Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to provide long-term funding certainty for the UK Youth Parliament; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of uncertainty over future funding on Members of Youth Parliament elected in Northern Ireland for two-years.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
In March 2026, the Government announced £453,000 of funding for the UK Youth Parliament for 2026/27, to be delivered by the National Youth Agency. No decision has been made about the future of UKYP beyond March 2027.
We recognise the importance of providing clarity for Members of the Youth Parliament, including those in Northern Ireland. No specific assessment has been undertaken of the potential impact of funding uncertainty on Members of Youth Parliament in Northern Ireland.
The Government is committed to strengthening young people’s participation in democratic processes and decision-making. We are currently considering how best to deliver our ambitions for youth empowerment, informed by engagement with young people and youth organisations, including Members of Youth Parliament. We will continue to engage with colleagues in the devolved administrations on our respective approaches to youth empowerment and will share learning as this work progresses.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration he has given to establishing UK-wide capital funds and low-interest public loans for acquisition and refurbishment of creative and community spaces.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises the important role that creative and community spaces play in towns and cities across the country.
Over the course of this parliament, £1.5 billion will be invested to support arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England. It aims to keep venues open, finance urgent repairs and infrastructure projects, bolster long-term resilience, and widen access to arts and culture in communities that have faced under-investment.
The Government is also committed to communities and wants to ensure that they have the tools they need to protect local assets. Our Pride in Place programme is providing up to £5.8bn over 10 years to support 284 places. From saving youth centres and repairing playgrounds, to bringing empty buildings back into community use and expanding affordable after school activities – the Pride in Place programme has been designed to deliver improvements that matter to residents.
More widely, support for culture and the creative industries is a devolved matter. Responsibility for supporting cultural institutions and community spaces in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland therefore rests with the respective devolved government.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of businesses were assessed as being in critical financial distress in the second quarter of this year in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland; and how these figures compare with those recorded in each of the preceding four quarters.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Official data on business vulnerability is not published by the Department.
Growth is this government’s number one mission and our plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street. The Small Business Plan was launched in July 2025 and contains 200 targeted actions which will make a real difference to the operations of small businesses and help them grow. With a £4bn finance boost to increase access to finance for entrepreneurs, the British Business Bank promotes the provision of better access-to-finance information for UK SMEs. The Growth Guarantee Scheme helps businesses access loans up to £2 million per business group to be used for any business purpose, including growth and investment or working capital.
On 14th July 2026, the Chancellor announced access-to-finance measures through supporting:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure cross border policing is effectively maintained across Northern Ireland and Ireland's border.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Government remains committed to maintaining effective cross-border policing and security cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland. It holds regular discussions with the Irish Government on a range of issues, including cross-border security. Policing and Justice are devolved in Northern Ireland and a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. There is a strong and well-established culture of collaboration between the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and An Garda Síochána (AGS).
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the economic and social contribution of greyhound racing in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the important contribution that greyhound racing makes to Britain's cultural heritage, sporting landscape and economy.
The Department has not made a separate assessment of the economic and social contribution of greyhound racing in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland individually.
The most recent information available to the Department is provided by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). According to GBGB, greyhound racing contributes approximately £166 million annually to Britain's GDP, around £52 million to the Exchequer, and supports approximately 5,400 jobs across Great Britain.
The Government continues to engage regularly with the greyhound racing industry, including the GBGB, on issues relating to the sustainability, welfare and future development of the sport.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Minister of State for Development and Africa will attend Cabinet.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A full list of ministers, including their status at Cabinet, is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers, and is copied below:
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has assessed the potential impact of her Department's place-targeting approach on (a) investment in London-based media companies, (b) journalism jobs in London and (c) the UK’s wider media and creative industries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The department has adopted a new approach to place targeting across DCMS programmes that aim to improve social and community outcomes. Evidence points clearly to economic and social outcomes being systematically worse in places where both deprivation and community need is highest; places experiencing ‘double disadvantage.’ The department has implemented a focus on targeting these ‘double disadvantage’ places – to ensure that our funding is concentrated in the communities where we can make the biggest difference. This approach does not limit investment to Northern Regions, but focuses DCMS investment designed to build community cohesion and enhance opportunity in those places that need it most, including places in the South and Midlands. This approach to place targeting will benefit the UK as a whole, generating broad based economic growth across England to create a more balanced national economy, supporting stability and growth in London and across the rest of the UK.
DCMS applies this approach to relevant programmes aimed at improving social, community and wellbeing outcomes across all of our sectors – covering arts, culture and heritage, sport, civil society and youth. This approach will not be applied to programmes aimed primarily at driving economic growth or programmes that clearly have a distinct objective.
