Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Western Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Julia Lopez]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising his concerns about the creative community in Leighton Buzzard—it sounds like a buzzing creative community. As I say, we support creative industries primarily through Arts Council England, which has initiatives that look at workspaces. I encourage organisations in his constituency and community to make applications for grants, because there are specific funds available.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Arts venues are vital to our local culture and our communities, but they are also hotbeds for new talent to display or perform their latest works, which is critical to the UK’s creative sector. Pubs are increasingly used for showing artworks as much as they are for performing music—think of pubs such as the Crown Inn back in the day, or the Hope and Anchor in Islington. That is why it is so important that we save pubs such as the Punch Bowl in Warwick, which a developer wants to convert into a house. Last year was the worst year for the closure of music venues. What is the Minister doing to stop that rate of closure?

[Julia Lopez]

We share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about grassroots music venues, which is why we have a specific fund set aside to help save some of the most treasured community venues. We also have the Localism Act 2011, which allows communities to designate a particular community asset of value, giving communities time to raise funds to save those kinds of assets. It is something that we are talking about a lot with music venue groups, and we are also looking at giving them help to buy the freeholds of properties so that those kinds of assets can stay within communities and remain a talent pipeline, as he suggests, for many years to come.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Western Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

The mid-term review is a very important point where we can look further, and indeed have looked further, at a number of issues, including competition, complaints and impartiality. We will be publishing the results of the mid-term review very shortly.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

The Minister will know that Warwick and Leamington—Leamington being also known as Silicon Spa—enjoys the greatest concentration of games companies in the world. I appreciate what was said in the autumn statement, but there is a skills shortage. Can the Minister update us on what is being done to address that?

[Lucy Frazer]

The gaming industry in this country is world leading, and I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of gaming companies to see how they are thriving. We have a creative industries skills package, which we committed to in the creative industries sector vision, to ensure a pipeline of talent all the way from primary school right up until someone’s second or third job, and there are measures at every single one of those steps.

Channel 4 Privatisation

Matt Western Excerpts

Wednesday 27th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I may have my facts wrong, but as I understand it, Channel 4 is phenomenally successful. Its subscription service levels are something like a third higher than Netflix’s in the UK, and All 4 is the largest subscription service in this country. Channel 4 does not cost the taxpayer anything, yet it generates £1 billion per year for the UK economy. Other than the scrutiny of Government, what is not to like?

[Julia Lopez]

The Government are thinking carefully about the fundamental sustainability and future of the Channel 4 model. The hon. Gentleman may be aware of two key points about Channel 4: it does not retain ownership of its intellectual property, and any borrowing it does sits on the public balance sheet. Given its dependence on linear advertising, we have concerns, looking at viewer trends, that that model will be difficult to sustain if Channel 4 is to continue to make the investment in content that I think we all want. We are therefore looking afresh at what Channel 4 needs, not only to sustain itself, but to grow. I hope that what we bring forward will help the hon. Gentleman to understand how this reform sits within a wider set of reforms to sustain our public service broadcasters.

BBC Funding

Matt Western Excerpts

Monday 17th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ms Dorries]

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for his question. Impartiality and the licence fee are two entirely separate things. The Serota review made its recommendations, and the leadership of the BBC fully agreed with those recommendations and agreed to implement them. We now want transparency, to see what difference those implementations make, but they are a completely different issue from the settlement of the licence fees.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I am very proud of the BBC—it is the best of British, and it is recognised and respected around the world. It is also the best of value. Its fee works out as two thirds of the price of a pink of milk per day—I happen to know the price of a pint of milk. Is the simple truth not that the Prime Minister, unlike previous Prime Ministers such as Margaret Thatcher and many others, is frightened of the BBC and of being scrutinised? Margaret Thatcher actually phoned in to Radio 4’s “Today” programme. This Prime Minister would prefer to hide in the fridge.

