Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Written Statement HCWS1273, made on 27 January 2026, whether she plans to allocate some of the £400m grassroots sports funding to lidos.
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 swimming facilities, including lidos, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities. I was pleased to respond to the recent Westminster Hall debate on this issue.
In June last year, we committed £400 million to transform sports facilities, including public leisure, over the next four years. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support orchestras.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is proud to champion our world-class orchestras and musicians, and help them to thrive. Through Arts Council England’s (ACE) 2023–26 National Portfolio Investment Programme, more money is going to more orchestral organisations in more parts of the country than ever before.The National Portfolio is supporting 139 organisations classed as ‘music’ by investing around £65 million of public funding per annum. ACE investment in classical music remains high, in particular in orchestral music organisations, with 23 such organisations being funded to the tune of around £21 million per annum. We are also supporting orchestras through the tax system, confirming from April 2025 that Orchestra Tax Relief on production costs would be set at the generous rate of 45 per cent.
Over the course of this Parliament, we will also make a £1.5 billion capital investment into fulfilling our Arts Everywhere ambitions. This funding package includes £425 million for the Creative Foundations Fund, revitalising and renewing performing arts buildings across England, including resident venues and key stops on orchestral tours. We will also, for the first time, provide £80 million of capital funding to the National Portfolio Investment Programme over the next four years. This means that Arts Council England will be able to give around 1,000 cultural organisations a 5% uplift in their regular funding; the single biggest uplift to an existing Portfolio in decades.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what was the evidential basis of her Department's decision to reduce the level of VAT relief available through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was previously funded to March 2025. In January this government announced that we would extend the Scheme for one year with an overall budget of £23 million in recognition of the importance of listed places of worship both in terms of heritage and to their local communities. This has enabled religious organisations to continue to claim grants in respect of eligible VAT costs paid towards repairs and renovations. To ensure this budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship. These changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited, a number of unfunded commitments made by the previous government and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. In terms of the evidential basis for decisions, the Department was able to look at average spend since 2017 and, without the cap, spending was c£29m out of a maximum envelope of £42m. To ensure this budget was affordable, a cap was introduced. Based on the Department’s analysis of this data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, and most claims are under £5,000.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, why her Department introduced a cap of £25,000 on claims through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was previously funded to March 2025. In January this government announced that we would extend the Scheme for one year with an overall budget of £23 million in recognition of the importance of listed places of worship both in terms of heritage and to their local communities. This has enabled religious organisations to continue to claim grants in respect of eligible VAT costs paid towards repairs and renovations. To ensure this budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship. These changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited, a number of unfunded commitments made by the previous government and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. In terms of the evidential basis for decisions, the Department was able to look at average spend since 2017 and, without the cap, spending was c£29m out of a maximum envelope of £42m. To ensure this budget was affordable, a cap was introduced. Based on the Department’s analysis of this data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, and most claims are under £5,000.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support women wanting to become professional musicians.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is committed to providing the essential foundations and support for everyone, including women, to pursue successful careers in music. We are developing a 10 Point Plan to drive growth, foster innovation, and create a thriving environment for those who work in the sector.
The ongoing, independent Curriculum and Assessment review seeks to deliver a broader curriculum so children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, the arts and drama. The Government is collaborating with Young Sounds UK on a music opportunity pilot to support music progression, including through opportunities to learn an instrument. The Department for Education (DfE) is also developing a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for all children and young people to pursue artistic and creative interests - including through Music Hubs.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with stakeholders from the comedy industry on Government support for that industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Following on from my meeting with my Hon Friend and Louisa Jackson on 13 March 2025 to discuss support for the comedy industry, I am pleased to see one of my officials attended the Comedy-on-Prescription roundtable organised by Ms Jackson at Westminster Hall.
I will continue to work with my Hon Friend on the role of the comedy sector and hope to organise a round table discussion on the sector shortly and hope to organise a round table discussion on the sector shortly.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department's proposed regulations on short-term lets will be extended to include static caravan holiday parks.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Parliament legislated to deliver the legal framework for a registration scheme for short-term lets in the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023. The Government is now developing the scheme and actively considering the appropriate scope of the scheme, including which types of accommodation should be covered. We will provide further details on the scope of the scheme as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has made on delivering a mandatory short term let registration scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is keen to introduce the registration scheme for short-term lets in England as soon as possible; the initial phase of digital development is now complete, and public testing is planned to start in the next 12 months. During the next phase of work, we will test the user interface of the scheme with a small number of users to ensure our systems and processes are robust and effective, before publicly launching a voluntary pilot of the service. The registration scheme will enable us to reap the benefits of a thriving tourist economy whilst protecting the spirit and fabric of communities, including by giving local authorities valuable data on short-term lets in their area to help address housing impacts.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of the National Youth strategy; what steps she is taking to involve youth sector organisations in the development of that strategy; and how her Department plans to consult young people on that strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are developing our plans for the new National Youth Strategy, in partnership with young people and with organisations within the youth sector, to bring power back to young people and rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector. We know there is excellent existing work across the sector to understand issues faced by young people, propose solutions, and promote youth voice in decision-making, and we are working with the youth sector to build on this to co-produce the strategy.
We will be holding a series of youth-led roundtables, conducting a youth survey and setting up a youth advisory board to work alongside us. The Youth Advisory Group comprises young people with diverse lived experiences from across the country, with the first meeting scheduled for January 2025. The Secretary of State, Minister Peacock and officials have already met with a number of young people and youth sector organisations to hear their thoughts on the Strategy and we will continue to build on this work over the coming weeks and months.
We plan to publish the Strategy in summer with an interim report planned for the spring.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the comedy industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Comedy is a serious business. It is a vital performing art and contributes to the mental health and wellbeing of people, not just in the UK, but around the world. It forms part of our cultural landscape, enriching lives, shaping our collective identity and often providing a necessary corrective to political pomposity.
Arts Council England funds numerous organisations and venues that support comedy. For the purposes of ACE funding, comedy is considered under the broad term of ‘theatre.’ This means that as long as a performer, club or promoter meets the eligibility criteria for specific programmes, then ACE welcomes funding applications. Between the financial years covering 2010/11 to 2024/25 ACE has awarded £12,296,254 in funding where an applicant name, project title or subclassifier contains the word “comedy”.
Venues such as theatres also benefit from tax relief. The government believes tax relief is essential to help incentivise investment in productions, and to contribute to innovation and economic growth, enabling arts organisations to continue to produce new content which is vital in keeping them competitive on an international stage.