For media and journalism, as part of the Local Media Action Plan to support local journalism across the country, the department has launched a Local News Fund, to help local media outlets adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated. While final decisions on awards will take into consideration diversity in award allocation, including geographical distribution, those decisions are ultimately being guided by a Steering Board of external industry experts, to ensure a degree of independence in government decisions about funding of the media.
For the creative industries, London is identified as a priority place in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. Place-based policies in the creative industries aim to address regional market failures and support our high-growth potential creative clusters.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that support from her Department for northern regions does not inadvertently disincentivise investment and employment in London.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The department has adopted a new approach to place targeting across DCMS programmes that aim to improve social and community outcomes. Evidence points clearly to economic and social outcomes being systematically worse in places where both deprivation and community need is highest; places experiencing ‘double disadvantage.’ The department has implemented a focus on targeting these ‘double disadvantage’ places – to ensure that our funding is concentrated in the communities where we can make the biggest difference. This approach does not limit investment to Northern Regions, but focuses DCMS investment designed to build community cohesion and enhance opportunity in those places that need it most, including places in the South and Midlands. This approach to place targeting will benefit the UK as a whole, generating broad based economic growth across England to create a more balanced national economy, supporting stability and growth in London and across the rest of the UK.
DCMS applies this approach to relevant programmes aimed at improving social, community and wellbeing outcomes across all of our sectors – covering arts, culture and heritage, sport, civil society and youth. This approach will not be applied to programmes aimed primarily at driving economic growth or programmes that clearly have a distinct objective.
For media and journalism, as part of the Local Media Action Plan to support local journalism across the country, the department has launched a Local News Fund, to help local media outlets adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated. While final decisions on awards will take into consideration diversity in award allocation, including geographical distribution, those decisions are ultimately being guided by a Steering Board of external industry experts, to ensure a degree of independence in government decisions about funding of the media.
For the creative industries, London is identified as a priority place in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. Place-based policies in the creative industries aim to address regional market failures and support our high-growth potential creative clusters.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department’s place-targeting approach to investment on the media and journalism sector in London.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The department has adopted a new approach to place targeting across DCMS programmes that aim to improve social and community outcomes. Evidence points clearly to economic and social outcomes being systematically worse in places where both deprivation and community need is highest; places experiencing ‘double disadvantage.’ The department has implemented a focus on targeting these ‘double disadvantage’ places – to ensure that our funding is concentrated in the communities where we can make the biggest difference. This approach does not limit investment to Northern Regions, but focuses DCMS investment designed to build community cohesion and enhance opportunity in those places that need it most, including places in the South and Midlands. This approach to place targeting will benefit the UK as a whole, generating broad based economic growth across England to create a more balanced national economy, supporting stability and growth in London and across the rest of the UK.
DCMS applies this approach to relevant programmes aimed at improving social, community and wellbeing outcomes across all of our sectors – covering arts, culture and heritage, sport, civil society and youth. This approach will not be applied to programmes aimed primarily at driving economic growth or programmes that clearly have a distinct objective.
For media and journalism, as part of the Local Media Action Plan to support local journalism across the country, the department has launched a Local News Fund, to help local media outlets adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated. While final decisions on awards will take into consideration diversity in award allocation, including geographical distribution, those decisions are ultimately being guided by a Steering Board of external industry experts, to ensure a degree of independence in government decisions about funding of the media.
For the creative industries, London is identified as a priority place in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. Place-based policies in the creative industries aim to address regional market failures and support our high-growth potential creative clusters.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of barriers to digital connectivity in Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of accelerating gigabit-capable broadband deployment across the UK and keeps barriers to digital connectivity under review through engagement with industry, Ofcom and the Devolved Administrations. Through Project Gigabit, contracts have been signed since 2024 to connect a further 846,770 premises across the UK, including 77,640 premises in Scotland.
Openreach is currently delivering a Project Gigabit contract covering areas across Central, Northern and Western Scotland, as well as Dumfries and Galloway. Over 6,500 premises have already gained coverage as part of this delivery. In addition to this, GoFibre is delivering Project Gigabit contracts across the North East of Scotland and the Borders and East Lothian. BDUK and The Scottish Government are due to publish delivery updates on these contracts soon.
On 14 July the then Minister for Digital Economy wrote to her Scottish Government counterpart to emphasise that DCMS officials stand ready to continue discussions on targeted measures to support broadband deployment in Scotland, particularly in relation to deployments in multi-dwelling units.