Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether independent guidance will be issued to sports governing bodies on prevention of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports, and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. The government expects sports to do all they can to protect their players.
I welcome work by sports to provide practical support to former players who develop neurodegenerative conditions. This includes the work of player associations, who play a valuable role in supporting players by providing short and long-term support to those affected by sporting injuries. I have discussed the issue of dementia with the Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, specifically the need for the Premier League to make progress on their promise to allocate funding towards a new Football Brain Health Fund for players impacted by dementia. The Brain Health Fund was subsequently announced in September 2023. The fund aims to assist former players and their families who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.
The Government continues to take the issue of head injuries very seriously. In December 2021 DCMS published its Command Paper report on concussion in sport, outlining the steps the Government is undertaking to help reduce risks associated with head injuries by improving understanding, awareness, prevention and treatment of concussion in sport. As part of this, in April 2023 the Government announced the first UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport, in conjunction with the Sport and Recreation Alliance. This guidance is intended to be a helpful tool in reducing the risks associated with concussion and marks an important step in making sport safer for thousands of people who enjoy sport at a grassroots level, as well as an aid to professional sports.
Further research on the links between health, dementia and contact sport is needed to better understand the issue. To that end, DCMS established a Sports Concussion Research Forum in July 2022 to identify key research questions that need answering in this important area. The research forum is now formulating a report to identify the priority research questions for the sector that need to be addressed, with the final report expected in 2024.
The Government remains committed to working with sports to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.
Asked by: Mark Eastwood (Conservative - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) FIFA and (b) UEFA on (i) the compatibility of the Football Governance Bill with their own regulations and (ii) ensuring that the enforcement of the Bill will not lead to (A) financial and (B) sporting sanctions being placed on football clubs.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have met with FIFA and UEFA at Ministerial and Official level on an on-going basis as part of the engagement with industry in relation to the Football Governance Bill, which received its First Reading on 19 March 2024. During these engagements, discussions have included the compatibility of the ` Independent Football Regulator’s regulatory regime with FIFA’s and UEFA’s own regulations. We are confident that the Bill is compatible with FIFA and UEFA rules and will not lead to financial and sporting sanctions being placed on football clubs by FIFA or UEFA. We will continue to engage FIFA and UEFA as the Bill moves through parliament.
Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) number and (b) value of grants made through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is investing over £325 million between 2021 and 2025 to level up facilities across the whole of the UK. The programme provides funding to make essential facility improvements, so that communities have a high-quality pitch to play on, and is a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to levelling up all corners of the United Kingdom.
Since 2021, over £200 million has been invested in over 2,400 sites across the UK, improving the natural and artificial grass pitches on offer to communities and upgrading floodlights, goalposts, changing rooms and toilet facilities. All funded projects are listed on gov.uk at this link:
Grants that were awarded in England prior to 2021 were delivered by the Football Foundation, funded through Sport England. Sport England’s funding to the Football Foundation is available on their website, along with all awards made by Sport England to football clubs since 2009: https://www.sportengland.org/
Sport is devolved - grants made in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland prior to the Multi-Sports Grassroots Facilities Programme are a matter for the Devolved Administrations.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age, published on 27 April, when they will publish the cross-sport Code of Conduct outlined in that paper; and whether they will include an implementation timeline.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All domestic sports governing bodies have agreed to four core principles underpinning the cross-sport Code of Conduct on gambling sponsorship: (i) protecting children and young people; (ii) socially responsible promotion; (iii) reinvestment in sport; and (iv) maintaining sporting integrity. These principles put in place a robust minimum standard for sponsorship across all sports. Through the code, a proportion of in-stadium advertising will be dedicated to safer gambling, and replica kits for adults will be made available without gambling logos, alongside the existing requirements for children’s replica kits.