[Ms Dorries]

The Prime Minister is a huge fan of the BBC and of “Today”. The discussions that we are having are to help protect the BBC, because if anyone sitting here thinks that we could go to households in 2028 and expect them to pay the licence fee—with fear of prosecution if they do not—in order to watch the television that they have bought and put in their house, they are, frankly, a dinosaur. We in this House have a responsibility to protect the BBC. As part of that responsibility, we have to look forward and think how we can change the BBC and fund it in a changing digital landscape.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Western Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

The Law Officers are always concerned about any legislation promoted by the Scottish Parliament and Government that falls outside legislative competence. That is why I was pleased that the Supreme Court agreed with the Government earlier this year on the Bills proposed by the Scottish Government on the UN convention on the rights of the child and on local self-government. Ultimately, we are a United Kingdom. The people of Scotland have voted to remain as part of that United Kingdom, and I only wish that the hon. Lady and her party would respect that will of the people.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

5. What steps she has taken to increase the number of successful prosecutions relating to (a) violence against women and girls and (b) hate crimes. [R]

[The Attorney General (Suella Braverman)]

This Government take tackling domestic abuse and hate crime extremely seriously, as shown by the introduction of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and our commitment to publishing a new hate crime strategy later this year. The CPS is working hard to deliver justice and to protect the public, and it has recently published an ambitious 12-month domestic abuse programme to help narrow the disparity between reporting and criminal justice outcomes.

[Matt Western]

Clearly not that seriously, certainly in Warwickshire; according to the CPS data, Warwickshire has the lowest conviction rate—47% conviction against prosecution—at 1.3%. Dame Vera Baird, the Victims’ Commissioner, criticised that as the “effective decriminalisation of rape”. She is right, is she not?

[The Attorney General]

No, she is not right. We understand, of course, that we need to do better when it comes to charging rape and to RASSO—rape and serious sexual offences—outcomes. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepts that and I accept that. However, we must be fair about where the problem is, so that we can be frank about the solutions. About 10% of police referrals make it to the CPS and, in the most recent data, we see a slight increase—nationally—in the CPS charging rate when it comes to rape, so there are some early signs of improvement. Above all, we have a great commitment by the CPS and criminal justice partners to improve the situation. The rape review was published last year, and we have seen the RASSO 2025 strategy. Innovative processes around Operation Soteria and Operation Bluestone are changing the way police and prosecutors work to better tackle rape and serious sexual offences, so that victims are better supported through the process.

Randolph Turpin

Matt Western Excerpts

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for granting this significant debate. It may seem that to talk about Randolph Turpin is to talk about a parochial sporting hero, but I hope to demonstrate just how much he helped to transform British sport.

Seventy years ago this week, Randolph Turpin took the world of boxing by storm as more than 18,000 spectators packed into Earls Court in London to witness the great—the legendary—Sugar Ray Robinson end his European tour. The scene was set for Turpin to show the world what he was made of. After a pummelling 15 rounds, Turpin triumphed. He was the world middleweight champion—the first British fighter to hold the title since Bob Fitzsimmons some 60 years earlier in 1891, and the first ever black British boxer do so.

More colloquially known as the Leamington Licker—a title that many in the constituency are proud to recall—the local Leamington lad shot to international fame overnight. But Turpin’s 1951 victory was not just a flash-in-the-pan event; his entire career was based on breaking records. He was the first and only man ever to win both the junior and senior British amateur boxing titles in one year, and his record stretched to a stunning 66 wins out of 75 fights. For some of that time, he boxed while serving in the Royal Navy at the end of the second world war.

Our knowledge of his achievements and their recognition owes much to the work of the Randolph Turpin Trust. I pay special thanks to its chair, Adrian Bush, whose dedicated work helped to lead to the erection of the statue of Randy that stands proudly in Warwick town centre. It took five long years to raise the money for the statue, and I commend the trust members for their perseverance. It was they who organised for proper recognition by those who understood his true achievement.

The fact that the statue was unveiled by some of boxing’s greats—including Our ’Enry, the late, great Sir Henry Cooper—and attended by Earnie Shavers, Richie Woodhall, Alan Minter, Neil Simpson and Danny McAlinden, tells us everything we need to know about Randy Turpin, a sporting legend among sporting legends. It is the only statue that stands in the centre of Warwick, which is why I believe this Chamber is a fitting place to remind ourselves of and recognise and continue to remember Randy’s legacy on the 70th anniversary of that momentous fight. I do not believe this country has fully appreciated what he or his brother achieved.

Behind every great sportsman is, of course, a dedicated, loving and supportive family, and Randy’s was no exception. Born in Leamington Spa in 1928, Randy was the youngest of five siblings. He was the son of Lionel Turpin, who came to these shores from what was then British Guiana to fight in the first world war.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this debate to the House. Whenever anybody mentions the Somme, I am always reminded that it is a very special place for us in Northern Ireland. To know that Randy’s father fought at the Somme tells us a lot about the person he was and the person his father was as well. I want to say how pleased we are that the hon. Gentleman has brought this debate to the House to recognise not just Randy’s sporting heroics but the bravery of his dad at the Somme.

