Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Grants

(asked on 29th August 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department attaches provisions on paternity and parental leave when allocating grants to organisations.


Answered by
Stephanie Peacock Portrait
Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 26th September 2025

The Department does not include clauses within grant offer letters requiring organisations to adopt specific policies related to paternity or other forms of parental leave as such a requirement would likely go beyond the obligations which can be enforced by the terms and conditions of a grant. Grants are an investment in a specific project which is being run by the grant recipient rather than for the wider operation of an organisation.

The Department also does not require organisations to have specific paternity or other forms of parental leave policies in place when bidding for grants.

In the event that it became apparent that a grant recipient was not operating within its legal obligations in regard to paternity or other forms of leave then the Department could consider terminating the relevant grant agreement under clause 54 of the standard grant agreement which includes illegal activity as an event of default and therefore a reason for grant termination.

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