Ofcom

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the role and effectiveness of Ofcom.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. Ofcom’s mission is to make communications work for everybody. According to the Ofcom website, it helps people to get the most from their post, mobile, broadband, landline and online services, as well as

“keeping an eye on TV and radio.”

Yet as our methods of communication have broadened and the pace of technological change has increased, I have become increasingly concerned that Parliament has repeatedly given Ofcom new responsibilities without first asking whether it has the powers, resources or institutional culture necessary to fulfil those it already had.

In preparation for this debate, I spoke with Citizens Advice, which raised concerns that Ofcom’s principal duty to further the interests of citizens, in relation to communications, and consumers, in relation to markets, creates a bias against intervention, meaning that action to protect consumers is often delayed, limited or treated as a last resort. I will focus on four areas: broadcasters, scam calls and messages, broadband infrastructure, and—I apologise, as this is the third parliamentary debate on this in a week—Royal Mail. Although those areas appear different, they all point to the same question: does Ofcom have the powers, appetite and focus to fulfil the role that Parliament expects it to?

As we know, UK broadcasters are rightly respected around the world. Although the media landscape has become more complex, any organisation wishing to operate on television or radio must be subject to Ofcom regulation. The Ofcom broadcasting code is not optional, and it exists to protect the public from harm. Section 2 of the code covers harmful and offensive material, and section 3 covers content likely to incite crime or disorder. Those sections are crucial. We have all seen what happens when dis and misinformation published online or on TV spills over into violence in our communities. Just last year, Ofcom found that GB News breached the code by broadcasting discriminatory misinformation that linked LGBT people with paedophilia, yet only a year later, we see further investigations being made into similar GB News content that makes highly offensive claims about LGBT people. The fact that such behaviour is occurring again, on the same channel, so soon after regulatory action raises serious questions about whether that intervention was effective in the first place.

Section 5 of the code covers impartiality and accuracy. Constituents regularly raise issues on that, and, I will be honest, those are not related just to GB News. Some people believe that the BBC has a left-wing bias, while others believe that it has become increasingly right wing— some might say that that suggests the BBC has got it about right. I have found myself shouting at the TV, particularly during certain programmes, asking why the outrageous comments made by one commentator or another have not been shown. I am regularly asked why the activities of certain parties that have only a handful of MPs seem to get disproportionate coverage, and whether the media are now more interested in ratings than in impartiality on current affairs.

But I am afraid that allegations made against public sector broadcasters such as the BBC pale into insignificance when compared with the regulation of GB News. A recent investigation, involving experienced journalists and specialists in the field, reviewed GB News’s output and found repeated examples of content that they considered inconsistent with the Ofcom code, yet in many cases, no regulatory action had followed. A former Ofcom director of standards said:

“This was a test case for how Ofcom regulates broadcasters on due impartiality. It has failed that test.”

He went on to say:

“It now appears that Ofcom has abandoned any pretence that meaningful regulation of broadcast content is still being maintained.”

That criticism deserves to be taken seriously.

In 2024, Ofcom investigated GB News’s use of politicians as presenters, and concluded that politicians presenting news

“risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news.”

In its response, it warned that repeated breaches could ultimately lead to sanctions, including fines or the loss of a broadcast licence. And yet today, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who has been notified that I intend to refer to him, is advertised by GB News on its website as a presenter offering viewers the latest news, opinion and analysis. That appears to conflict with rule 5.3, which states:

“No politician may be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes”,

and rule 5.9, which says that

“presenters must not use the advantage of regular appearances to promote their views in a way that compromises the requirement for due impartiality.”

The hon. Member is also a shareholder in the channel and has received significant payments from it—this is all in the public domain. Even the channel’s founding chairman, Andrew Neil, has publicly questioned why Ofcom permits the arrangement. So I ask the Minister: what discussions has she had with Ofcom about the effectiveness of the broadcasting code, and will she consider launching a review into whether sitting MPs or political party leaders should be permitted to present news and current affairs programmes at all?

I realise that this is a slight jump in tone, but the same questions about enforcement arise when we look at scams. I welcome the recent fine imposed on a telecoms provider for failing to prevent the misuse of telephone numbers, and I recognise the work that Ofcom has done to block scam messages in transit. However, my constituents continue to suffer due to the failure of Ofcom to enforce. Melchior from Broadstone receives scam calls from people claiming to be police officers, using genuine police station telephone numbers. Neil from Canford Heath reports receiving up to five scam calls every day from people pretending to be from Government bodies. Judith lost thousands of pounds to rogue traders before a kindly neighbour intervened to help her. Another constituent, Paul, lost more than £60,000 to a romance fraud, where he believed he was communicating with Kate Beckinsale before he sadly died.

My constituents are rightly asking why ID spoofing remains so prevalent when the technology exists to verify and authenticate communications. Five years ago, Ministers pointed to developments in the United States—in fact, it was the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) who wrote to my constituent saying that they intended to look at systems in America and bring them over here—yet residents continue to lose money and there does not seem to be any progress. Can the Minister explain what progress has been made through the migration to digital telephony, which concludes in January, what evidence exists that scam tracing is now improving, and how Ofcom intends to enforce protections more effectively in the years ahead?

