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 access to (a) covered and (b) indoor sports facilities, particularly in socially deprived areas.

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

The Government will invest £400m in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

We provide the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are ensuring that future grassroots sports facilities funding programmes are tailored to local demand, and provide communities with year-round facilities where that demand exists. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities, which means delivering a range of facilities across the UK.

Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, we are ensuring investment reaches those who need it most. In 2026/27, we are investing in artificial grass pitches, which play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

At least 40% of MSGF-funded projects will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in sports other than football. This means that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them including rugby, cricket and basketball. Projects are also required to generate partner funding, ensuring we achieve value for money on Government investment.

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 that future capital funding helps to tackle disparities in access to year-round sporting provision.

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

The Government will invest £400m in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

We provide the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are ensuring that future grassroots sports facilities funding programmes are tailored to local demand, and provide communities with year-round facilities where that demand exists. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities, which means delivering a range of facilities across the UK.

Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, we are ensuring investment reaches those who need it most. In 2026/27, we are investing in artificial grass pitches, which play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

At least 40% of MSGF-funded projects will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in sports other than football. This means that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them including rugby, cricket and basketball. Projects are also required to generate partner funding, ensuring we achieve value for money on Government investment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she had made of the potential merits of providing multi-year capital funding settlements for community facilities to help national governing bodies and local partners to (a) plan, (b) deliver matched funding and (c) achieve value for money.

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

The Government will invest £400m in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

We provide the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are ensuring that future grassroots sports facilities funding programmes are tailored to local demand, and provide communities with year-round facilities where that demand exists. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities, which means delivering a range of facilities across the UK.

Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, we are ensuring investment reaches those who need it most. In 2026/27, we are investing in artificial grass pitches, which play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

At least 40% of MSGF-funded projects will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in sports other than football. This means that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them including rugby, cricket and basketball. Projects are also required to generate partner funding, ensuring we achieve value for money on Government investment.

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 public funding for sports facilities increases participation among (a) women, (b) people with disabilities, (c) and inactive communities.

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

The Government will invest £400m in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

We provide the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are ensuring that future grassroots sports facilities funding programmes are tailored to local demand, and provide communities with year-round facilities where that demand exists. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities, which means delivering a range of facilities across the UK.

Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, we are ensuring investment reaches those who need it most. In 2026/27, we are investing in artificial grass pitches, which play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

At least 40% of MSGF-funded projects will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in sports other than football. This means that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them including rugby, cricket and basketball. Projects are also required to generate partner funding, ensuring we achieve value for money on Government investment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how her Department ensures that public funding for sports facilities supports a wide range of sports.

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

The Government will invest £400m in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

We provide the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are ensuring that future grassroots sports facilities funding programmes are tailored to local demand, and provide communities with year-round facilities where that demand exists. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities, which means delivering a range of facilities across the UK.

Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, we are ensuring investment reaches those who need it most. In 2026/27, we are investing in artificial grass pitches, which play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

At least 40% of MSGF-funded projects will have a multi-sport offer to allow more people to participate in sports other than football. This means that more people can get access to a wider variety of sports and activities that appeal to them including rugby, cricket and basketball. Projects are also required to generate partner funding, ensuring we achieve value for money on Government investment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of the competitiveness of the capital framework of (a) the UK and (b) international counterparts.

Answered by Rachel Blake

Achieving growth with good jobs and higher living standards in all parts of the country is an central priority for this government, and it is essential that the UK’s capital framework supports this. HM Treasury is responsible for the overall regulatory framework, including through the legislation underpinning it, ensuring the authorities have clear responsibilities and objectives, with effective powers. This reflects the UK’s established FSMA model of regulation, under which Parliament and HM Treasury set the overall framework, while independent regulators are responsible for developing detailed firm-facing rules.

