Local Museums

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. What a wonderful debate we have had this afternoon. From Egyptian mummies and vampires to castles and royal pump houses, from the history of textiles and shipbuilding to Captain Cook and the Cutty Sark, the whole colourful history of our country has passed through our mind’s eye this afternoon.

We all agree that local museums are cultural anchors that connect people, place and history. Museums support our local economy by driving tourism, creating jobs and encouraging visitors, but foremost they are there for the enjoyment of the people who live near them. In 2023, the independent museum sector alone contributed nearly £900 million to the UK economy and attracted almost 20 million visitors.

The sector supports thousands of jobs, alongside more than half a million volunteer days. It is important to dwell on the volunteers; of course they provide an important local service for all of us, but they also love what they do, and they are so connected to their local place. In Bath, we are so fortunate to have a plethora of museums—large, such as the Roman baths, and small, such as the Museum of Bath Stone. Together, they celebrate our rich heritage and tell the story of our people.

The Museum of Bath at Work is a particular standout. That independent, self-funded museum is housed in a grade II listed real tennis court. It operates with just one permanent member of staff, but is supported by over 40 volunteers, including working trustees and friends. Last year, it staged an exhibition on tennis in Bath, which won a national sporting heritage award for research. This year, it is planning exhibitions on cinema and film. All that is done without a single penny of financial support from the Government.

The Roman baths are so popular that they received a 93% enjoyment score—whatever that is, and however it is measured—which is the highest ever. Victoria Art Gallery celebrated its 125th anniversary this year and made major investments, including the launch of a dedicated community engagement and school room. Bath council is in the process of bringing together £54 million for a new fashion museum in Bath—I am particularly excited about that, because I like fashion. It will hopefully open in 2030 and will be a fabulous place to show the transformative power of fashion, stimulate the local and regional economy, and inspire citizens like me. I am sure I will be one of the first through the doors. We have to remember that fashion is not just for the people with money, but what do every day—we wear clothes and we create fashion.

We also have the American Museum, which is set within 125 acres of outstanding natural beauty. Apart from telling the history of America in a very engaging way, it showcases colourful and beautiful American decorative arts to UK audiences and helps to reduce the perception that we have of America as a bang-bang culture of cowboys—I blame Hollywood for that. That mission is all the more important today.

In Bath we are so lucky, but the picture nationally is far more sober. Decades of local authority funding cuts leave local museums unable to open their doors or plan for the future. As non-statutory services, museums are too often the first to go. Councils face impossible funding choices. Spending on museums fell by 27% between 2009 and 2020—a shocking legacy of the last Conservative Government. A study published by the Mapping Museums Lab documented that, across the UK, over 500 museums have closed in the last 25 years.

When such valuable cultural assets vanish, it affects some of the most disadvantaged in our society. Children from more deprived backgrounds are already significantly less likely to visit museums. They are less likely to have parents who take them, to attend a school with the budget for trips, and to live near a major national museum, so the small local museum might be the only point of cultural contact available to them. If such museums are forced to close, we are not just losing buildings; we are pulling up the ladder and telling whole communities that their history does not merit preservation, that culture is something that happens elsewhere and that heritage is only for those with money.

The economic case for keeping our museums open is compelling, and the social case is equally strong. Museums improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation and strengthen community cohesion, and volunteers find community and purpose in them—but I want to dwell on education. Local museums offer something that national institutions cannot: proximity. A child visiting a local museum is not learning about history in the abstract; they are learning about the people who lived in their own town or city, worked their land and built their streets. That sense of belonging to a story that stretches back centuries matters enormously for how young people understand themselves and their place in the world. Many schools build museum visits into their curriculum because they are fun and different from what happens in a classroom. Many schools’ trips are now under enormous pressure, but trips to the local museum are inexpensive. It may be the only cultural institution that a child visits all year, and for some children it will be the first time they have been to a museum.

In this country, culture is not equally distributed. Access to museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites is closely linked to income and social background. We need a fair deal for funding local authorities that properly reflects the value of cultural services. The Government must place far greater emphasis on heritage and local history as a public good. Every community deserves a museum. Every child deserves access to their heritage. That should not depend on where they live, how much money their family has or whether enough volunteers can hold things together for just one more year. I urge the Government to act before more of our local museum treasures are lost for good.

