Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage students to study video game design degrees.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects, including computer games design courses, which are vital to the UK’s research base, innovation capacity and Industrial Strategy.
For the 2025/26 academic year, two-thirds of the £1.3 billion Strategic Priorities Grant recurrent funding to higher education providers is allocated to support the provision of high-cost subjects. From this funding, the Office for Students is allocating £289.50 per full-time equivalent student to providers for computer games design students.
The department continues to invest in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the quality of computing teaching and increase uptake of computing qualifications. To raise awareness of further study and careers in computing and digital, the NCCE facilitates industry-led outreach events. In July 2025, over 3,000 students attended an NCCE webinar focused on careers in the games industry and further events are being planned in collaboration with partners including British Esports.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the creative sectors in (a) Birmingham, Edgbaston, (b) Birmingham and (c) the West Midlands to the UK economy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The creative industries sector is one of eight growth-driving sectors identified in the government’s Industrial Strategy. We will publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan to drive growth in the late spring. The creative industries can be found in clusters throughout the UK, with the Creative Policy and Evidence Centre noting 55 clusters making a strong contribution to the sector’s contribution of £124bn to the UK’s GVA.
In 2023, the West Midlands was one of the top three regions in terms of median annual earnings for the creative industries (£40,650). The West Midlands’ Creative Industries contributed £4 billion to the UK economy and there were 138,000 filled jobs in the sector in the region. This includes a strong presence in video games, film and television as well as in the wider culture and creative industries.
Government support for the sector has included £520,000 to the West Midlands region to provide creative industries specific business support and develop regional investor readiness through the Create Growth Programme. This is delivered in combination with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Creative UK, Create Central and Innovate UK with funding from DCMS. A further £425,000 will be provided by DCMS via the Integrated Settlement during the 2025/26 Financial Year.
In November at the Beyond Conference, we announced £6.74m to deliver the CreaTech Futures Creative Industries Cluster with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This will drive research and development, business innovation and skills within the creative industries ecosystem across the West Midlands. This will be led by Birmingham City University with Coventry University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Cluster will create a network of four complementary, interconnected R&D labs in immersive audio and video technologies, virtual production, applied AI for createch and gaming, esports, and animation.
At the Creative Industries Growth Moment in January, we announced additional funding, to be agreed as part of the Spending Review to six Mayoral Combined Authorities including the West Midlands Combined Authority to drive business growth.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 support the development of the esports industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the potential of the UK esports industry and its impact on the economy, with major tournaments hosted across the UK this year, including in Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Kickstarting economic growth, and breaking down barriers to opportunity are two of this government's core missions. We are supporting the esports sector to grow, building on the success of our world-class creative industries. This includes support for the sector in looking at how to strengthen pathways into the esports workforce.
The Government has identified the creative industries, which includes video games and esports, as a growth-driving sector within the Industrial Strategy. My department will produce an ambitious and targeted Sector Plan for the creative industries to be published alongside the Spending Review in spring 2025.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made on the potential effect of Esports Betting on gambling-related harm.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Gambling Commission, and (b) gaming operators on the development of Esports Betting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data and research he has on the player base of people playing (a) loot boxes, (b) social casinos, (c) twitch gaming and (d) e-sports betting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to work with the video games industry, other government departments, and relevant regulatory bodies to ensure games are enjoyed safely. We launched a call for evidence in September to understand players’ experiences with loot boxes and to examine evidence of potential harms. This received over 30,000 responses and we have been working to evaluate fully the evidence gathered. The response will be published in the coming months and will set out preferred actions and potential solutions to any issues identified from the evidence.
The government regularly engages with the Gambling Commission and other bodies to discuss emerging trends, including esports betting. Esports betting is regulated with the same protections as any other sports, and operators must abide by the same regulation and license conditions.
Data from the Gambling Commission’s quarterly surveys shows that in the year to December 2020 9% of adults reported they had ever bet on esports with money or items. Further details can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/taking-a-more-in-depth-look-at-online-gambling#ref-4 The government does not collect statistics on the player base of people opening loot boxes, playing social casino games or accessing twitch gaming streams.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing (a) a DBS checking process and (b) safeguarding guidance for e-sports coaching.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the value of esports which has the potential to develop as an area of real national strength in the UK, building on our world-class video games, entertainment and sports sectors.
To deliver on this, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently hosted the first government roundtable with the esports industry, discussing a range of issues including the importance of safeguarding to ensure young people can engage with esports safely.
Safeguarding will be a key area of consideration as the government builds on the roundtable, developing plans over the next few months to support the growth of a safe and inclusive esports sector in the UK.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings he has had with representatives of esports; and what the outcome was of those meetings.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the value of esports which has the potential to develop as an area of real national strength in the UK, building on our world-class video games, entertainment and sports sectors. Esports has also come to the fore during the Covid-19 lockdown, offering entertainment and a way to connect with others.
Ministers have met frequently with the creative industries, including meetings with the Creative Industries Council and weekly roundtable meetings during the current Covid-19 crisis which were attended by organisations such as UKIE that represent businesses in the esports sector. There has also been frequent discussion recently between officials and individual esports businesses and organisations.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings he has had with representatives of e-sports; and what the outcomes of those meetings were.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the value of esports which has the potential to develop as an area of real national strength in the UK, building on our world-class video games, entertainment and sports sectors. Esports has also come to the fore during the Covid-19 lockdown, offering entertainment and a way to connect with others.
Ministers have met frequently with the creative industries, including meetings with the Creative Industries Council and weekly roundtable meetings during the current Covid-19 crisis which were attended by organisations such as UKIE that represent businesses in the esports sector. There has also been frequent discussion recently between officials and individual esports businesses and organisations.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, what assessment he has made of the value of esports to the UK economy (a) during the covid-19 outbreak and (b) at other times; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Esports has the potential to develop as an area of real national strength in the UK, building on our world-class video games, entertainment and sports sectors. The government continues to consider ways to further support the growth of esports in the UK, and officials have been in regular contact with esports companies to assess the impact of covid-19.