[Matt Western]

Lionel was indeed courageous fighting in the battle of the Somme, but sadly he died some years later having sustained permanent damage to his lungs. Together with hundreds of others, he had been the victim of a gas attack. As is so often the case, his sacrifice is barely recognised, together with those of so many other nationals who served the British empire.

It was left to Randy’s mother Beatrice to raise him and his four siblings, taking on part-time domestic work to provide for them. Beatrice was the daughter of a former bare- knuckle fighter and was by all accounts a feisty woman who would tell her children to stand up for themselves when they were subjected to racial abuse.

Sporting success in the Turpin family did not stop at Randy; indeed, his elder brother Dick Turpin, the first black British and Commonwealth middleweight champion in 1948, paved the way for black Britons throughout the country to compete on the same stage as white Britons for the first time. If we accept that Randy and Dick broke the colour bar in the boxing arena—as it was described at that time—the current success of British boxing owes a lot to their work.

When I talk of the successes of British boxing, I only need to mention Anthony Joshua, Chris Eubank, Lennox Lewis and others. None of those great athletes would have had the chance to reach the heights they did were it not for Dick and Randy Turpin breaking through the glass ceiling of race.

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing Randy’s history to Parliament. Does he agree that that history shows the need to have more funding for sporting activities for young people, so that we can get more diverse and more ethnic minority participation?

[Matt Western]

I totally agree; I will come to that shortly.

Despite Randy’s momentous accomplishments during his sporting career, his troubled personal life and at times flawed character would lead to violence against some of those closest to him and others. He was financially cheated by those he trusted, his debts mounted up and he was declared bankrupt. Ultimately, alcohol would get the better of him. Most sadly, he took his own life; he was 38.

But it is for his sporting success that we and many people in my constituency remember Randy today. His extraordinary reputation, recognised more in the United States than here, led many to visit Warwick and Leamington to pay homage to the great man. In fact, even Muhammad Ali came to Warwick in 1983 as part of a visit to the midlands to pay his own homage and respects.

Randy’s legacy in my constituency of Warwick and Leamington is clear. Only last week, I had the great pleasure to meet three talented young Asian boxers in Warwick, Serena Mali, Jaya Kalsi and Aman Kumar—to demonstrate the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North West (Taiwo Owatemi). We stood by the statue and chatted briefly with their coaches. The reputation of local boxing clubs is still inspired by Randy, Dick and Jack Turpin. Seventy years after that great fight, the legacy of boxing in Leamington lives on. There are six other clubs in Leamington that are powerful and important in our sporting community. Another fine boxer, Lewis Williams, who won gold in the 2018 GB elite three nations championships, may soon be the heir to the Turpin legacy. It is an exciting prospect that the future of heavyweight boxing may indeed reside in Leamington.

The successes of Randy and his brother as the first black world middleweight champion and the first black British and Commonwealth middleweight champion respectively spelt the beginning for inclusion in sport. With them, the tide turned, although—let us be honest—not completely. It took more than 25 years after Randy Turpin’s victory over Sugar Ray Robinson for Viv Anderson, the first black man to play football for England, to put on a white shirt and proudly sport three lions on his chest. It is unimaginable now to think that it should have taken that long for a black man to represent his country in our national game, but therein lies another piece of history. In truth, a black player would have represented his country as far back as 1924, but was denied the opportunity—not on talent, but by the colour of his skin, for it was only when Football Association officials learnt that Jack Leslie was black that he was deselected from the England squad. Leslie is the fourth highest all-time goal scorer for Plymouth Argyle football club, but racial stigma spelt the end for his international career. As we know, sadly, even today that undercurrent of racism persists in sport. I hardly need to remind Members of the abhorrent racist abuse endured by some members of the England team following the final on Sunday. The national team and their manager brought about great pride and unity across our country, and the racism that continues to haunt those who represent England on the field or in the ring should be called out for what it is and condemned as totally unacceptable in 2021.

Alongside the new-found recognition, we need to invest in our local communities for the next generation of English sportspeople. In writing and researching this speech, I was reminded of some brilliant and talented sportspeople, in particular boxers: Cooper, Bruno, Khan, Benn, McGuigan, Minter, Ahmed, Hatton, Lewis, Calzaghe, Eubank, Honeyghan, Buchanan, John Conteh—all names I knew, even though I was not a major fan of the sport. I also remember Nicola Adams and her great success, and now Joshua and Fury.