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[Wera Hobhouse]

Since we have a little time, we should congratulate the whole sector for making museums so much more engaging and fun. I remember being dragged to museums when I was young. They were boring places to be, and I could just about survive for half an hour. These days, museums are places where people really want to stay, because the whole sector has been transformed into something with which everybody can engage. We should take this opportunity to congratulate the museum sector for all it has done in the last generation.

[Ian Murray]

We should congratulate everyone involved. The way that we curate and develop museums is renowned across the world. Many countries look to the UK for the expertise to build their own capability, because we do the best museums and exhibitions in the world and have the best skills. Congratulations to all of them.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South wants to talk about the Lunar Gardens project. Baroness Twycross will be delighted to talk to her about that, and we will make sure my hon. Friend has an appropriate meeting in place as soon as possible.

My hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) talked about her three children, and how museums are a key component of the local community and education. She also talked about entertainment and telling the stories of the past that shaped future generations. I have a five-year-old and a one-year-old, and my five-year-old loves being in museums. He loves looking at the exhibitions, but he loves just being in big spaces he can enjoy and run around in. I do not know if Dracula is a son of Derby, but it is something that we should perhaps debate further, maybe in an Adjournment debate with the lights out.

My hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire (Douglas McAllister) is absolutely right that Denny’s shipyard built the Cutty Sark, and it celebrates the proud innovation and heritage of shipbuilding on the Clyde. It might not be an entirely accurate statistic, but I think I am right in saying that, 150 years ago, 90% of the ships sailing anywhere in the world were built either on the Clyde or somewhere near the Clyde. That innovation and heritage has to be respected and celebrated. He rightly talked about the local pride of maintaining and developing local museums that tell local stories. I think the statistics show that 89% of adults say that museums are important to their local pride and local culture.

My hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) said that Captain Cook would probably have been a constituent 300 years ago. I would probably describe him as an L5Y—only half the Chamber will know what I am talking about. Again, Baroness Twycross will be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to talk about some of the issues he has with museums in his constituency. He said something important that sums up the whole debate: “Some museums are small in scale but enormous in impact.” That is great for telling local stories. It is the impact on young people, schools and heritage that he is talking about. He also talked about the Land of Iron getting a national title. Arts Council England, via accreditation, will consider all requests from museums to become nationally styled where they have a strong story and strong case to make.

On the Captain Cook Museum, Middlesbrough council museums were awarded £240,000 from the museum renewal fund last year, and the Land of Iron was awarded a MEND grant worth £650,000 in February last year, so we are supporting those museums. For the hon. Member for Bath, we had 93% satisfaction for her speech as well. She talked about what is happening with the Bath museums, and she talked about museums closing and the delicate position that many local museums, particularly smaller ones, are in.

I do not want to diminish the seriousness of a lot of the stories we have heard about our local museums, but an independent academic study has found that since 2000 the number of museums in the UK has risen. Despite the 500 closures since 2000, there have been more new museums in the UK, although it has plateaued since about 2015-16. There is a lot of work to do, but it is not all bad news in our museum sector. Arts Council England supports the museums and schools programme with £1.2 million a year to make sure it happens.

It is wonderful that the shadow Minister has some Dracula jokes, but they are so old that perhaps they should be in a museum themselves. However, museums need local authority funding. We should not turn this into a political debate, as it has been so collegiate today, but the last Government, during their 14 years in power, completely and utterly decimated local authority funding right across the country. That was the starting point for culture and arts to be diminished—they are not statutory, so they fall away.

On the Hodge review, Arts Council England has been looking not only at how local authorities can be better supported but at how they can be better held to account for what they do on arts and culture. Hopefully, the review will come through and we can respond very soon.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford), made a strange point about freedom of speech and editorial freedom. I do not think it is for the Government or the Opposition, or indeed any politician, to tell museums how they should celebrate our heritage. Many of the political issues we are dealing with today relate to the past. Some of the best museums in the world that I have visited address political issues such as slavery, and we should make sure that we maintain that approach. Actually, a lot of the stories we tell in politics today are not new—they are stories of the past—and I hope the public engage with them, and the public will determine whether they are good things to reflect.

Small Charity Sector

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing this important debate.