That brings me to the issue of connectivity. Although Ofcom’s figures show considerable improvements in gigabit broadband, the headline statistics mark the reality in rural and coastal communities. The most vulnerable of our residents are often the most digitally disconnected. Some are unwilling or unable to use broadband and internet, and it is important that we do not leave them behind, but when someone chooses to be digitally connected, they cannot be priced out of the market simply because they live in a rural area. People in rural communities such as mine are isolated when the wind blows or because their property is in a small hamlet, or even because, as I heard this week, it is the “last property” in the line in a village.

According to Ofcom’s data, gigabit-capable broadband is now available in 88% of homes and businesses, with 4 million premises still without coverage. I recognise the significant improvement since 2020, but in some areas, properties have been dropped from the edge of a gigabit scheme, with the alternatives being simply laughable. Residents living on rural lanes between Wimborne and Sturminster Marshall were missed out of the scheme and told that they can get a voucher from Building Digital UK to spend on a commercial connection. That left them with two problems. The vouchers have been suspended in Dorset for at least the last two years, and even when they are available, no commercial provider will provide internet to six properties if the UK Government-sponsored provider does not feel that it is viable either.

In Pamphill and Shapwick, the local church warden has just been quoted £4,000 plus VAT by BT Openreach to install broadband because they need a pole—a pole that will serve only one building because it is the last building before the river. The irony is that there is already a pole there, but BT’s failure to maintain its infrastructure means that it has decided to pass the cost on to the customer, which in this case is a church with about 20 people in the congregation.

What is Ofcom doing to make sure that small rural communities can get the broadband availability they need? These small communities often do not have a bus, mobile service or even a village shop, so when they need help, the only option they have is the internet.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The hon. Lady has outlined some of the problems that her constituents are having with BT. I want to be kind to BT if I can, but I have to be honest as well: BT falls short. An organisation that does exceptionally well is Fibrus. Over the last couple of years, although it has had almost 200 complaints, it has genuinely sorted out 199 of them—I am not making that up—and it is doing its darndest to sort out the outstanding one. BT unfortunately falls short every time. The hon. Lady is right to highlight that and I will highlight it as well.

[Vikki Slade]

I will share a similar tale of the failure to sort out a problem. In August, the village of Bloxworth, which has only about 80 houses and has poor mobile signal, no bus and no shop, was cut off completely when a tree took down their BT Openreach infrastructure. Despite allegedly having a 48-hour service standard, the repair took more than a week to complete. Residents were not even contacted and were later told that they should have been contacted by their individual provider, which is ridiculous. When the water goes down, the water board is responsible and when the electric goes down, it is the infrastructure provider—Scottish and Southern Energy in our area—that is responsible, not OVO or Octopus or whoever provides the electricity. In a data age, with resilience being much of the Government’s focus, it is utterly ridiculous that the main provider of infrastructure is allowed to pass on the responsibility and not communicate. It is somewhat ironic that when the communication goes down, there is radio silence.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady makes a powerful point about villages. In my constituency, a number of villages do not have a shop or a bus, and so on, but they did have the public switched telephone network. Ofcom has overseen the switch-off of that old copper network infrastructure, but it has not placed an obligation on Openreach to communicate with the people who are losing their telephony. Does she agree that it is not too late in the day for Ofcom to put Openreach on the hook for communicating with people who are about to lose their copper network?

[Vikki Slade]

I am glad that the hon. Lady intervened because that is apparently the root of the problem with my church. BT Openreach sent out an installer who was able to deal only with copper, but that is all being turned off in January, so he went away again. They came back and said, “You need someone with fibre,” and then they came back and said, “Oh, the pole’s not good enough. You need to replace the pole, but you have to pay for it.” The requirement to have fibre is because of the BT Openreach plan to turn off the PSTN and go on to the Voice over Internet Protocol, yet BT Openreach demands that the customers pay the costs because it has not prepared for that. You could not make it up.

Are we still on track to turn the PSTN off in January, and what consideration has been given to those people who are still on the emergency systems? What will be done to make sure that BT Openreach is not passing on unfair costs to people who did not ask for that change in the first place? On resilience, what are the Minister and her team doing with Ofcom to ensure that the issue of communication is included in the plan for national resilience, and how is Ofcom holding the telephone companies to account when they pass on the costs?

I could not possibly complete a debate about Ofcom without mentioning the post. I am aware that there have been two recent debates on the subject and I would be here for as long as it takes my residents to get their post if I shared every story with the Minister, but I must repeat the comments made by the right hon. Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne) at the end of Monday’s debate. As chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, he talked about giving Ofcom until November to show that it is improving its performance.

My residents tell me time and again about the length of time between their deliveries and how, miraculously, when someone on their street goes down to the delivery office to challenge the missing mail, bundles turn up in elastic bands. It is simply not credible that they all turned up on that very day. When I write to Royal Mail about this, I, and I am sure hon. Members alike, get a templated reply that basically feels like gaslighting. It never answers the question. I know, because I have spent a couple of shifts down at the sorting office, that local sorting offices have to tell their regional offices which frames did not get delivered. They have to report when vehicles break down or staff do not turn up for shifts. Royal Mail has the data about why that post is not being delivered; it just chooses not to share it with us or its customers. My question is, is it sharing it with Ofcom?