When I was growing up, of course, I knew about Our ’Enry, but I was captivated by the great bouts between Ali and Frazier, and then Norton. One of the things I remember most is how Henry Cooper and others were described as “the great white hope”, an expression dating back to the early 1900s when heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, who was black, seemed invincible. The term would be used for any white opponent who might defeat him. When he decisively beat James Jeffries, put up against him and nicknamed the great white hope, Johnson’s triumph ignited confrontation and violence between blacks and whites throughout the United States, leaving around two dozen people dead, almost all of them black, and hundreds injured.

Thankfully, today we do not think in those terms—or rather, I hope we do not. I would like to think that we consider only a sportsperson’s ability and who can better another opponent rather than their race and colour of their skin. Everyone loved Henry Cooper. I did. He was knighted in recognition of his boxing and wider contribution to sport and British life, but he was never a world champion, let alone undisputed world champion. Randy Turpin was an undisputed world champion. To repeat: he beat Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the all-time greats, to claim that particular pinnacle of sport. I hope that he will one day get the national recognition he deserves for boxing, but arguably more importantly, for what he and his brothers did in punching through the glass ceiling of being barred through their race; for breaking down the racial barriers that ultimately led to the Anthony Joshuas, the Nicola Adamses, the Naseem Hameds, the Viv Andersons, the John Barneses, the Raheem Sterlings, the Marcus Rashfords, the Jadon Sanchos, the Bukayo Sakas and so many others being among the best of British sport. For that reason, I ask the Minister to meet me to discuss how this country can rightly honour Randolph Turpin.

Given recent events surrounding the England football team, I suggest that recognition of our first black British world champion is long overdue.

[The Minister for Digital and Culture (Caroline Dinenage)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) on securing the debate to highlight the noteworthy anniversary of Randolph Turpin’s middleweight title 70 years ago.

Anyone who reflects on the important moments in British boxing history, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s, will no doubt cite Randolph Turpin’s stunning win over the great Sugar Ray Robinson for the world middleweight title those 70 years ago. As the hon. Gentleman said, he was widely known through his nickname of the Leamington Licker. He was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, in June 1928 after his father moved to England from Guyana during the first world war, as we have heard. His amateur boxing career began at Leamington boys club alongside his three brothers, where he showed so much promise and became the first black boxer to win a senior Amateur Boxing Association championship. After making his professional debut in 1946, Turpin went on to win the British middleweight belt in 1950 before that momentous title win on 10 July 1951. That was a truly outstanding achievement given Robinson’s fame, prestige and competitive record. He had previously amassed 129 victories, just two draws and one loss, which is incredible.

As the hon. Gentleman said, Turpin’s story is not only significant because of his outstanding achievement—and it was an outstanding, world-class sporting achievement. It also shines a light on some of the key issues that we are still battling today. In fact, the anniversary could not be more timely. How we promote diversity and inclusion in sport; how we tackle the abhorrent racism we have seen in recent days; the long-term impact of concussion and head injury on our sportsmen and women; how we support people who are struggling with mental ill health and depression, and indeed, how we prevent domestic violence are all topics that come of Randolph Turpin’s story.

Today, British boxing is one of our most diverse sports. Most of our high-profile sporting stars are boxers from ethnically diverse backgrounds. The hon. Gentleman named a few of our great heroes. However, for the first part of the 20th century, the social inequalities in society were reflected in that sport. It is hard to believe that from 1911, boxing rules stated that, for a British title, both contestants needed to have been “born of white parents”. That rule remained in place until 1948. During this time, non-white boxers were barred from competing for a British boxing title. It seems impossible to believe it today, and it means that so many talented boxers were denied the right to compete for British titles purely due to the colour of their skin. Thankfully, progress was made with the lifting of that ban, and great strides have also been taken in other aspects of diversity through the nurturing of female boxing talent. I am sure that hon. Members will recall, as I do, their great pride in the first woman to win an Olympic boxing medal being our own Nicola Adams, back in London in 2012.

Of course, boxing is a sport that is accessible to people from all economic backgrounds. We continue to invest in community boxing clubs through Sport England and funding through the National Lottery Community Fund, and we support our elite boxers through UK Sport. However, no sport can afford to rest on its laurels: we must take steps to ensure that discrimination and inequality are identified and addressed. Like many other sports, boxing continues to look at what more it can do to promote inclusion and diversity, and England Boxing has been conducting a review of its operations from board level to grassroots in order to increase diversity at all levels. So far, that work has resulted in additional training for coaches and support staff and in anti-racism workshops, but I understand that more activity is in train.