I hear time and again from local Bath charities that they are disadvantaged due to their size. They are incredible, committed and dedicated niche charities, doing excellent work in our communities. Because they are small and locally focused they can deliver swift, sensitive and tailored personal services to the people who need them, but they are disadvantaged because they are small. They are disadvantaged because they cannot afford a team of experienced bid writers who know the tips and hacks to unlock the larger funding schemes, and because they are all going for the same pots of funding at the same time, for largely the same aims. They are also disadvantaged because they lack the economies of scale that benefit the nationals, and the central infrastructure to navigate onerous administration, monitoring and governance rules.

I recently convened a roundtable of smaller charities all working in the domestic abuse space in Bath, to hear about their challenges. Outstanding local charities such as Southside, the Nelson Trust, Developing Health & Independence, Voices, Society Without Abuse and Julian House attended, along with our local authority partners, officers and councillors, who are vital elements for policy setting, commissioning and delivery. Bringing them together created a space to work towards a more joined-up response for domestic abuse victims and survivors in Bath, working together rather than competing with each other.

Overwhelmingly, I heard from them how the fragmentation of local delivery impeded their effectiveness, and how partnerships and collaborations were key to reducing that. As a result, regular roundtables are now taking place, at which they share best practice, limit duplication of support to some clients, and locate the gaps in provision to others. It is an opportunity to map out a clearer, more collaborative and less fragmented domestic abuse pathway for local organisations. We are creating a space where charities can build rapport with one another while discussing some of the issues that the sector faces.

I hope that will begin to eliminate the barriers that smaller charities face due to the administration, monitoring and governance issues that the large national charities navigate with relative ease. I hope that in this way we can ensure that the size of a charity never determines the difference that it can make. While I echo the concerns that have been raised today, I very much hope that my example from Bath can help other hon. Members and the charities in their local areas.

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

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this important debate. His commitment to small charitable organisations is evident not only in his speech, but through his work in that area, and indeed in this place, over many years.

I begin by paying tribute to small charities and the critical support that they provide to people across the country, which has been highlighted today. Small charities make up the vast majority of the voluntary community and social enterprise sector. Those responsive, locally engaged groups are often best placed to understand the strengths, capabilities and cultures that make up their local communities. In this debate, we heard a number of examples, and I want to mention a few of them.

The right hon. Member spoke about Ripple, based in Portsmouth, and about how, in response to personal tragedy, it set up a lifesaving tool. It is incredibly important that he shared that example with the House today, and I will reflect it to the relevant Minister. My hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) spoke powerfully about a number of charities, as did Members from across the House. My hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) said that Greta, a representative of one of his local charities, is here in Parliament. I join him in welcoming them.

The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) raised important issues, such as digital poverty, that affect rural communities. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), who shared an example of her work bringing local domestic violence charities together; I am pleased to hear that that work is ongoing. The right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) raised a specific question about Pride in Place. It is a policy led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and I have met with the relevant Minister. The policy is grounded in local leadership, but I will ensure that the right hon. Member’s points are put to that Minister and will write to him accordingly.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised the importance of small charities in tackling food poverty, something that I have seen in my constituency. That point was also made by the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan); I will write to him about his specific question, but I will touch on some of the points he made later in my speech. I congratulate the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson), on his new role at the CSJ, and will address some of the points he put to me later.

Yesterday I met a range of charitable organisations at events hosted by the York Centre for Voluntary Services and the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership. Those charities play a vital role in their local communities, giving a voice to those living in poverty, supporting unpaid carers and empowering women, often victims of domestic violence, to improve their lives. In my area of Barnsley, whether it be BIADS—Barnsley Independent Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support—of which I am a patron, or the world-class Barnsley Youth Choir, small charities are at the forefront of innovation and social change.

In last month alone I have met two great small charities from across the country: the Family Volunteering Club, a small charity led by Maddy Mills, creating opportunities for young children and their families to volunteer, and Ruff & Ruby, a King’s award-winning youth charity carrying out important work in Stoke-on-Trent. Ruff & Ruby has the UTH CITY app, which connects young people with resources, education, employment, volunteering and suicide prevention. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) gave some excellent examples of its work, and I was pleased to visit his area last year to meet a number of charities and hear at first hand about the work they are doing.

I acknowledge the financial pressures faced by the sector. The hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) and a number of others put to me points around national insurance, which we have debated a number of times, and a specific point about VAT. That is an issue for the Treasury, but I will reflect his request to the relevant Minister and write to him. We want to reduce administrative burdens on businesses, including charities, by a quarter by the end of this Parliament. Last October, I set out a series of changes to the financial thresholds for charities that will come into force this year. These will save charities an average of £47 million each year, while ensuring that the regulation of the sector remains proportionate.

