Oral Answers to Questions

Stephanie Peacock Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to help support the tourism and leisure sectors.

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

Tourism drives growth and jobs across the country, including in Cheshire. VisitBritain’s “Starring GREAT Britain” campaign is showcasing a range of film and TV locations, such as Lyme Park, to global audiences, while our Great British summer savings scheme is encouraging family visits, supporting businesses dependent on summer footfall with a temporary VAT cut on eligible attractions.

[Aphra Brandreth]

Tourism is vital to Chester South and Eddisbury’s economy. From Snugburys and the Ice Cream Farm to BeWILDerwood and Beeston castle, we are fortunate to have fantastic attractions, and I encourage the Minister to visit them. But as one business told me following the Government’s summer savings announcement:

“It feels a bit like having £100 taken off you, then being given £30 back and being expected to be grateful”.

The scheme is a drop in the ocean compared with the costs imposed by this Government’s damaging policies. Will the Minister tell those businesses what more she is doing to support the sector, not just for the summer but for the long term?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady; I know she is a great champion for her constituency, and I know that tourism is incredibly important to her constituency. I recognise the challenges, some of which she has outlined. I have done a number of meetings with the sector. Just this week, I was at the Tourism Alliance’s annual general meeting, and I met VisitScotland last week. We do recognise the challenges, but we think that the Great British summer savings will make a big difference to attractions up and down the country.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Next week Stafford’s Gatehouse theatre will launch its annual Shakespeare festival with Richard III. Last year we had over 180,000 visitors. I know that the Government are committed to cultural venues. They have put £1.5 billion into supporting them, but please can the Minister tell me what more the Government are doing to support local theatres, and would they like to attend the gala night with me next week to get away from all the drama?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I know that my colleague has been working incredibly hard on this issue, and I wish the theatre the very best of luck for next week.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

Soaring taxes are putting visitors off coming to the UK—that is what the boss of British Airways says. Does the Minister agree?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place; I know that he is a big champion for his constituency and the issue. As I outlined, I met with the tourism sector a number of times just in the last week. We do recognise the challenges it is facing, but we back the sector.

[Joe Robertson]

Oh dear, that is not an answer to the question I asked. My question was about the tax burden on the tourism sector in this country. National insurance is up, and we have new taxes on part-time work. An overnight visitor levy is in the pipeline, and there are extra taxes on air passengers and ferry passengers. This Government’s assault on the Great British holiday has been brutal. It is no wonder young people are struggling to find their first job. Will the Minister recommit to the Government’s target to have 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030, and will she tell the Chancellor to cut the brutal tax regime in order to get us there?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I will take no lessons from the hon. Gentleman, given the inheritance from the previous Conservative Government. If he had been paying any attention—I know he does not usually sit on the Front Bench—he would know that I have indeed committed to increasing visitor numbers. I regret his talking down our tourism industry, especially with the Isle of Wight festival starting today. It is going from strength to strength and I wish it the very best of luck.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester Withington) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to help support UK artists touring in Europe.

--- Later in debate ---

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

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I congratulate England on their brilliant win last night, and he is right to mention the T20 world cup. I was delighted to be at the tournament launch; I held a women’s sport taskforce event in Southampton to coincide with the match on Tuesday. The Government are investing £3 million in all- weather domes. I visited the England and Wales Cricket Board schools programme at Worsbrough in my constituency, which is increasing attendance at cricket in state schools.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)]

T3. We are now over a year out from the Government’s debacle over their consultation on AI and the creative industries. There seems to be a welcome commitment towards the copyright framework, but website owners still cannot see who is taking their content, and rights holders, publishers and journalists are watching their work being scraped in real time. There was a commitment to transparency, so when will we see the Government’s plans?

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

Grassroots sports clubs such as Wokingham Town football club are at the heart of our communities, but many clubs struggle to find and maintain facilities and equipment. Would the Secretary of State consider convening twice-yearly meetings with grassroots sports governing bodies to strengthen collaboration and advocacy for community sport?

[Stephanie Peacock]

The Government are fully committed to working with the sports sector to support our vital grassroots clubs. We work closely with Sports England, an arm’s length body, to engage with grassroots sports across the country and ensure that all sports are seen, heard and supported. Rather than duplicating existing forums, I welcome the creation of groups such as the national governing body coalition and look forward to working alongside it to effectively support the sector.