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

The hon. Member is making a really important speech about many of the ways in which Ofcom’s regulation touches everybody’s lives, especially through Royal Mail—I am sure she will be aware that I am doing some work in this space. A number of other Labour MPs and I spoke to Ofcom at a meeting just last week where we asked what other powers it needs. Fines are clearly not working: the fines that Ofcom is levying on Royal Mail are not leading to any improvement. I was really disappointed at the response, which was that Ofcom has not really thought about what other powers it needs. Does the hon. Member agree with me, and with the Business Committee, that Ofcom really needs to think about what other powers it needs to regulate the market more effectively? It is failing to, currently.

[Vikki Slade]

The hon. Member is absolutely spot on. We know that the Minister is raising our concerns, but we need Ofcom to have the right powers, and we need to know what powers the Minister is seeking to give Ofcom if the situation persists.

I have to share one other example to do with the post. I recently had a problem in the village of Sturminster Marshall, where they had no post for two weeks and a flood was blamed. I surveyed them all; I had 159 replies, and 149 of them shared their horror stories about Royal Mail. Royal Mail blamed the flood, but the flood happened at the end of the two weeks for which they had been waiting. If Royal Mail will not be accountable to us and tell us the truth, and if it is hoping that we will not notice, that prompts the question of what other things it is saying that could be misinterpreted.

[Jim Shannon]

I cannot let a Royal Mail comment go by without speaking on behalf of my constituents in Strangford, who have problems with mail delivery on a daily basis. Some of that delayed post unfortunately includes hospital appointments, bank statements and things that they have to action. Does the hon. Lady agree that Ofcom’s capacity to effectively oversee Royal Mail needs to be reassessed? It is very clear from the examples that she and other Members have given that it is just not up to the job.

[Vikki Slade]

The hon. Member comes to my point about whether Ofcom is fit for purpose and needs to be broken up. He mentions the fines for people getting their bills late and missed hospital appointments, yet there is no real compensation scheme for customers. My train is 15 minutes late on a weekly basis—I am sure you will agree, Sir Desmond, as I think you use the same line. I do not think that there has been a week in the past year where I have not arrived home at least 15 minutes late at least once, but there is delay repay. If someone’s post is weeks late, they cannot go down and get any sort of claim from the local delivery office. Perhaps if there was, Royal Mail would take a little bit more action.

Finally, today Ofcom released its recommendations for the most effective way to implement the social media ban. We know that that will be complicated and controversial. We know that it is the biggest issue of our time, really. Yet the job has been given to Ofcom. With everything that we have talked about, it is not lost on me that we are adding another very complicated and controversial thing when there is no evidence that Ofcom is able to manage.

Under the new Prime Minister, a new Minister for AI has been created, recognising the importance of dividing up some of these jobs to groups who can focus on the big issues of our time. Perhaps this should be a watershed moment for Ofcom too. Throughout the debate, I have raised four very different issue: broadcast impartiality, scams, broadband access and Royal Mail. They all point to the same concern. Ofcom is increasingly being asked to regulate some of the most powerful organisations in our society while protecting some of the most vulnerable people. Yet again and again, constituents encounter a regulator that appears reactive rather than proactive, cautious rather than assertive and too often willing to accept poor outcomes for consumers.

I ask the Minister to commit to a formal review of Ofcom’s powers, duties and enforcement framework, including whether its current structure is fit for purpose. If consumers cannot rely on the regulator to challenge broadcasters, tackle scams, secure connectivity or hold Royal Mail to account, it is not enough to ask whether they are doing their job. Parliament must also ask whether it has given Ofcom the tools to do it.

--- Later in debate ---

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

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship once again this week, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) on securing this important debate on the role and effectiveness of Ofcom. I also welcome the shadow Secretary of State to her place, the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul). I do not think we have faced each other across the Chamber, so it is great to see her here today.

The range of issues raised today shows how important Ofcom’s work is to people’s everyday lives, whether that means getting a phone signal, staying connected, having a broadband connection that works, knowing that their children are safer when they pick up a phone or go online, or, of course, having their post delivered. Ofcom’s decisions affect people all across our country. As the UK’s independent regulator for the communication industries, Ofcom’s principal duty is to further the interests of citizens and consumers, promoting competition where appropriate. Ofcom helps to ensure that people can access reliable communication services, that broadcasters meet appropriate standards and, increasingly, that people, particularly children, are protected from online harm.

Given that Ofcom’s responsibilities have never been wider or more significant, it is understandable that today’s debate has covered a number of topics, and I will attempt to speak to each of them in turn. I am pleased to be responding to this debate on behalf of the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Online Safety, and I will relay the issues raised in this debate to him directly.

As the shadow Minister rightly pointed out, broadcasting is probably what Ofcom is most well known for, and that is where I will begin. Broadcasting regulation has existed in the UK for 100 years. Since its creation in 2003, Ofcom has had the vital role of regulating the UK’s broadcast media, helping to ensure that TV and radio audiences are protected from harmful material. Through legislation, Parliament requires Ofcom to draft and keep up to date the broadcasting code, which sets out clear rules and guidance including the protection of children and ensuring that the broadcast of news remains accurate and impartial. Through the Government’s media Green Paper, we are considering how to ensure that Ofcom continues to have the right powers to protect audiences and regulate TV services into the future. All Ofcom-licensed broadcasters are subject to the broadcasting code and are Ofcom-regulated. When it comes to news, that means that news in whatever form is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. When broadcasters may have breached the broadcasting code, we of course expect Ofcom to investigate promptly without fear or favour.