The civil society covenant, which represents a fundamental shift in how Government works with the sector, is a recognition of the value that civil society brings, and a commitment to work in partnership to deliver better for citizens and communities. I was pleased to meet a number of civil society organisations at London City Hall towards the end of last year to discuss how the civil society covenant can help the Government to connect with the whole sector. In that context, I do not recognise the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green’s characterisation that the Government do not listen and engage, or that they simply take small charities for granted. I acknowledge that we can always do better, but the covenant is about having the ambition to do exactly that.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched an £11.6 million local covenant partnership fund. The fund will support local government, public service providers and civil society organisations to work collaboratively to tackle local policy priorities and better meet the needs of local communities. Outside this place, I know that there have been questions from charities regarding the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024; while that question has not been raised in this debate, I make it clear to Members and the sector that charities can continue to claim gift aid where eligible and compliant with consumer law, where it applies.

I met with the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage), and the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston), to discuss the topic last week, alongside colleagues from the Department for Business and Trade. I am aware of the sector’s concerns and I am committed to working with colleagues in DBT and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on the issue. I wrote to the Chair of the Committee today in response to her letter to me on Friday to provide an update and confirm that, in relation to gift aid, secondary legislation is not necessary at this time.

I will touch on some of the broader DCMS and Government support for charities, answering a question put to me by my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger). Last summer, DCMS published the Government’s first ever dormant asset strategy, mapping out how the £440 million of funding will be distributed. That will include £132.5 million to benefit young people and £87.5 million for social investment. Funding will go towards providing small, affordable loans to grassroots organisations alongside tailored support to help small enterprises to grow and become more financially resilient. I recognise that there is a need to support more civil society organisations to grow their income from public sector contracts. At present, civil society organisations secure just 4% of the total value of those contracts, a figure that has remained unchanged for the past 10 years.

The national procurement policy statement published in February 2025 underlines the Government’s commitment to strengthening the UK economy by maximising opportunities for civil society organisations to access public contracts. That is a clear signal that the sector’s expertise and value will be recognised and supported throughout the public sector, highlighting our ambition to make it easier for civil society organisations of all sizes, and small and medium-sized enterprises, to deliver public contracts. I think that answers the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Southport.

[Wera Hobhouse]

Does the Minister agree that small local charities cannot compete with national charities? We have made that point time and again, but she has not made any comment on how competition can be achieved or how local charities can get priority. I have many examples in Bath where a national charity gets a bid through the bidding process but does not deliver as well as a local charity. We find that out afterwards, but then it is too late.

[Stephanie Peacock]

That is a very fair point, and one that I have seen in my own constituency of Barnsley. In the interest of time, I will not share the details of my example, but I will take that point away and write to the hon. Lady directly on it. We want to address that specific point through the covenant.

Moving on to the second point of my hon. Friend the Member for Southport about tax reliefs for charities, charities and their donors received around £6.7 billion in tax relief in the 2024-25 tax year. The long-running gift aid scheme has raised over £1.7 billion alone during that period. I attended a roundtable hosted by Amazon and co-chaired by Gordon Brown on the new VAT relief for business donations on goods to charities. As the Chancellor announced at the Budget, that new relief will increase the supply of essential items available to charities and make it easier for businesses to support charitable work. The former Prime Minister deserves huge credit for his leadership on that issue throughout his establishment of Multibank.

As he outlined in his speech, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green and the Centre for Social Justice have a keen interest in growing philanthropy in the UK, especially for small charities. A number of other Members raised that issue too. We recognise that many small charities rely on donations from the public to support their work, and while I am aware that there is more work to do, I acknowledge the £15 billion that was donated last year. We want to better connect, unlock and partner with philanthropists to mobilise private funds for public good, a point put to me by the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis). I recently chaired a roundtable on that subject, bringing together philanthropists, business leaders and other Government Departments to discuss how we can build philanthropic giving into Government missions.

We are committed to a place-based philanthropy strategy. That will set out how the Government can create an environment that encourages philanthropists to support local communities and ensures that the benefits of philanthropy are felt nationwide. Indeed, the hon. Member for East Wiltshire (Danny Kruger) raised the issue of philanthropy being a priority for the City of London. I was pleased to attend and speak at the Giving and Impact summit last year at the London Stock Exchange.