We want sports governing bodies to have sufficient flexibility to implement these principles in a way which maximises impact for the sports and their fans. Bespoke, sport-specific codes are currently being designed by individual governing bodies, and will be published and implemented in due course. The Premier League and English Football League plan to have their codes in place by next season. DCMS will continue to work closely with sports bodies to ensure that implementation and enforcement processes are robust.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Football Governance Bill and independent football regulator on the governance structures and processes in football clubs and leagues.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Governance Bill, introduced to the House of Commons on 19 March, will establish an Independent Football Regulator. In consultation with interested parties and experts, the new regulator will publish a ‘Football Club Corporate Governance Code’. Clubs will be required to report on corporate governance, setting out how they apply the Code in their individual circumstances. This approach has been designed to be proportionate, and to increase transparency, scrutiny and accountability with regard to how football clubs are run.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the issue of a licence by the Office of Financial Solutions in May 2022 to enable the sale of Chelsea Football Club, why the sale has not been expedited, when the anticipated £2.5 billion realised by the sale will become available to support victims of the conflict in Ukraine, and whether the funds may be used for the creation of an International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question HL2826 given on 13 March 2024, which can be found on the Q&A web pages (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-02-28/hl2826).
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve support for ex-footballers with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. I welcome work by the football industry to protect players from harm and provide practical support to former players who develop neurodegenerative conditions. One example of this is the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Football Brain Health Fund, supported by the Premier League and announced in September 2023, which aims to assist former players and their families who have been impacted by dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions.
The Government continues to take the issue of head injuries very seriously. In December 2021 DCMS published its Command Paper report on concussion in sport; outlining the steps the government is undertaking to help reduce risks associated with head injuries by improving understanding, awareness, prevention and treatment of concussion in sport. As part of this, in April 2023 the Government announced the first UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport, in conjunction with the Sport and Recreation Alliance. This guidance is intended to be a helpful tool in reducing the risks associated with concussion and marks an important step in making sport safer for thousands of people who enjoy sport at a grassroots level, as well as an aid to professional sports.
Further research on the links between health, dementia and contact sport is needed to better understand the issue. To that end, DCMS established a Sports Concussion Research Forum in July 2022 to identify key research questions that need answering in this important area.
The government remains committed to working with sports to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the cross-sport Code of Conduct is (a) robust and (b) workable in practice; and what lessons she has learnt from the application of CAP code 2.1 for regulation of breaches of the Code.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All domestic sports governing bodies have agreed to four core principles underpinning the cross-sport Code of Conduct on gambling sponsorship: (i) protecting children and young people (ii) socially responsible promotion (iii) reinvestment into sport (iv) maintaining sporting integrity. These principles put in place a robust minimum standard for sponsorship across all sports. Through the code, a proportion of in-stadia advertising will be dedicated to safer gambling messaging, and replica kits for adults will be made available without gambling logos, alongside the existing requirements for childrens’ replica kits.
Sports governing bodies must have sufficient flexibility to implement these principles in a way which maximises impact for the sports and their fans. Bespoke, sport-specific Codes are currently being designed by individual sports governing bodies, and will be implemented in due course. The Premier League and English Football League plan to have their Codes in place by next season. DCMS will continue to work closely with sports on their implementation and enforcement practices.
As a licence condition, gambling operators must comply with the restrictions set out in the Advertising Codes, which includes robust rules under section 2 regulating the recognition of marketing communications. Under these rules, marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such and make clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from the context. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) can and does take action against breaches, and a recent ruling can be found here. Operators are liable to enforcement action from the Gambling Commission if affiliates which they pay to carry out marketing activities do not comply with the rules.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken recent steps to designate football club grounds as assets of community value.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Assets of Community Value scheme has successfully helped community groups to take ownership of the publicly and privately-owned local assets of community value which would otherwise be at risk of loss.
The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets at risk of closure.
The Community Ownership Fund has provided £550,000 to the Oldham Boxing Club, to assist the club to carry out essential repair works, keeping the historic building open to the whole community.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the national expansion of the blue plaques scheme on the cultural heritage of Hendon constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The blue plaque scheme plays an important role in championing local cultural heritage, and its expansion will ensure that more places around the country will be able to commemorate local people who made their mark on national (and international) life.
The national expansion will build on the success of the London scheme operated by English Heritage, which covers the Hendon constituency, and which is now more than 1,000 blue plaques strong. The London scheme remains open for nominations via the English Heritage website. There are 19 blue plaques in the London Borough of Barnet, including ones dedicated to the football manager Herbert Chapman, the music hall comedian Little Tich, and Juan Pujol Garcia, also known as Agent Garbo.
Public nominations for the national blue plaques scheme will be launched at the end of May and will invite nominations from people across England to celebrate inspirational figures who deserve commemoration. The scheme, which is being developed and led by Historic England, recognises that every place has a unique story to tell, and will help communities across England discover the history and cultural heritage on our doorsteps.