I am sure that hon. Members will not expect me to comment on ongoing cases, but a question was raised about politicians presenting television programmes. Ofcom’s broadcasting code sets out that politicians may not

“be used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporter in any news programmes unless, exceptionally, it is editorially justified.”

The Government have expressed concerns about the blurring of fact and polemic and about politicians presenting programmes that could reasonably be interpreted as news or current affairs. There is a clear rationale for strengthening these rules. We are currently considering a range of options to tackle this issue and will set out more information and a decision in due course.

I will take away the point that a couple of Members made about communication regarding complaints to Ofcom. A number of people gave examples of Members of Parliament writing to Ofcom and not feeling that they got an acceptable letter or communication back. I will certainly take that to the Media Minister.

My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) spoke about prominence measures—[Interruption.] I thought she was going to intervene; I am about to answer some of her questions. Our “Watch this space” Green Paper sets out two distinct prominence regimes to safeguard UK media online. The first is prominence for trustworthy news. In an era of infinite online information, quality journalism is vital to holding power, including the Government, to account. We want social media platforms to make reporting from high-quality news providers easy to discover. This is not about censorship; it is about defending a free, pluralistic press across the political spectrum. We have not finalised the criteria for trustworthy news and will continue to engage with the sector as we develop proposals.

The second is prominence for wider public service media content on video sharing platforms. From children’s programmes to culture, that content reflects our national story. Our preference remains for sector-led, voluntary agreements on fair commercial terms. The consultation closed on 31 August. Officials are currently analysing the responses, and no final decisions have been made on the regulators.

A number of Members spoke about postal services. Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Ofcom is an independent regulator responsible for postal services. That includes regulating Royal Mail as the UK’s designated universal service provider, and mandates that major parcel companies including Amazon Logistics, DPD, DHL, Evri, Parcelforce and Yodel must have clear complaints procedures, accessible contact channels, defined timelines and trained staff. The Government do not have a role in its regulatory decisions on postal services.

The Government have been clear that Royal Mail’s performance has been unacceptable for too long. The Minister for the Future of Work was in the Chamber earlier this week during a debate on Royal Mail performance —indeed, I think an hon. Member said that there have been three such debates this week. We value Ofcom’s role as the independent regulator, but that independence must go hand in hand with accountability for the outcomes it delivers. Business Ministers recently met the regulator, and they agreed that more needs to be done to tackle persistent service issues. Ofcom is currently concluding its investigation into the company’s 2025-26 performance. We will continue to press Ofcom and Royal Mail to ensure that our constituents receive the service they are entitled to.

A number of questions were put to me on additional powers for Ofcom. The Government expect Ofcom to use the full range of its existing tools to secure better outcomes for postal services. The Secretary of State reaffirmed the importance of Ofcom’s role as the independent regulator in an appearance at the Business, Innovation Science and Trade Committee on 20 October. He was clear that the Government would be pragmatically considering any future requests for additional powers where they are needed.

[Vikki Slade]

Can the Minister confirm whether those powers might include compensation and a formal complaints system? It seems quite ridiculous that when someone’s mail is not going anywhere, the only thing they might get is more stamps.

[Stephanie Peacock]

The hon. Lady makes an incredibly interesting point, and I will certainly reflect that to the relevant Department. She will appreciate that I cannot be drawn on even the creative policy ideas that she puts to me today, but she has put that on the record, and I will make sure that the relevant Department hears about it.

Online safety is one of the defining issues of our time. The internet has changed how we live, learn and connect, often for the better, but there are clear challenges and dangers that come alongside that. I would like to quote the Secretary of State on this issue:

“This is not the first time in history that new forms of technology have upended society. But what is unique to this moment is that that technology has been developed almost exclusively in the private sphere – so I want to be clear that there is a central role for government in shaping that technology for good.”

Through the Online Safety Act, Parliament gave Ofcom the responsibility of delivering that, and it is right that this House asks how it is progressing. The Government have asked Ofcom to publish a clear enforcement strategy and present it to Parliament so that its priorities and outcomes can be properly scrutinised. Additionally, Sir Ian Cheshire, the Ofcom chair, is reviewing Ofcom’s enforcement capability, and we will consider his findings carefully. If more changes are needed, we will not hesitate to act.

Ofcom’s role will grow further with our decision to ban social media companies from offering their services to under-16s—a decision shaped by the more than 116,000 responses to our consultation. Enforcing both the Act and the ban must be Ofcom’s top priority, including robust action against circumvention. The first social media regulations will be laid before Parliament by the end of the year. I am sure that the Media Minister would be happy to meet hon. Members to discuss this further, and particularly the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, who raised a number of points on this. I will ask him to reach out to every Member who has attended the debate, and, if Members would like to, I am sure he would be happy to meet them.

Moving on to issues around telecoms, there was a specific question on the closure of the PSTN. That is on track for 31 January 2027. Hon. Members spoke about the difficulties that some of their constituents face in getting a reliable broadband connection, and they are right to raise that. National coverage matters, and I have seen that in my area of Barnsley. Ofcom’s regulatory regime has facilitated significant investment and growth in the fixed telecoms market. As of January 2026, gigabit broadband coverage stands at 88%. Ofcom’s telecoms access review, published in March this year, provides a stable regulatory framework for the coming years, and continues to support competition and investment across the sector. This infrastructure is critical to households and businesses alike and underpins the delivery of essential public services.

The hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole raised a number of concerning issues in her constituency around connectivity, particularly around rural broadband. I will ask officials to look into the specific points she raised. The Government are committed to ensuring at least 99% gigabit broadband coverage by 2032, including in rural areas.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vikki Slade]

We have done very well to debate for an hour and 15 minutes with so few of us in the room. The passion that has been shown and the scope of issues with Ofcom shows how important this matter is. I remain concerned about the capacity of Ofcom to deliver on such a wide range of services and I hope that when the Minister reviews this debate, she will think about extending powers in the media Green Paper and potentially giving a separate role to the postal regulator. I would like to thank everybody for their fantastic speeches.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the role and effectiveness of Ofcom.

Online Safety

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

My hon. Friend is right. Let me say to him, as someone who shares his concern about the increase in exposure to violent content to very young children, that we are also looking at the issue of chatbots and strengthening the law to ensure that we protect children better from all these different forms of exposure.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I welcome these actions on child online safety, and the Minister’s comment that there is a role for the Government in shaping technology and not being neutral on online harm. She may have seen, in the last 24 hours, some very disturbing posts on Meta and X in which the identities of brave rescuers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution have been revealed. In response, charities such as the RNLI are now having to ask people to take real action on their personal safety and their privacy. What more can the Government do to hold tech companies to account and take down posts that put the safety of children and adults at risk through doxxing?

[Lisa Nandy]

I have had an initial discussion about this with some of the tech companies. As the hon. Lady will know, as well as the horrific incidents that she mentioned, there has been a campaign by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers relating to the way in which shop workers have been targeted. The Government are concerned about this, as am I personally, and I look forward to working with the hon. Lady to see what more we can do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

Absolutely, and I commend the hon. Gentleman for the work done in his constituency, including at Castle Ward. Encouraging everyone to go and visit would be the best thing for me to do as the Minister. Transport connectivity for those attending cultural and music events and historic and heritage places came up at the Select Committee sitting I attended this week, so we are working hard to resolve these issues.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Wareham is fortunate to be served by the fantastic Rex cinema, which is Dorset’s oldest cinema and one of the oldest in the country, and it is volunteer led. It shows two films every day and has been refurbished to maintain its art deco interior. However, its roof is now over 135 years old and will cost £400,000 to repair. The volunteers have funded a new projector, but they just cannot raise that sort of money. Will the Minister consider extending cultural capital grants to community cinemas?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am struggling because we only get a short time for these questions. I think we should have an hour, and I hope somebody will reflect on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Marsha De Cordova]

I can confirm that I have met colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on numerous occasions, most recently the Minister for Heritage just before Easter recess. We are still waiting for the Government to publish more detail on this vital scheme. As I said in my meeting with the Minister, I urge the Government to get on and publish that detail at pace so that we can give our churches certainty. In the meantime, while we await the guidance, my hon. Friend’s constituency churches can reach out to their diocesan Church Buildings Council adviser for further advice, support and guidance on this issue.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

You will be aware, Mr Speaker, that Lib Dems are great at fixing the church roof. In Sturminster Marshall, the community is going further with Project Welcome, which will repair and modernise the space, creating a warm, safe and accessible church that is integral to the community. However, the closure of the listed places of worship grant scheme means that costs have gone through the roof. The community has raised £275,000 of a £360,000 target, which, without the VAT, they would have achieved. Can the hon. Lady confirm whether projects already under way will be eligible for the renewal scheme?

[Marsha De Cordova]

I will just put it on the record that we are all, across the House, keen advocates for our local churches; we recognise that they are the cornerstones of our community, so we are all hugely supportive of efforts to fix roofs, or whatever needs to be done to them. The hon. Lady highlights an important point about the scheme, and I will be happy to write to her about it.

UK Town of Culture

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for his passionate pitch for his area.

I welcome the Government’s announcement of the competition for the town of culture 2028. The nature of a community is defined by three things: its landscape and architecture, its hospitality and retail sector, and—mostly—its culture. Dorset is the home of the Jurassic coast, but it is also home to some incredible culture: from the literature of Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton to the Arts by the Sea festival in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and the Inside Out festival, which pops up in the smaller towns and villages—not to mention Purbeck film festival, which is the oldest rural film festival in the UK, so lovingly curated by volunteers.

I agree with the hon. Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore), who talked about the future as well as the past. I celebrate both. The three towns of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, which are looking to bid together, offer a great story of togetherness. Christchurch has a history that dates back to AD 650, with its younger sibling Poole—with its fantastic links to Canada and fishing—receiving the first of its two charters in 1248.

Poole also draws on its local culture with the Folk on the Quay festival, which is the smaller sibling of the annual Wimborne minster folk festival. The harbour is also the setting for the amazing Poole harbour festival, which I am excited to confirm is being headlined this year by the Kaiser Chiefs, and will also feature my favourite band, Scouting for Girls, as well as many home-grown talents, such as Chris Payn, the Wonky Donkeys and the Mother Ukers.

Our incredible landscape also inspires visual arts. Our lord lieutenant even has an inspiring artist in residence, the lovely Dave Roberts, who pens everything that the lord lieutenant does throughout all the towns.