The shadow Minister mentioned the Office for the Impact Economy. Launched by the Prime Minister, it is the Government’s new central hub for investors, philanthropists and businesses looking to make social impact. The office will make sure that charities can access funding beyond traditional grants and give direction to individuals and organisations looking to make a difference. I am happy to set up a meeting for Members who are interested in that area with the new office, so please do contact me.

We cannot debate charities without mentioning volunteers. Volunteers keep charities running, with around 12 million volunteers giving their time and commitment each year. Yesterday in York, I met the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action, which shared with me the work it does to encourage people to get involved in a variety of ways. It was a particular pleasure to speak to the young volunteers, and I wish the York Centre for Voluntary Services the very best with its volunteering fair tomorrow, which will bring together many charities from across their city.

Grassroots Cricket Clubs

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Turner. I congratulate the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing this debate. Cricket is not played much in Germany, so I had to come a long way when I married my cricket-loving husband who spent most of his summer weekends either playing or listening to endless—and I thought monotonous —commentary on the radio, but I quickly brushed up on the meaning of “googly” and “duck”.

In those days, cricket was very much a man’s game, and the woman’s role was to sit and watch. I felt I had become a cricket widow—I had the option to take along my toddlers, who would then invade the pitch as children do, or to wait at home long into the evening until a game was finished. As the years went by, it got better, becoming something my husband did with his sons.

It got a little worse again when, under my husband’s watch, my son knocked out his front tooth—with very little sympathy from his dad, who said, “He knows he has to catch like this and to get his head out of the way,” and very little sympathy for me as a mother, who thought her beautiful son was ruined forever. He has since found love. Of course, I learned to love the game—and what a beautiful game it is.

Grassroots cricket clubs are a vital part of my community in Bath, with some fantastic local initiatives. I will begin by repeating some of the challenges facing grassroots cricket clubs in state schools. The findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report are clearly unacceptable.

The report found that children in state schools remain heavily under-represented on the sport’s talent pathways. It described widespread and deep-rooted elitism and class-based discrimination, alongside structural and institutional racism and sexism, as we have already heard. Two of the biggest barriers are the lack of cricket provision in state schools and the high cost of equipment. All of us in this room agree that a child’s opportunity to get involved in sports should never depend on their parents’ income or the type of school they attend.

The England and Wales Cricket Board responded with its state school action plan 2024, which also laid bare the inequalities that exist within the sport. An independent school is eight times more likely to have a proper grass pitch and 10 times more likely to have a qualified coach. Given these facts, it is no wonder that most county and national-level players come from private schools.

I will now come on to the positive part of my speech about the inspirational work of Lansdown cricket club in Bath. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest club in Somerset. I was proud to attend its 200th anniversary this year, where a microphone was put in front of my face and I had to say what is great about cricket. I said, “It covers so many sporting talents: you have to run, you have to catch a ball, you have to bat and you have to”—at that point, I could not think of that special word, so I said, “throw the ball.” Even though I had spent so much time watching and listening to cricket games, I could not think of that important word—bowl.

The anniversary was a wonderful community event, and it showed that cricket clubs provide so much for their communities beyond sport. Lansdown’s partnerships with local state schools have been transformative. Using a cluster model, it has worked with three local primary schools and one secondary school to deliver more than 200 coaching sessions to nearly 5,000 children.

Lansdown’s success shows what can happen when local clubs, schools and sponsors pull together, but it also shows how fragile those projects can be without sustained investment. Bath is blessed with many grassroots clubs, but significant constraints remain, particularly regarding facilities for girls and access to local coaches. That is why Government investment must reach the grassroots directly.

Alongside centralised cricket domes in major cities, funding should flow to proven networks such as Chance to Shine, the Lord’s Taverners and the Somerset Cricket Foundation. Those excellent organisations already know the local landscape and can ensure that funds reach the children who need them most.

Earlier this year, the Government announced a much reduced investment of £1.5 million for only two cricket domes in Luton and Preston, after cancelling the previous £35 million commitment made by the former Prime Minister in April 2024, as we have already heard. That decision was deeply disappointing, and will limit the potential to reach children in underprivileged areas who do not have access to cricket at school.

