to use evidence from a range of sources to assess harmful gambling in the United Kingdom.

The Government fully appreciates the frustration and disappointment that fans might experience following kick off times being changed.

Fan consultation is a key part of the licensing regime within the Football Governance Bill and the relevant matters have been deliberately designed to capture the wide array of club matters that may impact fans.

Within such categories as “match-day and operational issues”, topics such as accessibility, ticket purchasing processes, and stewarding may all be relevant, depending on the club. The requirements mean that clubs and their supporters could choose to discuss kick off times in these meetings, if they choose to.

However, kick-off times are not included on the face of the Football Governance Bill as, in the majority of cases, these are not within the control of the club. Ultimately, the scheduling of fixtures is a matter for the relevant league and the Football Association (the FA), in conjunction with broadcasters, local authorities, and the police.

The Government will continue to support the successes of Team GB and ParalympicsGB. The Chancellor has confirmed that a multi-year investment will mean a total of £344 million is invested in Olympic and Paralympic success over the next cycle. This will support them through to the 2028 Olympic Games and provide excellent foundations for the 2032 Games and beyond.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions (NICs) at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 13 November which sets out the impact of the employer NICs changes.

The Government is committed to improving access to sports and physical activity for everybody, wherever they live. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

Sport England provides investment to British American Football, the National Governing Body for American Football in Britain, which received up to £250,000 to invest in the growth and participation of American football.

UK Sport recently awarded British American Football £500,000 in funding. The funding will specifically support the development of the elite Great Britain Flag Football Olympic programme over the next three and a half years – in the run up to the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games in 2028.

I have also met with the National Football League to discuss their plans for the sport in the UK.

Everyone should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. Schools play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take part in PE and sport, setting them up for a lifetime of physical activity. The expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that no child misses out on a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport. This Government is also committed to supporting every aspect of women’s and girls’ sport, including rugby union and rugby league.

Rugby Union and Rugby League are sports that are delivered through the Government-funded School Games programme, which provides children across the country with the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer money. The Rugby Football League (RFL) and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) receive £11.9 million and £13.8 million funding from Sport England respectively across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.

The women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025 will provide an opportunity to use the tournament as a springboard for women’s rugby. The RFU’s Impact 25 programme has been developed to create more opportunities for women and girls in all aspects of women’s rugby.

Everyone should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. Schools play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take part in PE and sport, setting them up for a lifetime of physical activity. The expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that no child misses out on a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport. This Government is also committed to supporting every aspect of women’s and girls’ sport, including rugby union and rugby league.

Rugby Union and Rugby League are sports that are delivered through the Government-funded School Games programme, which provides children across the country with the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer money. The Rugby Football League (RFL) and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) receive £11.9 million and £13.8 million funding from Sport England respectively across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.

The women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025 will provide an opportunity to use the tournament as a springboard for women’s rugby. The RFU’s Impact 25 programme has been developed to create more opportunities for women and girls in all aspects of women’s rugby.

In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government took difficult decisions at the Autumn Budget. Major tax measures were accompanied by Tax Information and Impact Notes in the usual way.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to British sporting culture and its importance to the British rural economy. In addition to the above measures, we recognise the unique position of horseracing and that the Horserace Betting Levy is vital for financial sustainability of the sport. The Minister for Gambling recently met representatives from the horseracing and betting industries and has written to both encouraging a voluntary deal that fairly reflects the relationship between racing and betting.

Within the budget, the Government also announced its intention to publish a consultation next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (meaning gambling offered over the internet, telephone, TV, and radio) under a single tax, rather than taxing it through a three-tax structure. This consultation will consider the impacts of reforming gambling duties, and subsequently set out any expected impacts of any potential changes.

The Government acknowledges the importance of greyhound racing to the nation’s culture and economy, for example employing over 5,400 people across the country.

The Department continues to engage with the Greyhound Board for Great Britain (GBGB) on developments in the industry.

The GBGB receives funds through the British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF) in the form of voluntary contributions from bookmakers on betting turnover on licensed greyhound racing, which sit alongside commercial deals between the betting and racing industries. The Department is also engaging with bookmakers to underline the importance of the voluntary levy to support the growth and sustainability of the sport.

Crucial to that sustainability is implementation of GBGB’s welfare strategy “ A Good Life for Every Greyhound”.

Every child should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. Schools play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take part in PE and sport, setting them up for a lifetime of physical activity. This Government is also committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport, including cricket, and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have the opportunity to access sport and physical activity.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the National Governing Body for cricket and has committed to making the sport as inclusive as possible for children and young people through their new strategy and state school action plan. I have also seen the work of their charitable arm, Chance to Shine, to encourage more children to take up cricket.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) receive £10.2 million funding from Sport England across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.

Policies on when to issue “no objection certificates” for English county cricket players, which permit them to play in overseas tournaments, are a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board in their stewardship of the game.

This Government wants a thriving sport sector, with robust National Governing Bodies that can use their nationwide remit to deliver sport to people across the country.

I meet with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on a range of topics, including the future of the sport, and have seen the work of their charitable arm, Chance to Shine, to encourage more children to take up cricket. It is for the ECB to work with County Cricket Clubs on the sustainability of the county cricket system and other issues.

The government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 13 November which sets out the impact of the employer NICs changes.

I met with the Rugby Football Union in early November to discuss the future of the sport and my department is in regular contact with the rugby union authorities. The department continues to work with the RFU and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite level sport.