This comes against the backdrop of the code for sports governance, which UK Sport and Sport England launched four years ago. That code sets out the standards that all sporting organisations must meet in return for public funding. It has proved very successful in setting clear expectations around good governance and diversity, but UK Sport and Sport England have just announced that the code will be updated later this year to ensure that sporting bodies in receipt of substantial public funding have a detailed and ambitious diversity and inclusion action plan for diversity right across their organisations, which is another positive step forward.

Of course, there is another part of Randolph’s life that we should reflect on, which is the impact that concussion sustained in the ring may have had. Today, we know a lot more about brain injury, but there is still much more to know, to understand, and to do. The important issue of concussion in sport is a priority for my colleague and hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston), the Minister for sport, who is working with the national governing bodies that are responsible for the regulation of their sport and putting in place appropriate measures to protect participants. We continue to consult very widely with various stakeholders, including representatives from boxing with whom the Minister for sport met very recently, and are assessing what role Government can usefully play in convening research and improving education around concussion and supporting technological advances.

However great Turpin’s achievements were in the ring, it is also worth reflecting that throughout the 1940s and 1950s, multiple women accused him of significant violence and domestic abuse. The Government are determined to tackle crimes that affect women and girls, but in fact domestic abuse impacts men as well. That is why, earlier this year, we achieved a historic milestone when the Domestic Abuse Bill received Royal Assent and became law. For the first time in history, there will be a general purpose legal definition of domestic abuse that incorporates a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive or controlling, and economic abuse. That will help the millions affected by these crimes by strengthening the response of all agencies, from the police and courts to local authorities and service providers.

Another key concern for the Government as we navigate our recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is grassroots sports participation. It is truly vital for the preservation of our national sporting excellence that we help feed the elite level with the grassroots base, which is why the Government’s strategy, “Sporting Future”, puts increased participation at the very heart of the long-term direction of sport in this country. Since 2017, Sport England has provided a range of grassroots funding to boxing totalling more than £8.2 million, and this significant funding includes £3.2 million to grassroots boxing projects, £4.25 million to England Boxing across the 2017 to 2021 cycle, plus an additional £999,000, to be precise, in covid roll-over funding from 2020-21. Grassroots facilities in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency have also benefited from the Government’s £100 million national leisure recovery fund for local authorities, with Warwick District Council awarded £277,851. This emergency funding package has supported public sector leisure centres to reopen to the public, giving the sport and physical activity sector the very best chance of recovering from this pandemic.

In conclusion, I am really grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing to the attention of the House the story of his prestigious and incredibly memorable constituent. It is always refreshing to reflect on how constituency matters have a wider impact on the world of sport and on the global impact of one of his constituents. I thank him for securing the debate. He asked whether I would be prepared to meet him. I am not the Minister for sport but I will certainly pass on his request to my colleague who is. I am sure he would be very happy to accept that request.

[Matt Western]

I understand and appreciate that. I just want to stress the point that Randolph Turpin had many battles, as the Minister has mentioned, but he was the first British world champion of the 20th century, he fought through the bar on colour and he beat one of the finest boxers ever, but there is no national recognition for this person. It would do a great deal for social justice in this country if he had some recognition at long last, so I hope that that invitation will be taken up by the Minister.

[Caroline Dinenage]

Yes, I absolutely agree. I have to admit that until this week I had no previous knowledge of this story and it is a shame that such a significant figure in the history of British boxing is unknown and is not a household name in the way that Henry Cooper is. I am sure that the Minister for sport will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss how that can be rectified.

Question put and agreed to.

UK Video Games Industry: Contribution of Leamington Spa

Matt Western Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Westminster Hall

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the contribution of Leamington Spa to the creation of the UK video games industry.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Sir Christopher. If I were to say “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster”, those of a particular vintage might recall that headline in a certain newspaper, but if I were to mention the title “Rock Star Ate My Hamster”, they might be forgiven for not knowing what I referred to. However, that was one of the first video games produced in the area of Leamington Spa. It is perhaps one of the least known games that emanated from a particular business that I want to talk about, along with the wider sector.

I do not know, Sir Christopher, if you are a seasoned video games player, but even if you are not, you may have heard of some of our global success stories, such as “Forza Horizon”, “Dirt Rally”, “Sonic Dash” or “The Division 2”. The UK games industry contributes a huge £2.8 billion to the UK economy. It comprises 50,000 full-time equivalent jobs, generating over £900 million in tax revenue. It comprises eight major hubs across the UK, as well as a huge number of cottage businesses around the country.