The Bank of England, including through the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), is responsible for the UK’s bank capital framework. The FPC has a primary objective to maintain financial stability and a secondary objective to support the Government’s economic policy, including growth. The Chancellor’s 2025 remit letter to the FPC sets out that the capital framework should strike an appropriate balance between resilience, growth and competitiveness over the medium to long term.

The FPC is currently undertaking a review of bank capital requirements to ensure that the banking system is appropriately capitalised to support sustainable growth over the long term, and taking into consideration the approach of international counterparts. The Committee set out initial findings alongside the December 2025 Financial Stability Report, including in a ‘Financial Stability in Focus’ publication.

This sets out the Committee’s view that the appropriate benchmark for the system-wide level of capital requirements could be lowered by 1 percentage point. The FPC has identified three further areas to assess as part of the review: leverage-based capital requirements, capital buffers, and overlaps between capital requirements. The Bank has since been undertaking structured industry engagement and will update on its next steps in the next Financial Stability Report.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to (a) deliver reform to the UK’s capital framework and (b) support growth.

Answered by Rachel Blake

Achieving growth with good jobs and higher living standards in all parts of the country is an central priority for this government, and it is essential that the UK’s capital framework supports this. HM Treasury is responsible for the overall regulatory framework, including through the legislation underpinning it, ensuring the authorities have clear responsibilities and objectives, with effective powers. This reflects the UK’s established FSMA model of regulation, under which Parliament and HM Treasury set the overall framework, while independent regulators are responsible for developing detailed firm-facing rules.

The Bank of England, including through the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), is responsible for the UK’s bank capital framework. The FPC has a primary objective to maintain financial stability and a secondary objective to support the Government’s economic policy, including growth. The Chancellor’s 2025 remit letter to the FPC sets out that the capital framework should strike an appropriate balance between resilience, growth and competitiveness over the medium to long term.

The FPC is currently undertaking a review of bank capital requirements to ensure that the banking system is appropriately capitalised to support sustainable growth over the long term, and taking into consideration the approach of international counterparts. The Committee set out initial findings alongside the December 2025 Financial Stability Report, including in a ‘Financial Stability in Focus’ publication.

This sets out the Committee’s view that the appropriate benchmark for the system-wide level of capital requirements could be lowered by 1 percentage point. The FPC has identified three further areas to assess as part of the review: leverage-based capital requirements, capital buffers, and overlaps between capital requirements. The Bank has since been undertaking structured industry engagement and will update on its next steps in the next Financial Stability Report.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to ensure the long-term viability of the Lifetime ISA following the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA product.

Answered by Rachel Blake

On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA). After the new product is introduced it will not be possible to open a LISA but existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.

There are currently no plans to increase the property price cap for the LISA, Help to Buy ISA or FTB ISA. The FTB ISA consultation does not propose the level at which any property price cap, government bonus or subscription limit should be set or whether a separate property price cap should apply in different parts of the UK.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. The Help to Buy ISA also continues to support first-time buyers within its existing property price caps.

The Government will consider views received as part of the consultation process including comments on the interaction between the new product and the Lifetime ISA. All feedback will be considered in coming to a decision on the detail of the design and implementation of the FTB ISA.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of reviewing the property price cap of (a) the Lifetime ISA, (b) the Help to Buy ISA and (c) the First-Time Buyer ISA on an annual basis.

Answered by Rachel Blake

On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA). After the new product is introduced it will not be possible to open a LISA but existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.

There are currently no plans to increase the property price cap for the LISA, Help to Buy ISA or FTB ISA. The FTB ISA consultation does not propose the level at which any property price cap, government bonus or subscription limit should be set or whether a separate property price cap should apply in different parts of the UK.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. The Help to Buy ISA also continues to support first-time buyers within its existing property price caps.

The Government will consider views received as part of the consultation process including comments on the interaction between the new product and the Lifetime ISA. All feedback will be considered in coming to a decision on the detail of the design and implementation of the FTB ISA.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to implement a property price cap on the First-Time Buyer ISA based on whether the property is (a) in London and (b) outside London.