The case for support is wider than just sport. Through initiatives such as “Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams”, we have seen how structured team sport changes lives. It improves mental health, reduces anxiety, builds self-esteem and creates a sense of belonging for young people who may struggle elsewhere. Cricket can be such a wonderfully inclusive game if we want it to be. It values patience and teamwork—yes, listening to a lot of cricket commentary requires patience too—welcomes a range of body types and personalities, and offers a place for every child to thrive.

Finally, I echo two of the key recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket. First, the Government should make resources available for significantly higher levels of cricket provision in state schools. Secondly, Ministers should work actively with private schools to open up their facilities and gift coaching hours to local state schools. I ask the Minister: what progress has been made on achieving those goals? Clubs such as Lansdown have shown us that, when local partnerships are properly supported, cricket can be a genuine force for community inclusion and opportunity. I hope that Bath’s success can be replicated across the country.

BBC Leadership

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

As I said to the House just a moment ago, the charter review marks the start of the next chapter of the BBC’s long and proud history. That will be the moment when we can come together as a whole House and a whole country to agree the future of the BBC.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

There are certainly many questions—particularly for those who deliberately set out to destroy the BBC—but I want to ask the Secretary of State this one. In the absence of the ability to remove certain members from the board, will she make a commitment that all future appointments should be conducted through a transparent process rather than being political appointments?

[Lisa Nandy]

The House was asked to approve the terms of the last charter. Similarly, the House will be asked to approve the terms of the next charter, which will set out how the BBC will operate for the next decade. It will certainly look at appointments, transparency and structures, and that will be the hon. Member’s opportunity to get involved.

Football Governance Bill [Lords]

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

I start my comments by speaking not as the Chair of the Select Committee, but as a football fan—in particular, with apologies to the hon. Members for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) and for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe), as a Portsmouth FC fan. I understand very well what a football club means to a community, a local way of life and the fans, and what they will do to protect it. In the five years that followed Portsmouth’s fantastic FA cup victory in 2008, we really went through the wringer. The club boardroom seemed to have a revolving door. We had a succession of owners, each worse than the last. The club entered administration twice, and it had a 10-point deduction on two occasions. Pompey suffered three relegations in four seasons. I saw what that did to the city of my birth and to the fans, who feel as strongly about the club as I do.

The club was pulled from the brink of oblivion by the largest fan-led buy-out in history—fans put their money where their mouth is. They had to, because the club was at risk of extinction. The Pompey Supporters Trust was formed. Some 2,300 Pompey fans invested their own money and became shareholders, raising around £2.5 million. Remarkably, under that fan-led ownership model, the Pompey Supporters Trust was able to declare the club debt-free in September 2014, just 18 months after taking over.

Not all clubs are so lucky. Time and again we have heard in the Chamber stories of clubs falling into the hands of unscrupulous owners who have little regard or care for the club history, or what it means to the local community. They do not listen to the fans, who we all know are the blood that runs through the veins of our football clubs up and down the country. It was that, alongside the spectre of the European super league, that the previous Government had in mind when they commissioned the fan-led review, captained so brilliantly by my friend Dame Tracey Crouch. It was pivotal in the genesis of this Bill. I hope that this rebooted Bill will protect English football and keep clubs at the beating heart of their communities, just as much as its previous iteration did.

Some of the Government’s changes to the legislation echo the previous Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s recommendations. First, on enhanced fan engagement, we know that English football fans are some of the most passionate in the world. Their voices must be heard. For too long, fans have been left in the dark about decisions on ticket pricing, home shirt colour changes and home ground relocation. I welcome the Bill’s commitment on that. I also welcome the removal of the requirement for the regulator to consider Government foreign and trade policy when deciding whether to approve club takeovers. That should ensure the regulator’s operational independence from Government—a subject to which I will return.

There has been controversy around aspects of the Bill, and particularly on the inclusion of parachute payments in the financial distribution mechanism, which has inevitably sparked hostility towards the Bill. However, in a room of 10 people there would be 10 different opinions on how the parachute payments should work. The legislation will never please everybody. Some people oppose the Bill entirely, and others have voiced dissent for myriad reasons; there is growing criticism of the Bill this time around. The sheer number of amendments tabled in the other place was a sign of that discontent. It will be crucial to ensure that the legislation is right, and we have only one chance to do so.

