Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will review the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sporting bodies have a responsibility to protect the integrity and fairness of women's sport and the safety of all participants, particularly when it is not possible to balance those factors with inclusion.
National Governing Bodies set their own policies for who can participate in their sports in domestic competitions. Our UK sports councils have produced guidance to help domestic sports bodies determine the right position for their sport. The guidance covers transgender participation in sport, and makes clear that fairness and safety cannot be balanced with inclusion in gender-affected sport.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Football Governance Bill on football clubs in the Premier League.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Premier League is a global success story. It is one of our greatest cultural exports. It attracts more viewers and higher revenues than any of its international rivals. It is a product we want to protect and enhance.
The Football Governance Bill will create a clearer and more certain regulatory environment for investors which will drive future investment and growth so that English football remains a global success story. A more sustainable game is a more investable game, and this in turn should drive continued economic growth in the market.
The Independent Football Regulator will take a light-touch, targeted and proportionate approach. The requirements on clubs will reflect their circumstances, meaning they might vary based on factors like league, club size, and a club’s financial health or riskiness. This will allow regulation to be light-touch wherever possible - meaning, where clubs are already well run, the Regulator will not look to intervene.
The Government’s estimate of the economic impact of introducing a football regulator is set out in our Impact Assessment.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The number of settlement agreements issued by the department in the last five years are listed below:
2020 - 0
2021 - 0
2022 - 0
2023 - 0
2024 - fewer than 5
Due to the low number of settlement agreements issued by the department we cannot disclose the total value to ensure individuals are not identifiable.