Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help prevent radicalisation amongst religious groups.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As a society we must not permit those that radicalise others into violence and terrorism to act with impunity. Prevent is about stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism and tackles the ideological causes of terrorism and provides early intervention for people at risk of radicalisation.
Although Prevent does not target any one community and deals with all forms of terrorist ideologies, part of this work involves working closely with religious communities and organisations to support them in safeguarding individuals susceptible to radicalisation and disrupting groups that radicalise others, online and in communities.
Further information on the number of individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme from April 2024-March 2025 can be found at Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the level of international competitiveness of the Video Games Expenditure Credit; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the (a) tax credit and (b) cap of total core expenditure to 100%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the contribution made by the UK’s video games sector to growth and innovation. We support the sector through the tax system and through funding, and this is a very competitive offer internationally.
Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs. Some countries offering higher refundable rates but with tighter caps or narrower qualifying expenditure, while the UK’s approach provides a predictable and scalable form of support across a broad base of development costs.
Tax support sits alongside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s new £30 million Games Growth package, designed to back the next generation of start‑up studios and talent and attract further inward investment.
The Government keeps the whole tax system under review to ensure it remains effective, targeted and delivers value for money.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's policy is in relation to tube strikes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As Transport in London is devolved to TfL, it is for the Mayor of London to manage the impact of any strike action on London’s transport network. The Government encourages all sides to work together to resolve any disputes as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 21 November to question 91059 on Doctors: Training, if he will publish a timeline of HM Government's next steps.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 (Commencement) Regulations 2026 were made on 5 March 2026, which brought into force all provisions of the Act on 6 March 2026.
The timeline for the creation of 1,000 specialty training posts as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
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.