People often bemoan how our town centres have become identikit. As we move to online shopping, and as the high cost of trading makes it far more difficult, our towns and cities will become defined more by what we can do and experience than by what we can buy. That is why it is so important that councils continue to fund culture; it must not become something that only the wealthy can afford.

[Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) (Lab)]

Does the hon. Member agree that economic regeneration through the arts and culture is a powerful way of showing the link between the past and the future in our national story? If so, would she agree that Folkestone is a prime example of that? Having been a port from which our troops went to the frontline in world war one, it became a commercial port, has been regenerated through the arts and is now the best place to live in south-east England.

[Vikki Slade]

I thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for raising that. Speaking of towns with incredible historical ports, much of the training for the D-day landings took place from Poole harbour. We now have the incredible Lighthouse cultural venue in Poole, where residents have mapped the town’s history, its links to Canada and its future in an incredible community play, showing how the town grew up.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which is based in Poole, could not open up to the National Theatre schools programme without public funding. It could not send musicians into hospices, run its annual schools concert, which this year is based on the elements, or visit Exeter and Portsmouth without that local funding. It is absolutely crucial that we maintain that, so that grassroots groups can continue to meet in our draughty community centres to create the next generation of actors, musicians, authors and artists. They simply will not exist if we do not maintain funding for culture.

I am really pleased that the Minister is to confirm that the town of culture competition will come with £60,000 of funding; when looking into the city of culture scheme, I found that it can be incredibly expensive to enter these competitions; if a city does not get through to the final, they end up then having to cut the very services that they were trying to develop through the competition. It is a great decision to make sure that shortlisted places get a bite of the cherry.

I know that Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will submit their own very vibrant and energising application, which will deserve support, but I must mention smaller groups too. Besides the UK town of culture, Dorset has its own town of culture competition, and I am thrilled that this year Wimborne, the heart of my beautiful constituency, has been announced as the town of culture 2026, with its incredible Museum of East Dorset—complete with a mummified cat—a chained library in Wimborne minster, the Tivoli theatre, the Allendale Centre, the annual Queen Elizabeth’s school show, which this year is “Legally Blonde: The Musical”, the Walford Mill Gallery, the annual folk festival and the Kingston Lacy stately home, which features incredible art celebrating its LGBT owner, who had to hide away in Spain when it was not safe to be gay in this country.

Wimborne really is the place to be in 2026 and can show other places how culture can be inclusive, relevant and fun even on a small scale. I would love to welcome the Minister and other hon. Members to come to Wimborne during 2026; I can assure them they will receive a warm welcome and leave enriched by a flavour of Dorset in our food and our culture.

Video Games: Consumer Law

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the 236 constituents from my constituency for signing this petition and, in particular, Haydn Shaw for spending quite a lot of time with me last month to explain the impact that this situation has on him and other gamers. I have to admit that it is not my specialist subject.

Video games are a vital part of modern British culture. Many parents think that their sons and daughters are locked away in their bedrooms playing alone, but for me, it turned out that my son Isaac was having great fun with people all around the world. Every time I heard a noise, it was him jumping off the sofa as he experienced the immersive video games he was playing. He was maintaining friendships after he went off to university, proving that video games can bring people together even when they are a long distance apart.

The artists, coders and designers who create such life-like images and develop such intricate stories for us to enjoy through our phones, computers and games consoles bring joy to millions and allow many of us to experience places, times through history—I recommend Colchester, as the original Roman capital of Britain, in “Age of Empires”—and alternative realities. My local college is now offering e-sports as a technical course, and Bournemouth University offers a degree in games design, which provides routes into other specialist fields that can unlock cutting-edge technology for the military. Virtual reality is providing new ways for medics to learn, and in Bournemouth children have been taught road safety skills through gaming headsets, thanks to the creativity and imagination of those in the sector.

When a game shuts down, it can feel like losing a favourite book or film forever. When a business is gobbled up, like a scene out of “Pac-Man”—that probably gives away a little about my early gaming experience—the purchaser’s rights should be maintained. A purchaser should expect transparency and fairness when making their purchase: clear, accessible information about whether a game requires online connectivity, relies on servers or is time-limited. As Alex told me, it is important that buyers know what the end of life looks like, or even whether there is going to be an end of life. The law already requires that such material information should not be hidden or omitted, but in reality, according to players like Haydn, it is very difficult to find this information, and many are led to feel misled or short-changed.

The UK already has strong consumer protections, which require that products, including digital products, are as described, that products are of satisfactory quality and that sellers must not omit material information. However, those protections are not well understood or well enforced, and they need to be kept under constant review as technology evolves so that consumers can exercise their rights.

We all understand that the ongoing support for titles that are no longer popular or have been superseded will eventually need to end, but to stop those that have been purchased being playable feels like the pages of a book that was once bought but is now out of print going blank after a period of time—sort of like writing in invisible ink—or the sound of a song that is no longer sold in record shops going silent.

There is an additional concern in relation to the creativity behind games—the creativity of the designers and coders for whom those games are their CV. Although control over the intellectual property has moved from designer to owner, creatives are concerned that content disappearing means not only that their work is being lost, but that it never existed in the first place.

Another issue to which my constituents have alerted me is the action of console operators in disabling their devices when counterfeit games are used, often innocently. Let us imagine that someone buys a second-hand game from a specialist retailer, charity shop or online marketplace only to find out that it is not genuine. They might expect the game to be disabled when they play it, and they would be within their rights to take that up with the seller, but the console companies are locking down the whole console so that it cannot be used for anything else. Unless they get permission from that console company, their games console, which might have cost them £500, is completely unplayable.

