Oral Answers to Questions

Stephanie Peacock Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Jones (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking to support multi-sport grassroots facilities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

This Government are committed to providing high-quality, inclusive facilities that provide opportunities for everyone to get active and healthier. That is why we are investing £123 million across the UK in our multi-sport grassroots facilities programme.

[Louise Jones]

Access to those facilities is vital for mental health and community cohesion, no more so than in the small towns and villages that make up my constituency. Does the Minister agree that even in places like that we must have equal access to such facilities?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I was pleased to visit her constituency a few months ago; I represent a similar area, with a collection of towns and villages. Wherever communities are, across the country, we want to ensure they have access to local facilities. It is so important to get people active, particularly for mental health and wellbeing.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

The Minister will know that grassroots sports venues play a key role in improving the nation’s health. The UK will host the T20 women’s world cup in 2026, and cricket will join the Olympic family of sports in 2028. The previous Government committed a £35 million investment into 16 grassroots cricket hubs and cricket domes. Will the Minister commit this Government to fulfilling that promise?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am grateful to the Chair of the Select Committee for her important question. I was pleased to meet the England and Wales Cricket Board a few weeks ago, and I will be doing a visit with its representatives in my own constituency tomorrow. We absolutely see the benefit of cricket and, indeed, all sports across the country, but I am obviously not in a position to make spending commitments ahead of the spending review.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

4. What steps she is taking to support grassroots and non-league football.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. As I set out in a previous answer, the Government are investing £123 million through football partners in grassroots facilities up and down the country.

[Tom Gordon]

I recently visited Knaresborough Town AFC in my constituency and met fantastic people who do more than just football. They share the club’s facilities with groups such as Rainbow Care, which provides a lifeline to other people, not just those interested in football. Due to the weather, the pitch is often waterlogged, and there is a lack of 3G pitches in the area. Will the Minister meet me to talk about how we can do more to support Knaresborough Town and, hopefully, get a pitch down the line?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I am pleased to hear that he visited his local club, and I would be delighted to meet him. Ahead of that meeting, though, I will ask my officials to link him up with the Football Foundation, which supports grassroots communities to get new pitches. I pay tribute to all the volunteers to whom he refers for their fantastic work in the community.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

Blyth Spartans in my constituency are arguably the most famous non-league club in the UK, but they are now up for sale, with the current chairman failing to deliver on his promises and to engage transparently and openly with the supporters. Does my hon. Friend agree that non-league football clubs are at the heart of communities and that engagement with supporters is critical to their survival?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am incredibly grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, and I completely agree. Now that he has put it in Hansard, perhaps Blyth Spartans are the most well-known club in the country. I echo his comments about fan involvement at every level of the football pyramid and, indeed, in grassroots football.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

From grassroots to professional, the number of women’s teams has more than doubled over the past seven years. Cheltenham Town Women have a thriving team, with junior and adult sections. Sadly, one place above them in the table this season are Lewes FC, who are running the “Equal FA Cup” campaign. Does the Minister agree that it is time for equality of prize money across the men’s and women’s FA cups?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am incredibly grateful to the hon. Gentleman for asking such an important question. The Government are fully committed to supporting and growing women’s sport, and to ensuring that it is on an equal footing with men’s sport. The ambition to have equal prize money across sport, where possible, is absolutely right. I know that the Football Association took steps last season to double the prize fund for the women’s FA cup, and we will pay close attention to see what happens next.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of youth services on levels of antisocial behaviour in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

7. What steps she is taking to support grassroots athletics clubs to maintain their facilities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

Grassroots sports clubs are at the heart of communities up and down the country. We know just how important they are, which is why we are committed to continuing to support high-quality, inclusive facilities to get people more active.

[Connor Naismith]

Crewe and Nantwich athletic club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, is home to the only competitive-standard athletics track in south Cheshire. However, the track is in desperate need of improvements so that the club can continue to flourish and support the young people who use its facilities. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what support might be available to deliver those crucial improvements?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I thank my hon. Friend for his important question and congratulate Crewe and Nantwich athletic club on half a century—what a great achievement! Such sports clubs are crucial to helping our young people to pursue their sporting passions. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter, but in the meantime I will ask my Department to link the club up with England Athletics and other bodies for further discussion of the support available.

[Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to support the financial sustainability of English football.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

T3.  In March 1974, a Turkish Airlines jet crashed while flying from Paris to London. More than 400 people were killed. Among them were 19 members of the Bury St Edmunds rugby club. It was the greatest disaster to befall the town in living memory. This year, 60 cyclists cycled from Paris to Bury St Edmunds, raising £200,000 in their memory. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating these bold cyclists?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. I congratulate the cyclists on completing their fantastic ride and on the impressive sum of money that they raised. I pay particular tribute to Austin Cornish, the organiser of the ride, whose father died in that crash.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Women are those most often criminalised for non-payment of the licence fee. The BBC charter review offers an opportunity for the Government to look at this issue again. Will the Government consider decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee?

--- Later in debate ---

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

T5.   I advise the House that my sister works for Rugby League Cares. The Minister will know that my constituency is the birthplace of rugby league. At a professional and community level, the game is really important to towns such as mine, but it has not always had the support that it deserves. The Rugby Football League has produced a national community facilities strategy, which states the level of funding that is needed for the game. What steps is she taking to support long-term investment in rugby league?

[Stephanie Peacock]

We know just how important the work of the Rugby Football League is in communities —I have seen it at first hand, as I know you have, Mr Speaker. It is one of the reasons the RFL has received just under £1 million in funding from Sport England over the past financial year to help tackle inequalities and improve access. I look forward to working with the sport in the months and years ahead.

[Mr Speaker]

I look forward to the increase as well.