Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people from lower socioeconomic groups to be more physically active.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone. Sport England, the Government’s Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for all underserved communities, including disabled people, and those from lower socioeconomic groups.
Sport England's Movement Fund invests over £20 million of Lottery and Exchequer funding every year to help people play sport and take part in physical activity. The Movement Fund prioritises projects that give opportunities to least active groups, including disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. Sport England also has partnerships with organisations such as Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, and Sense, to help more disabled people get active.
The Government also recognises that the barriers which disabled people face around improving their physical and mental health are often compounded by socioeconomic factors. To address this, the Government is investing £100 million in 2024-25 through the Multi Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to build and upgrade high-quality grassroots sports pitches and facilities in the communities across the UK that need it most. The Multi Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme’s aims include regular, weekly use by under-represented groups, including disabled people, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, so that everyone has the opportunity to participate.
On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to ensure disabled people from lower socioeconomic groups are at the heart of plans to help more people get physically active.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 leisure facilities available for disabled people in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country. Sport England, the Government’s Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people and improving their access to sport facilities.
The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.
On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing levels of participation in cricket in state secondary schools in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engages with the Secretary of State for Education on a range of issues, including school sport.
The Government is committed to protecting time for physical education in schools. The ongoing independent expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that all children can engage with a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the National Governing Body for cricket, has committed to making the sport as inclusive as possible for children and young people through their new strategy and state school action plan. I have also seen the work of their charitable arm, Chance to Shine, to encourage more children to take up cricket, at the Mill Academy in Worsbrough last year.
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. The ECB receives £10.2 million funding from Sport England across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has a strategy to help increase participation in cricket by women and girls.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding.
This includes 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 includes programmes such as Chance to Shine, that will benefit everyone, including disabled people, women and girls and older people. ECB Cricket youth programmes such as All Stars and Dynamos also provide fun and engaging ways for young women and girls to engage in inclusive cricket.
We look forward to hosting the Women's T20 World Cup in 2026. By supporting the ECB to host major events such as the World Cup, the Government is committed to making sure that women and girls have clear routes to see elite female athletes compete at the highest level which is key to inspiring and engaging fans and players now and into the future.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds take up journalism courses and training.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is key that the public feel represented and reflected by the media. Journalism plays an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and we are committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape. Encouraging more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the industry may have a positive impact on the sustainability of the industry where it helps news publishers improve their appeal to currently underserved and under-represented audiences. Government believes that we need routes into journalism that are open to everyone, wherever they grow up.
High-quality apprenticeships available to support employers and learners in the news sector, including the Level 5 Journalist apprenticeship standard, are a means to help enable this. DCMS is working closely with DfE on their work to reform the growth and skills levy. The new growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England, and will be aligned with the Industrial Strategy to create routes into good skilled jobs.
This support complements the industry’s own efforts, and we welcome the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) recent launch of the new phase of the Community News Project, a major initiative to strengthen local journalism and improve local newsroom diversity across the UK through apprenticeship placements. This project demonstrates the type of industry collaboration which can help secure the future of local journalism, which we want to further encourage through our Local Media Strategy.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the sustainability of local news outlets in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) North West of England.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Greater Manchester and the North West of England. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.
We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors from across the country, including from Manchester Evening news, to discuss our planned approach and explore further collaboration on the Strategy. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase participation of (a) girls and (b) women in cricket.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are 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.
Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has also inspired millions of women and girls to get active in a way that suits them including through cricket. In addition, Sport England funded the Dream Big Desi Women programme, run together with the ECB, which encouraged 2,000 South Asian women to take up coaching in cricket, with 84% saying they were very likely to take part again in 2023.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on (a) racism and (b) discrimination in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. I regularly meet with the England and Wales Cricket Board to discuss a range of issues, including equality, diversity and inclusion.
It is ultimately for all individual sports’ national governing bodies, to decide on the specific aims, appropriate initiatives and funding to tackle discrimination in their organisations.
The ECB has provided a full response to the 2023 Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, and has publicly committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport. Government will be monitoring closely to ensure that progress is made.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation of (a) girls and (b) women in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation.
We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up cricket in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game, as noted by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s five year plan, Inspiring Generations, launched in 2020 aims to inspire a new generation to believe that ‘cricket is a game for me’. The plan focuses on six priority areas including making cricket gender-neutral with women and girls being properly represented across the whole game.
Initiatives like Chance to Shine, which receives funding from Sport England, play an important role in encouraging girls to play cricket. The project gives all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.
The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report notes that while positive progress has been made in the women’s game, there are still areas of concern where more action is needed.
The ECB has provided a full response to the ICEC report and has committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport, and look forward to receiving updates on this.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with representatives of Britannia Hotels on the impact of the closure of Pontins Holiday Parks on (a) staff, (b) local tourism and (c) community organisations using the parks for events.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Holiday parks are a key part of the UK’s tourism landscape and enjoyed by many visitors around the country, as well as being important local employers and bringing wider benefits to regional visitor economies.
As a department, we are therefore concerned about the closures of Pontins sites at Prestatyn Sands, Camber Sands and Southport, particularly with regards to supporting staff from those sites who no longer have roles, as well as tourism businesses who rely on the secondary spend of visitors to Pontins.
The Culture Secretary has set out her concerns around job losses and the impact on the local tourism sector in written correspondence with Britannia, and requested a meeting to discuss.