Those hubs include London, Birmingham, Manchester, Dundee, Slough and Leamington Spa—or should I say Leamington Spa, Slough, Dundee, Manchester, Birmingham and London? Because while the UK is one of the global centres for the video games industry, it is Leamington Spa—or should I say Silicon Spa?—that is the motor of the sector here in the UK. A simple glance at the gross valued added of the industry across those towns and cities, and a look at their relative populations, will show that it is Leamington Spa and its immediate environs where the per capita contribution is at its greatest and most intense.

Silicon Spa, as it is known, happened by happy chance, thanks to the vision of two young brothers, the Darling brothers, who started up a business back in the 1980s that would ultimately be called Codemasters, and who had the good sense to locate themselves just outside Leamington, rather than in Banbury, Oxford or London. They then had the foresight to hire the hugely talented Philip and Nicholas Oliver. From that silicon spring, some 40 years ago, would gush Silicon Spa.

That led naturally to other developers being attracted to the area, Leamington being an obvious choice due to its reputation for great bars and good nightlife, establishing a hotbed of talent. Today, the Silicon Spa cluster employs over 2,000 highly-skilled people in 32 studios, equating to over 10% of the UK total games development sector. Per capita, that is the highest in the country, which is some sector clout. The businesses and talent are well recognised by the big players, with Electronic Arts’ acquisition of Codemasters in recent weeks for £1 billion, making it the latest big name to invest in the Warwick and Leamington area.

Back in 2008, a long time before I became the Member of Parliament or indeed was drawn to politics, I was talking to the local council about putting Warwick and Leamington on the map, because I could see the diversity and richness of talent, the breadth and opportunity of business, and the phenomenal skills pool we had in the community. At the time, I was talking to Sir James Dyson’s foundation to try to get him to invest in our towns, but unfortunately the global financial crash put paid to that.

I have long held that we have the businesses, the people and the educational resource to lead the way. That is because we also have the traditional automotive industry based in the area, which allows a fusion of skills and talent from the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, just down the road. The steady stream of engineers and specialists working at their Gaydon hubs has had a knock-on effect on the games industry, with talent-switching between the industries.

This is something we are seeing with the emergence of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in particular, which were developed in the games industry, and how they can be applied to other sectors as well. We have talked about the automotive sector, but there are a great many others. We are starting to see the AR and VR genres spreading into all other aspects of audio-visual media. It will no doubt be at least a £100 billion industry very shortly, within the next few years. Those who were lucky enough to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “The Tempest” in Stratford will realise how these skills and emerging technologies can be used in theatrical production, as well as so many other areas.

What makes the area unique is that 75% of the digital media companies there are gaming companies, whereas the figure might more typically be 5% to 10%. With a turnover of £101 million, the Leamington area’s economic contribution is the largest outside of London, or the Slough-Heathrow area, as an aggregate figure. The area has the highest percentage of games employees in the working-age population, so you are more likely to meet someone in the Leamington Spa area who works in the games industry than perhaps anywhere else, Sir Christopher. The area benefits not just the cluster, but from soft-landing opportunities, the skills and talent, the crossover, and the fusion between different sectors. It also has a relatively low cost profile, with excellent networks across the industry and world-class research on its doorstep.

When it comes to skills and education, we have Warwickshire College Group, which offers a foundation degree in games art, with the opportunity to add a further year and receive a BA (Hons) through the University of Gloucestershire on its interactive games art programme. Across the west midlands higher education institutions, there are 2,045 on games courses, 12,800 in design studies and almost 17,000 on creative courses. A huge talent coming through, perpetually, to support this industry and many others.

In 2019, Coventry University was ranked the UK’s modern university for the 7th year running, and produces internationally recognised research. Some 2,000 students study the creative art and design courses that it offers, and 1,700 computer science students also attend. As well as that, the university offers its Q-interactive digital studio. Down the road, at the University if Warwick, there is a school of creative arts, performance and visual cultures, and it is home to the largest university art centre outside of London.

Elsewhere, it is clear that the entire creative sector of our area will benefit from the redevelopment of Leamington’s creative quarter through the regeneration of its old town. We can build upon and reinforce the importance of the creative and digital industries in the town and attract inward investment to the cultural and creative sectors. With costs so significantly lower than in London or the south-east, there are good, simple financial reasons for businesses to locate there. This is recognised by the Department for International Trade, which presents the area as a centre of high potential for video games both inside and outside the entertainment sector.