I suggest we take a moment to remind ourselves of the findings of the fan-led review, and of why the idea of a regulator was conceived in the first place. It was conceived because self-regulation simply is not working, although it was given many chances over many years. The leagues have not been able to reach a deal on financial distribution themselves. We should not forget that, left to their own devices, six greedy clubs planned to break away to form the European super league, risking English football itself.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Does the hon. Lady agree that it is shame that there has not been recognition from the Dispatch Box that there would be no premier league if there was no grassroots football? The better our grassroots football, the better the league will be.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage]

The hon. Lady is right. English football thrives because the ecosystem runs from the grassroots to the top of the elite. Our job is to ensure that it continues to thrive, and that every aspect of that ecosystem is protected and supported. Some irresponsible club owners continue to play fast and loose with club finances and assets. Far too many clubs have been on the brink of collapse, and that is why the regulator must have a role in protecting English football. However, the regulator will need to bring together all voices in that complex ecosystem for it to work properly.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which I chair, is looking forward to our pre-appointment hearing with David Kogan, the preferred candidate, next week. It has been a long journey to get here, as I am sure the Secretary of State appreciates, having scheduled and then postponed hearings more than once, as Ministers have struggled to pick a candidate. The chair of the football regulator will be utterly critical to ensuring that the regulator performs its role well. They will steer the ship. They will set the temperature for football, going forward. They will have to come in on the front foot and broker strong relationships with stakeholders across football to get full buy-in. I have already spoken about some of the nay-sayers and detractors. The chair will need to build faith and demonstrate a good understanding of the dynamic football ecosystem to have the clout that they will need. However, they need to ensure they do not come with a load of industry baggage. It is a really difficult position to be in. At the same time, to be effective, they must demonstrate regulatory experience.

Ultimately, the chair will have to demonstrate that they can be objective, fair and, crucially, independent of Government, the leagues and individual football clubs. It is a very difficult job to recruit for. Indeed, UEFA has raised concerns and threatened sanctions over the prospect of Government interference. That is why I am surprised that the Government have proposed a candidate who is so close to the Labour party, and who has donated money to the Chancellor and others. It raises concerns about whether the regulator can truly be seen as independent, given their close ties to members of the Government. I expect that the Committee will want to explore that in detail when we hear from Mr Kogan next week. He will need to demonstrate that he intends the regulator to be operationally 100% independent from political interference. I struggle to see how that will happen, but my mind is open, because the Select Committee’s job is to hold a pre-appointment hearing with this potential regulator.

As other hon. Members have mentioned, the former chair of the BBC, clearly a talented, capable and very smart man, was undone by the impression that he gave of lacking independence from Government. Like the BBC, very many people out there are willing this body to fail, and I do not want to see that happen. The worst-case scenario for everybody is if the regulator is undermined in its infancy.

Even before the chair is in place, there have been some concerning signs about the Government’s approach to the independent football regulator. We know that many clubs in the premier league in particular have expressed misgivings and in some cases very strong opposition to the regulator. Despite what the Secretary of State has said—she has spoken very strongly on this—there are some lingering doubts. The whole process has been plagued by leaks and delays. Members have seen and heard the rumours that the regulator was poised to be thrown out on to the latest bonfire of quangos even before it had started. When discussing the so-called blockers, it seems telling that the Government chose to single out the Gardens Trust, Sport England and the Theatres Trust, which will no longer be consulted over planning. When considering AI and copyright, the Government seem to be siding with big tech over creative industries. Members will forgive me for beginning to feel like the sectors we represent on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee are not valued by the Secretary of State’s Department.

I look forward to hearing next week from the proposed regulator and to seeing the Bill progress through the House. I think the Bill can improve the resilience of clubs and encourage sensible financial decisions. I would like clarity on how the regulator will operate alongside the cost control measures that it will have no oversight of, such as premier league profit and sustainability rules, which we have recently seen clubs such as Chelsea manipulate to their own advantage and which will arguably undermine the regulator. I would be grateful if the Minister came back to me on that. I also want cast-iron assurances that the Bill will prevent the sort of painful, appalling situation that has been experienced by Reading FC with its owner, Dai Yongge. Otherwise, we will all be wasting our time.

