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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department was first alerted to the possibility of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned from the fixture against Aston Villa on the 6th November.

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

A range of options are considered for each match and DCMS officials were made aware by the SGSA of the options under consideration on 9 October 2025. A decision had not been made at that time, and was not communicated to the Department until 16 October, when Ministers were made aware.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken steps to explore hosting the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

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

The Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events.

We are always keen to work alongside our arm’s-length body UK Sport and other stakeholders to grow and develop our strong pipeline of events. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.

The UK has already secured a strong pipeline of events over the coming years, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the Grand Départ for the Tour De France and the Tour de France Femmes in 2027 and the UEFA 2028 European Championships. The Department is not currently exploring hosting the Special Olympics World Summer Games.