As we move to digital systems for music, games, literature, film and photos, it must be time to consider the risks to intellectual property in other sectors. The best way forward is not heavy-handed regulation but constructive dialogue between Government, players and developers to strengthen clarity for consumers, encourage responsible preservation and respect intellectual property. The goal needs to be a balance of protecting consumers and creators while sustaining an industry that contributes so much.

My constituent Philip said that he has an old gaming PC running Windows 7, which is now unsupported but still functioning. He asks what would happen if that issue was to extend to other types of software. As has just been mentioned, what would happen if future software companies decided to end support for something we use on a wider scale, whether in our companies or homes, or even in Government?

I ask the Minister not only to provide clarity for Members and our constituents, but to think about the issues of consumer protection, intellectual property, obsolescence and the classic David and Goliath battle so beautifully captured in the video game “DvG: Conquering Giants”. The individual must be buying something that they are buying.

Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. There are 328 charities in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole, including Safe Partnership, which is run out of Wareham. It installs safe rooms and secures properties for people who have been victims of domestic abuse. Not one of those people has to pay for that service; it is paid for by councils that of course are not going to be funding the additional cost of those commissioned services. In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole alone, the cost of the additional employers NICs for the commissioned services in children’s and adult care is £5.5 million. Becky, who runs Windward Day Services in my constituency, said:

“The feeling in adult social care is bleak. The people we support do not deserve to…be the ones who receive lower quality…services through…no fault of their own.”

Mark Powell is chief executive of Diverse Abilities Plus, and the charity is to celebrate its 70th birthday this year. Phyllis Edwards, who founded it, wanted to protect children with disabilities, but Mark is concerned that it will not make its 70th birthday.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephanie Peacock]

I appreciate that point. The bottom line is that we have been very clear that we want economic stability, and the money does have to come from somewhere—it is tax, borrowing or cuts. That is a very clear choice. Members will appreciate that many of the issues raised in this debate fall outside of my Department, but I will reflect the points made from across the House to the relevant Departments after the debate.

The Government will continue to support the sector in a number of other ways. Through the tax system, the Government also provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. The tax reliefs available to charities are a vital element in supporting charitable causes across the UK, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, community sports clubs and their donors in 2023-24.

[Vikki Slade]

Will the Minister give way?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I have taken a number of interventions, so in the interests of time, I will make some progress.

The biggest individual reliefs provided are gift aid, at £1.6 billion, and business rates relief, at nearly £2.4 billion. My Department also supports the voluntary and community sector, particularly through the delivery of direct grant funding—delivering, among other things, the £26 million voluntary, community and social enterprise energy efficiency scheme, which helps organisations with capital energy efficiency measures. That is still under way, as is the social enterprise boost fund, which delivers grants and peer support for emerging social enterprises, and the Know Your Neighbourhood fund, which is focused on increasing volunteering and tackling loneliness.

Alongside that, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport sponsors the National Lottery Community Fund, which is the largest non-Government funder of voluntary and community organisations across the UK. During 2023-24, the National Lottery Community Fund made grant awards totalling over £900 million, 84% of which were under £10,000, with the majority supporting grassroots organisations.

My Department is also focused on developing other sources of funding support for the sector. That includes establishing a stronger, more ambitious partnership with the impact economy, such as by unlocking the multimillion-pound potential of the dormant assets scheme. This includes making charitable giving as easy and compelling as possible, building on the estimated £13.9 billion that the UK public donated to charity last year. My officials are also working to deliver the VCSE contract readiness programme to help to improve the capability of VCSE organisations when bidding for public contracts.

As we have heard from Members across the House, the voluntary and community sector plays an important role across all areas of public life, up and down the country. As the Minister for Civil Society, I have seen at first hand the work that charities and social enterprises do. Since being appointed, I have held a number of visits, meetings and roundtables with charities and voluntary organisations across the UK—from Leeds to Stoke, from Huntingdon to Brent. I am committed to continuing that engagement with charities and voluntary groups up and down the country, especially as we continue to develop a framework for the new civil society covenant, which will reset the relationship between civil society and Government.

We have heard a number of examples today of the brilliant work that charities and volunteers do. I thank them for their work and I thank hon. Members for their contributions today.

Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech in this uplifting debate to celebrate the success of the Olympics and Paralympics. I congratulate the hon. Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall); I completely agree with her sentiments about children who are beneath the radar, and I will do everything I can to ensure that they are lifted and seen.

One of my happiest family memories is of a trip in 2012 to enjoy the spectacle and the spirit of the London Paralympics in the pool and on the track, a day that surely inspired my own children’s passion for and dedication to sport. My constituency can lay claim to Britain’s first ever track and field Olympic gold medallist: Charles Bennett, a train driver from Shapwick—otherwise known as the Shapwick Express—won the 1,500 metres in 1900 and took two further medals, but was largely forgotten until his family discovered his achievements more than 100 years later.