I can honestly say that Leamington is absolutely the place to be, and not just in terms of investment, but in terms of skills and opportunities, and also the support. It is also the happiest town in the UK.

I am nothing if not ambitious for our area, and slightly green with envy about the work being done by the games industry veteran Ian Livingston, who is spearheading a project to open a brand-new UK academy dedicated to science, technology and digital skills. This is something I very much want to see replicated in the towns of Warwick and Leamington, as it is something that I was envisioning back in 2008. I very much hope we can see that on the horizon.

In terms of challenges, it would be remiss of me not to talk about the economic, political and legal landscape, because it is so crucial to the future of the sector. The news the other day regarding a draft decision for a data adequacy agreement with the EU is of considerable importance to the sector, and clearly to Leamington as a result. It is positive that Brussels is set to allow data to continue to flow freely from the EU to the UK after all, although the arrangement will be reviewed every four years, underlining just how fluid the landscape is right now.

The UK is and remains a major international player, particularly when we consider the number of companies that we have here relative to our GDP and population. The US has twice as many businesses, but it has a domestic market far larger than the UK’s. It is only when we look at countries such as Japan and Germany that we can understand the scale of our sector here in relative terms, which helps explain why so many nations envy greatly the commercial success that we enjoy globally. Those countries are eager to grab market share, and many, such as Canada, Sweden and eastern European nations, are making a determined effort to attract UK companies and our talent to relocate to their shores through fiscal incentives and easy visas. These are themes among many that business sector representatives such as the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment and The Independent Game Developers’ Association are working very hard on. That is also why the sector-specific video games tax relief is so important.

In August last year the Government revealed that £355 million had been spent on making more than 150 video games in the previous year. In fact, since the relief’s introduction in 2014, just under £4 billion has been spent on making 1,400 games, which shows what can be done with support. We need not only to maintain that relief, but to deepen the UK games development fund with an increase in Government investment in intellectual property while providing greater support for trade and investment activity.

When it comes to skills, it would be good to see the Government match fund an industry-led skills programme as well as ensuring UK businesses can continue to attract the best of global talent through sensible business-friendly immigration policies. All this is good, but other nations are throwing serious money at the industry to lure our businesses away. It is vital not only that these businesses remain here, but we must ensure that they continue to invest here in Warwick and Leamington, in Silicon Spa and elsewhere across the country.

No speech these days would be complete without a review of the challenges we presently face. It is clear that for many businesses the pandemic has been incredibly hard, but for the games sector it has, I am glad to say, been relatively buoyant. Of course, many people have been turning to video games in this period to stay socially connected, to maintain their mental wellbeing and to keep entertained, especially given that so much traditional support has been closed down for long periods and has suffered so greatly. That is why I am particularly thankful for the initiative shown by the sector and by my local businesses during the crisis, and for the recognition of the sector’s responsibility by taking various actions to help support players, people and public health. The “Games for Carers” campaign donated tens of thousands of free games from across the games industry to frontline NHS heroes.

Elsewhere, there was the establishment of the partnership between leading games companies and the UK Government to place central public health messaging in games, which enabled millions to be reached. That was a very good initiative. Then there were local games companies such as Playground Games in Leamington partnering with local food providers to give away free lunches to children eligible for free school meals.

It is once in a generation that a few individuals step forward—inventors and innovators—and it is particularly rare when those innovators or inventors also have the enterprise to match. Of course, it is easy to think of those on the west coast of the US in Silicon Valley and the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and the sorts of businesses that they founded, but I would suggest that the Darling brothers and the Oliver twins were our equivalents in the establishment of Silicon Spa. Thanks to them, 40 years on, Leamington and the wider region boast our own Silicon Spa, which has become a world-renowned area and sector for a hugely successful global industry, and it is very much the motor of the UK games sector. If businesses out there across the UK, or indeed elsewhere in the world, are looking for the best location, the best talent, the best skills, and maybe the happiest town in which to locate themselves, could I suggest they look no further than Leamington Spa—Silicon Spa—and that they get in touch with me?

May I just say one final thing? When this pandemic eases and we are able to return to workplaces, I look forward to visiting many of these businesses, and I very much look forward to seeing David Darling—I just have to have a demonstration of “Rock Star Ate My Hamster.”

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Western Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2020 Commons Chamber

The Attorney General was asked—

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the video published by the Home Office that referred to activist lawyers.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on recent public criticism of the legal profession by the Government.