Answered by Rachel Blake

On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA). After the new product is introduced it will not be possible to open a LISA but existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.

There are currently no plans to increase the property price cap for the LISA, Help to Buy ISA or FTB ISA. The FTB ISA consultation does not propose the level at which any property price cap, government bonus or subscription limit should be set or whether a separate property price cap should apply in different parts of the UK.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. The Help to Buy ISA also continues to support first-time buyers within its existing property price caps.

The Government will consider views received as part of the consultation process including comments on the interaction between the new product and the Lifetime ISA. All feedback will be considered in coming to a decision on the detail of the design and implementation of the FTB ISA.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the property price cap for (a) the Lifetime ISA, (b) the Help to Buy ISA and (c) the First-Time Buyer ISA.

Answered by Rachel Blake

On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA). After the new product is introduced it will not be possible to open a LISA but existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.

There are currently no plans to increase the property price cap for the LISA, Help to Buy ISA or FTB ISA. The FTB ISA consultation does not propose the level at which any property price cap, government bonus or subscription limit should be set or whether a separate property price cap should apply in different parts of the UK.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. The Help to Buy ISA also continues to support first-time buyers within its existing property price caps.

The Government will consider views received as part of the consultation process including comments on the interaction between the new product and the Lifetime ISA. All feedback will be considered in coming to a decision on the detail of the design and implementation of the FTB ISA.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of delaying the anti-circumvention rules for ISAs to April 2028.

Answered by Rachel Blake

At Autumn Budget 2025, we announced that, from 6th April 2027, the Cash ISA allowance will be reduced to £12,000 while the limit for Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISAs will remain at £20,000. To ensure the reformed ISA limits operate as intended anti-circumvention rules are also required, and these will also operate from 6^th April 2027.

The ISA industry is aware of the commencement date for the changes. We announced the nature of the rules the day after Budget and, following extensive engagement, announced the detail at Tax Update 2026 on 23 June. HMRC has published the draft regulations and is holding a technical consultation on them currently, prior to the regulations being laid in the Autumn and effective from 6 April 2027.

The resulting rules are as simple as possible for providers and consumers and retain maximum flexibility for consumers to build an investment portfolio that works for them.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the trend in the number digitally excluded adults.

Answered by Rachel Blake

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Financial Lives Survey reports that 1.2 million UK adults (2%) were digitally excluded in 2024, a significant decrease from 6.9 million (14%) in 2017.

Digital inclusion was considered as part of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, published by HM Treasury in November last year, which sets out a range of ambitious measures for the Government and industry to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK.

The Strategy seeks to support digital inclusion through interventions to prioritise inclusive design. HM Treasury is also working closely with the Department for Innovation, Science, and Technology (DSIT) on their Digital Inclusion Action Plan and work to address wider barriers such as connectivity, skills, and access to devices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to include the recommendations of the Access to Banking Review in the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2026.

Answered by Rachel Blake

The Access to Banking Services Review will consider access to in-person banking services and whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment. The evidence collected by the Review will inform future decisions on whether further action is needed.

Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.

The Review will conclude in October 2026 and provide its findings and recommendations to the Government. The Government will consider those findings carefully, including whether any further action is required to protect access to banking services. The findings will also help inform how the Government considers the use of powers contained in the Financial Services and Markets Bill.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the consultation entitled ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’, whether he is taking steps to ensure future guidance doesn’t impede on the primary duty of pension fund trustees.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Trustees of occupational pension schemes must act in accordance with their legal and fiduciary duties and in the interests of scheme members. The consultation ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’ seeks views on trustee standards, governance and administration and does not alter those duties.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the conclusion of the consultation entitled ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’, what steps he will take to ensure any guidance to pension fund trustees remains voluntary.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Trustees of occupational pension schemes must act in accordance with their legal and fiduciary duties and in the interests of scheme members. The consultation ‘Trust-based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future’ seeks views on trustee standards, governance and administration and does not alter those duties.