My own journey to this place has been more of a marathon than a sprint. It took four attempts for me to win my seat of Mid Dorset and North Poole, my home for 25 years. That journey also started in 2012, when Dame Annette Brooke, the then Liberal Democrat MP, invited me to tea and suggested that I put myself forward as a candidate. I explained that I was just a mum of four running a café and was completely unqualified for the job, having never been to university, and that “people like me did not become MPs”. She simply replied, “That is why you should stand.” Without her faith in me I would not be here, and I hope that I can emulate her work—such as her support for park home owners, protecting Dorset’s heathlands and fighting for better education funding—and that I can achieve just a fraction of the deep respect and admiration that our community still feels for her.

I turn to my immediate predecessor, Michael Tomlinson. He was so proud of his legislative roles—first as a Government Whip, then as Solicitor General, and most recently as the Minister for Illegal Immigration. I know that he took these responsibilities very seriously, but not as seriously as his love for cricket. On a recent trip to the Netherlands, he captained the Lords and Commons parliamentary cricket team against their parliamentary team.

My constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole is made up of dozens of communities, all with their own special character. We are all linked through our landscape, particularly the Dorset heathlands, which are home to all six of the UK’s native reptiles and to ground-nesting birds. It has the most lovely walks, including on Upton heath, known to my social media followers as “my happy place.” The work undertaken by the Dorset Wildlife Trust, RSPB Arne, the National Trust and others to restore our landscapes means that we are one of the only places in the UK to have reversed the decline in nature. Eco-tourism is now supporting economic growth, preserving the way of life in our countryside, towns and villages.

While the beaches are in neighbouring constituencies, our playgrounds are our rivers, but I should stress that that is on the water, not in the water. The navigable River Frome is ideal for a Birds of Poole Harbour boat trip to catch sight of a white-tailed eagle or a deer on the foreshore, or for a sail up to the Anglo-Saxon walled town of Wareham, with its art deco cinema and pretty pubs on the quay, while the smaller River Piddle is perfect for paddling. The River Stour runs down from the north to Wimborne Minster, home to river-based Dreamboats, Canford school’s rowing facility and Poole harbour canoe club. I will fight to clean up our rivers and achieve bathing water status at Eye Bridge, where our teenagers already spend their summer days chilling out by the water, and where parents like us taught our kids to kayak. I want to support the amazing people who are working to use our natural environment to improve health and wellbeing through sport—people like Will Behenna, who founded Inclusive Paddleboarding after being paralysed and now helps disabled people enjoy the tranquillity and freedom of the water.

Off the water, Wimborne Minster is named after its ninth-century church and is home to a chained library, a museum with a mummified cat in the walls—apparently for good luck—and an annual folk festival. The Drax and Kingston Lacy estates, and the villages that go out towards Holt Heath, provide the chocolate-box images you read about in Thomas Hardy’s literature. According to local legend, much of the content for his novels came from listening to the town’s gossip when he lived in Wimborne.

Returning to sport, England saw footballing success and heartbreak this summer with the Euros, but in mid-Dorset we were thrilled that Wimborne Town football club was promoted to the southern league premier south, and that the neighbouring AFC Bournemouth opened its world-class training facility in Bearwood in my constituency, guaranteeing a pipeline of brilliant future Dorset footballers. Mind you, the pedigree is already there, as two of the England under-23 ladies’ team came through Broadstone middle school as classmates of my own children.

Given that Olympic trampolinist Izzy Songhurst from Broadstone, champion go-karters and winning sailors, among others, grew up in our constituency, I want to pay particular tribute to the volunteer coaches who make it possible for our children to have these opportunities, as well as to charities such as Dorset Community Foundation, which helps our athletes compete at the highest level or simply lets children take part in what they love.

Every child must be able to thrive, but our current education system stops that happening for so many young people. We have a curriculum that crushes creativity, a SEND system that condemns children to fail, and a grip so tight on Ofsted measures that teachers do not have the space to truly share the joy of learning. Some of our children face an even greater battle, including children in care, young carers, children who suffer bereavement, and those with disabilities or life-limiting conditions. We need those children to thrive too, and thanks to charities such as Become, MYTIME Young Carers, Mosaic, Diverse Abilities and Julia’s House children’s hospice, so many of them do. But with councils facing bankruptcy and unable to deliver much in non-statutory services, and with public donations down due to the cost of living, they need action from the Government to secure proper funding.

As an MP, my voice is my power, and I will use it to fight for them, and for all who strive to improve the lives of those who feel voiceless. I also want to send a message to people in my community who feel powerless, and to young people who are worried about the future: if you want something badly enough, keep trying. It is possible, whatever your background, your gender and your struggles. Like me, you might take the long route, but like my famous country “mum walks”, the long ones are where you stumble across the most interesting places and create lasting memories.

Like many people, I have a bucket list. It has just three things on it: to run the London marathon, to earn a degree, and to represent my community as a Member of Parliament. Well, Dad, I finally achieved one of them. Although he is not here in the Chamber today—he is watching at home—I hope he is proud. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

I still pinch myself about being in this place. I am just a mum with four fabulous kids—Molly, Abbi, Isaac and George—and my long-suffering husband Paul. I have an incredible team of volunteers who keep believing in me, and a community who have put their trust in me to speak up for them. I want everyone living in Mid Dorset and North Pole, from Shitterton to Happy Bottom—yes, they are real places—and from Gaunt’s Common to Canford Heath, to know that they have a champion in me, and to know that I am committed to making the places that we all call home the best they can be.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

The Hansard reporters will definitely need your speech to make sure the spellings are correct. I call Sarah Coombes to make her maiden speech.