[The Attorney General (Suella Braverman)]

I speak regularly with Cabinet colleagues, including the Home Secretary, and I am in no doubt whatever that this Government are rightly proud of the UK’s legal tradition and our legal profession. We benefit enormously from the contribution of our excellent and hard-working lawyers, and I will always champion our profession and lawyers of all stripes, whichever side they represent, but sadly from time to time there are those who take advantage of their position and abuse the court process. In those instances, to pretend that lawyers are somehow beyond criticism is not only naive, but does the public a great disservice.

[Matt Western]

I listened to that answer, but does the Attorney General agree that she has to speak out and say that she does not condone these attacks? Will she explain what steps she has taken to address the matter with Cabinet members? Can she give me and the House assurances that these attacks, which are corrosive and undermining the legal profession, will cease immediately?

[The Attorney General]

I am proud of the profession, and in my role as head of the Bar, I will not hesitate to champion the interests of our lawyers. Indeed, given that it is Pro Bono Week, I take this opportunity to thank the thousands of lawyers out there who regularly give their time and their services free of charge on a pro bono basis, helping some of the most vulnerable in our society. I was pleased earlier this year to acknowledge the winners of the LawWorks and Attorney General’s student pro bono awards, and I know that the Solicitor General himself has recently met with members of the community. That is a real mark of a compassionate profession.

Professional and Amateur Sport: Government Support

Matt Western Excerpts

Wednesday 30th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

My hon. Friend makes the really important point that sport is so much more than a game. The game bit is really important—we all love it—but it contributes directly and indirectly to the mental health wellbeing and indeed physical wellbeing, as well as the financial wellbeing, of so many people. That is precisely why we recognise its importance today with the plans to provide additional financial support.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I attended Warwick racecourse more or less a week ago, and I was really impressed by the safeguards it has put in place. Some 500 racegoers attended, and it could easily have accommodated 1,500 to 2,000 very safely. However, the point I want to come on to is about general sport, but also about football, which affects so many communities. The Leamington Football Club supporters trust—Brakes Trust, as it is known—wrote to me at the beginning of the week and highlighted the support it needs. The Government have announced such support, and it is welcome, but can the Minister explain how much Leamington FC would get and when it will get it?

[Nigel Huddleston]

The hon. Member is correct to highlight the importance of the successful pilots, which proved that sports grounds and racecourses take their responsibilities incredibly seriously. They did a great job of making sure that hygiene, social distancing measures and so on were in place. However, given the backdrop of rising infections, we could not move forward at this stage. Unfortunately, we are unable to do so. Again, I am afraid I cannot give him details, because we are working on the details of the package as we speak.

Tourism: Covid-19

Matt Western Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I also add my congratulations to the hon. Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) on securing this important debate. The domestic tourism sector is what I want to concentrate on in my remarks this afternoon. I sort of view it as being a network of distinct micro-economies mutually supportive of each other. Just in Warwick and Leamington some 4,000 people are employed in the sector, and in south Warwickshire the number is 13,000. That accounts for three quarters of a billion pounds in GDP, so it is a significant contribution to our local economy.

We have in the constituency Warwick castle, which is clearly a destination of choice—perhaps preferable to other castles in the north of the country where certain people choose to go. I campaigned for its reopening back in June because it was being held back by legislation that was preventing the operation of its food and beverage outlets. Fortunately, the Government and local authority saw the sense in allowing the castle to reopen, but it lost half its key trading period and is now operating at 60% of capacity.

Nearby, we have the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, which is not in my constituency but is mutually supportive of the local micro-economy. The RSC has really struggled, losing 75% of its income. Most worrying of all is that it now has to face going into a formal consultation with its staff and the unions from October.

I mentioned the local economic system or ecosystem; both the hon. Member for Angus (Dave Doogan), and the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Paul Howell) mentioned the coach industry, which sort of lubricates the tourist sector. I spoke to Ridleys, which is based in Warwick. Some 75% of its business was in the touring sector; it has now had to switch to providing services for schools. Ridleys has been lucky—other coach companies have gone to the wall—but the staff there are really angry because they do not see any consistency from the Government. Why is it that 300 people can get on an aeroplane and sit cheek by jowl for three hours, but people cannot get on a coach and do the same thing? I urge the Government to revisit that issue urgently; it would be one of the simplest things they could do to support the industry.

In summary, I would like to see more targeted support—specifically, the extension of the furlough scheme—and I urge the Government, as have others in the Chamber, to extend the VAT cut beyond January next year. In fact, I ask the Government to consider a permanent VAT cut, sitting at 10% going forwards. That is the sort of thing that could underpin the tourist and hospitality sector for the future.