Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the UK from potential environmental threats.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS provides support and advice to all World Heritage Sites across the UK and Overseas Territories that are grappling with environmental threats in our capacity as State Party of the World Heritage Convention.
DCMS works closely with environmental agencies across the UK, including the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, NatureScot, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, as well as Historic England as our expert advisers on World Heritage. We also consult with individual site managers and local authorities to monitor potential and known threats to our sites and to consider which issues require notification to, and assistance from, UNESCO.
In addition, DCMS funded the project ‘Climate Change & UNESCO Heritage’ which ran from February 2024 - October 2025 and was delivered by the UK National Commission for UNESCO. This project developed open-source tools that support UNESCO heritage sites to address climate challenges.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 and preserve UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the UK.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As State Party to the World Heritage Convention, DCMS has the primary responsibility for keeping UNESCO updated on the UK’s 35 World Heritage Sites, and responding to requests for information from UNESCO.
While heritage is a devolved policy area, DCMS works closely with cultural heritage and environmental agencies across the UK to provide support and advice regarding engagement with UNESCO. This includes engaging the World Heritage Centre; the World Heritage Committee and their Advisory Bodies; and ensures that both our cultural and natural (and mixed) sites retain their World Heritage status.
DCMS engages with site managers, steering groups and local authorities to provide advice, particularly where a site is under increased scrutiny from UNESCO. DCMS also advises sites on the UK’s Tentative List that have the potential to be inscribed as future World Heritage Sites to ensure the right protection and management arrangements are in place from the start.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 improve access to heritage sites for young people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
One of the Secretary of State’s three priorities is richer lives with choices and opportunities for all.
DCMS funds Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme which has facilitated almost 3 million pupils from areas of low social mobility to discover their local heritage since its launch in 2012, with 99% of teachers involved in the scheme agreeing that local heritage boosts students’ pride and sense of place. Historic England also partnered with the Youth United Foundation in 2022, which has increased access to heritage outside of formal education settings.
Since 2001, the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has awarded £23million of funding towards supporting young people’s access and engagement with heritage. Between 2017-2023, the NLHF ran a £10 million Kick the Dust Programme awarding 12 large-scale projects across the UK to transform how heritage organisations engage young people by making heritage relevant, inclusive, and youth-led. The legacy of this work with Children and Young people has transferred into their 2023-2026 strategy and delivery plan, which contains a commitment in the investment plan to “decide on approaches to support projects to engage children and young people in heritage and provide routes into skills development”.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what grants have been made by her Department in organisations (a) Telford constituency and (b) Telford and Wrekin Council.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its Arms Length Bodies record Exchequer funded grants data on the Government Grant Information System. The Government Grant Information System does not record grants by constituency or local authority level, however we have conducted a search based on postcodes and have identified the attached list of grants awarded to organisations with a Telford since 2017 when central recording commenced. Information on grant giving can also be found at 360Giving (https://www.360giving.org/).
There will be instances where a grant has been given to an organisation with a postcode based outside of Telford but where the grant recipient will have spent some or all the grant within projects that included Telford. This analysis is not included as this information is not recorded on the Government Grant Information System.
Please note, information where a grant has been made to a voluntary sector organisation and that organisation has made onward grants in its own right is not included.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 Sport England on supporting the expansion of local sporting facilities.
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 sport and 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.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. As outlined in my answer to PQ 96846, the Secretary of State met with Sport England’s Chair and CEO in October to discuss priorities and plans moving forward, including how the organisation can best deliver and measure impact for the investment they make in sport and physical activity.
In June, following the Spending Review we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working with sporting bodies, including Sport England, and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. The neighbourhoods selected to receive funding and support from the Pride in Place Programme include Woodside in Telford and 28 places in the West Midlands. In addition, 7 local authorities across the West Midlands have been awarded funding through the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with each receiving up to £1.5m over two years. In total, the Government is investing up to £570.5 million across the West Midlands through the Pride in Place Programme and the Pride in Place Impact Fund.
Areas selected through the Pride in Place Programme will receive dedicated support from the Communities Delivery Unit within the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which will work in partnership with Neighbourhood Boards and local authorities, and will provide access to place-specific data, guidance and capability support tailored to local needs.
Through the Pride in Place strategy, DCMS is delivering interventions that are key to creating stronger communities and restoring civic pride. These include £400 million funding for grassroots sports facilities, our £85 million Creative Foundations Fund for revitalising arts and cultural assets and the National Youth Strategy, which will put young people at the centre of the policies that matter to them. My department is engaging with the MHCLG Community Delivery Unit to ensure these programmes have the impact that is needed in the right places.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness, (b) value for money and (c) adequacy of (i) leadership and (ii) accountability of Sports England.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport and physical activity generates £123 billion in social value each year. That is why supporting grassroots sport and increasing physical activity are key government priorities. We work closely with Sport England who are best placed to deliver on these priorities and ensure value for money.
A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sports sectors together at community level, including their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities. Telford and Wrekin is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.
To ensure accountability, all DCMS Public bodies are required to hold quarterly partnership meetings, board effectiveness reviews and annual chair appraisals. The Secretary of State met with Sport England’s Chair and CEO in October to discuss priorities and plans moving forward, including how the organisation can best deliver and measure impact for the investment they make in sport and physical activity.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45986 on Events Industry, what plans her Department has to change the (a) number and (b) grade of civil servants working on supporting the business events sector.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the significant contribution that business events make to the UK economy, supporting jobs, driving regional growth, and showcasing the UK’s strengths on the global stage. Officials in DCMS continue to engage regularly with industry stakeholders to ensure that government policy reflects the needs of the sector.
The Department keeps its resourcing under review to ensure it can deliver against its priorities effectively, but there are no current plans to change the number or grade of civil servants specifically allocated to supporting the business events sector.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential economic value of the business events sector; and how many civil services in her Department work on supporting and growing the sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DCMS recognises that the business events sector is a machine for economic growth and local prosperity. The business events sector is estimated to be worth £34 billion to the UK Economy and an additional £200 billion in trade established at Business Events.
The Business Events Growth Programme (BEGP), led by VisitBritain, forms part of the UK Government’s commitment to grow the business events sector across Britain. Every pound invested in the programme supported £33 of revenue being generated for the British economy through new events secured, or in additional delegate spend, during the five-year review period from 2018 to 2023.
Within DCMS, we have one civil servant who works full time on supporting the business events sector, plus a percentage of time from senior colleagues who provide oversight.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact of introducing a football regulator.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Independent Football Regulator 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 government’s estimate of the economic impact of introducing a football regulator is set out in our Impact Assessment.