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 devolved Governments to ensure prevention, support and treatment for gambling harms is available across the UK.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government introduced a statutory gambling levy, a mandatory charge on licensed gambling operators, in April 2025. Funds collected from the levy will be used exclusively for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harm across Great Britain. The levy has raised just under £120 million in its first year.

20% of these funds will be allocated to research, 30% to prevention and 50% to treatment. Scotland and Wales will receive their appropriate share, to ensure prevention, treatment and support are available across Great Britain.

Officials are in frequent contact with officials in the Scottish and Welsh Governments, ensuring a stable transition to the statutory system. Additionally, both Welsh and Scottish officials sit on the Levy Delivery Group and the Levy Programme Board, each meeting quarterly. Terms of reference and membership of these groups can be found here.

While the UK Government and Scottish and Welsh Governments are coordinating closely on levy implementation, health policy is a devolved matter.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the the EHRC Code of Practice on single-sex spaces on (a) businesses, (b) community spaces and (c) public spaces.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The EHRC has submitted a draft Code of Practice to Ministers, and we are reviewing it with the care it deserves, engaging with the EHRC to ensure that it provides clarity for service providers.

We have always been clear that the proper process needs to be followed, which includes understanding the potential impact on businesses, public functions and services. The Code will have implications for service providers up and down the country so it is important that we get this right.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department’s plan to ban for-profit ticket resale will apply to (a) tickets sold through peer-to-peer messaging platforms and (b) tickets sold through encrypted peer-to-peer messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government has recently announced plans to introduce a price cap on the resale of live events tickets, which will make it illegal for tickets to be resold for more than their original cost.

Our intention is that all businesses that facilitate the resale of live events tickets to UK consumers will be obliged to ensure compliance with the price cap.

Detailed work to prepare the new legislation is ongoing, involving further consideration of how platform obligations should be configured.

The government will legislate when Parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of restricting ticket resales via peer-to-peer messaging applications on user privacy and encryption.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government has recently announced plans to introduce a price cap on the resale of live events tickets, which will make it illegal for tickets to be resold for more than their original cost.

Our intention is that all businesses that facilitate the resale of live events tickets to UK consumers will be obliged to ensure compliance with the price cap.

Detailed work to prepare the new legislation is ongoing, involving further consideration of how platform obligations should be configured.

The government will legislate when Parliamentary time allows.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will set out the timeline for the youth portion of Every Child Can Dormant Assets funding to support the delivery of grassroots enrichment and youth provision.

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

‘Every Child Can’ is a £132.5 million programme to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities between 2024 and 2028 to meet the needs of young people. This funding will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the culture, sport, and wider youth sectors. Development is in active progress and further details will be announced in due course, including expected timelines.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which Minister within her Department has responsibility for (a) measuring the impact of the National Youth Strategy on the provision of enrichment activity for young people and (b) leading on implementation of enrichment programmes in that Strategy.

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

I am responding as the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth with responsibility for DCMS youth enrichment policy.

On 10th December 2025, we published ‘Youth Matters’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Backed by £500m of DCMS funding over the next 3 years, the Strategy will ensure every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of. We are working closely with Other Government Departments to ensure the successful delivery and accountability of the National Youth Strategy, including the implementation of enriching activities for young people. This involves establishing a cross-government reporting and governance process to ensure successful delivery.

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 Education on the plans set out in the National Youth Strategy for the implementation of enriching activities for young people.

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

I am responding as the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth with responsibility for DCMS youth enrichment policy.

On 10th December 2025, we published ‘Youth Matters’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Backed by £500m of DCMS funding over the next 3 years, the Strategy will ensure every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of. We are working closely with Other Government Departments to ensure the successful delivery and accountability of the National Youth Strategy, including the implementation of enriching activities for young people. This involves establishing a cross-government reporting and governance process to ensure successful delivery.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department provided funding to boxing programmes to help prevent crime amongst young people.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

In the financial year 2022/2023, the Ministry of Justice invested £5 million in sports-related projects across England and Wales, to use sport to enhance positive outcomes for vulnerable young people at-risk of criminality (the ‘Youth Justice Sport Fund’). Around 50% of the 220 organisations funded through this programme provided boxing support to young people.

Youth justice funding now takes a more flexible approach. Local authorities receive funding to deliver youth justice services, including through the Turnaround early intervention programme. Local authorities can use this funding to commission activities that were previously supported by Youth Justice Sports Fund such as boxing.

An independent evaluation of the Turnaround programme published earlier this month highlighted that boys taking part in boxing reported improved physical and mental health.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made in appointing a delivery partner for the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network; and whether her Department plans to provide funding for the School Games Organisers Network after the 2025-26 academic year.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has carried out market engagement with the sector, and we are using feedback from this to inform our invitation to tender. We will launch procurement for a national delivery partner to run the Partnerships Network shortly.

The government has confirmed funding for the School Games organisers until the end of the 2025/26 academic year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what data her department holds on the number of deaths at (a) white collar and (b) regulated boxing events in the last five years.

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

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.

As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.

The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

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 adequacy of the regulatory framework for white-collar boxing.

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

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.

As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.

The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

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 (a) the National Governing Bodies for Boxing and (b) white collar boxing event promoters on improving safety at white collar boxing events.

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

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.

As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.

The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's planned timeline is for publishing its response to the consultation on safety at white-collar boxing events.

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

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.

As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.

The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

Use of catapults against wildlife

Excise