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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase the number of women and girls participating in motorsport.

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

The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport. Female role models are vital in encouraging more girls to get active and find a route into the sports they enjoy.

We welcome the continued growth of the Formula 1 Academy in providing opportunities for young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition in motorsport, and are supportive of its focus on uncovering the next generation of young female drivers.

I also recognise the work organisations such as Motorsport UK and the British Women’s Racing Drivers Club are taking forward to increase female participation within the sport.

In the broader field of motorsport, I also recently met with Formula One to congratulate them on their amazing 75th anniversary last month. This milestone provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the sport’s long history in the UK, of which we are very proud, and we will continue to work closely with them to see how best we can further support the success story of Formula One in the UK.

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 potential impact of the selling of shares in cricket clubs competing in The Hundred on the level of Government support that will be provided to grassroots cricket teams.

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

We want a thriving sector, with robust National Governing Bodies (NGBs) that can use their nationwide remit to deliver sport to people across the country. Sustainable investment is important for achieving this. The Hundred will see additional investment into grassroots cricket from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which is welcomed.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport, including cricket, at grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all.

Sport England provides long term investment to the England and Wales Cricket Board, the National Governing Body for cricket, which receives up to £11.6 million for five years to invest in community cricket initiatives. This is a separate consideration to the Hundred sale.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to ring-fence funds levied through the statutory gambling levy for the research, treatment and prevention of gambling harms.

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

As set out in the government’s consultation response, section 123 of the Gambling Act 2005 is clear that statutory levy funding will be ringfenced for gambling-related purposes and all spending is subject to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury approval. We will ensure robust governance processes for the levy system as a whole to ensure that funding allocated for research, prevention and treatment to the lead commissioning bodies we have appointed is being used in line with the government’s objectives.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the continuation of funding for (a) the Holiday Activities and Food, (b) School Games and (c) the Primary PE and Sport Premium programmes.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The government recently announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food programme for the 2025/26 financial year. Funding for the primary PE and sport premium has been committed to the end of the 2024/25 academic year.

The School Games are the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care. The government has confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers until the end of the 2024/25 academic year.

Information on future budgets will be made available in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will begin to distribute funding generated from the statutory Gambling Levy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is progressing work on the design of the new commissioning programme to prevent gambling related harms, alongside counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and is working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury. Decisions on how the levy will be governed will be confirmed in due course.

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 ensure organisations funded by her Department promote free speech.

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

Everyone has the right to express themselves and share ideas without interference from the government. This right is protected by Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

We are committed to freedom of speech, including in the creative and cultural sectors, and the Secretary of State has expressed an unequivocal ambition that the era of the government stoking “culture wars” should be over.