It is imperative that this Bill safeguards English football, which is central to our communities and to the national fabric of our country. Football is a unifier: it brings people together for the love of the game, from the grassroots to the top of the elite clubs, and it is the envy of the world. All the other countries in the world would love to have our football leagues. We must secure its future for generations to come.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

I think Kate Bush was running up that hill, too. Look, the truth of the matter is, as I have said many times, that we will not progress in this area unless we are absolutely certain that we will secure more licensing of content by British creatives, rather than less. That is absolutely key to what would be success for us. I hope that people will take us at face value on that.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

T5. Mr Speaker, I am afraid that I do not have a song title to go with this question. [Hon. Members: “Oh, no!”] Bath council’s spending on youth services has declined by 82% since 2010, according to a recent YMCA report. With the cancellation of the National Citizen Service, can the Minister tell us whether the money will be reallocated to support new services in areas such as mine?

[Lisa Nandy]

We were astonished when we took office back in July to discover that there was no national youth strategy to help shape and grip the challenges facing a generation. We are determined to change that. We have moved at pace to set up the youth steering group that is imminently launching a consultation. It will be the biggest conversation that we have ever had with this nation’s young people. We are also allocating more than £85 million-worth of capital funding to create welcoming spaces for young people through the new Better Youth Spaces fund. I can assure the hon. Lady that the young people remain our top priority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

Yes, I congratulate the church. I know that lots of people are interested in the future of the fund. The best way of describing how the Department is approaching that is to quote a hymn:

“God is working this purpose out,

As year succeeds to year…

Nearer and nearer draws the time,

The time that shall surely be”

when we announce.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

T2.   The last Conservative Government left music education in a dire state. In Bath, the Orchestra of Everything Foundation is working against that tide with great success as 70% of the children it reaches take up a second instrument. What will the Government do to improve music education?

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I would be delighted to do so. I thank the hon. Member for her support for theatres, arts and culture, and for always being a strong voice for them in this place. One reason that we have prioritised expanding the creative careers programme is that we are determined that as many parts of the country as possible play their full part in the growth success story that is our creative industries, and that young people in such communities get access to those opportunities and go on to have flourishing careers. I would be delighted to come and open the theatre when the work is finally done.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Bath is a city of music, but so many of the musicians in the city and across the UK face enormous bureaucratic barriers when they want to perform in the EU. Can the Secretary of State update me on what progress has been made on this issue?

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that incredibly important issue. We have heard the message loud and clear from the music industry that the deal that was struck on touring is having a difficult effect on many artists from the UK. We are also aware that that works both ways, and we need a much improved agreement with our friends in the European Union to ensure that their artists can come and perform here and our artists can freely go and perform there. My right hon. Friend the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office is currently undertaking those negotiations, and we are determined to resolve the issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 22nd February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s question because it allows me to champion the fact that, as a requirement of the Government’s investment in grassroots facilities, 40% of projects need to clearly benefit a sport other than football, such as cricket, rugby, basketball or netball. In England, the Football Foundation and Sport England work closely with the national governing bodies of other sports to encourage the development of multi-sport projects, to promote collaboration between clubs at a local level.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Over 1 million girls lose interest in sports when they become teenagers, mainly due to lack of confidence and feeling judged, but we know how beneficial sports are for mental health, and there are many other benefits. How has the Department included gender in the implementation of the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme?

[Lucy Frazer]

I welcome that question. We have a national sports strategy to get 3.5 million people more active. That is focused on trying to get those who are currently inactive into sport. As the hon. Lady rightly mentions, women and girls are less active in sport than boys and men, so we are focusing in particular on that, with a national taskforce that brings together all relevant Departments and national governing bodies to ensure that we get more women and girls involved in sport across the board.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 16th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

The measures in the Media Bill will protect the position of radio in relation to voice-activated smart speakers, ensuring that listeners can find their favourite radio stations on request. In particular, when a listener requests a specific station, they should receive that station.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

8. What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to increase the uptake of music among children.

[The Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries (Sir John Whittingdale)]

In June 2022, we published the new national plan for music education, which aims to level up music opportunities for all children and young people regardless of circumstance, needs or geography. Since publication, we have worked with the Department for Education to progress delivery of the music hub investment programme and the music progression fund.

[Wera Hobhouse]

I recently welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament, and it was a wonderful evening. Sadly, too few young people have the opportunity to learn an instrument, or to perform or enjoy music, and the number of GCSE music entrants has fallen by 12.5%. The Minister mentioned the new national plan for music education. Will he update us on how many schools have implemented that plan, and will we get regular updates about any increase in the number of GCSE music entrants?