Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Community Radio 2021 Fund
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Community Radio Fund is an annual grant scheme, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Ofcom, into which community radio stations across the UK can bid for funding for projects that help support the sector’s development. In 2020/21, the Fund’s core funding was supplemented by an additional sum to support efforts by community radio stations in helping address loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic.
The department sets objectives for grant funding when designing the grant scheme and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives.
An independent report evaluating the impact which CRF funding has had on community radio stations was published in March 2022.
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, what steps her Department is taking to help support local councils to tackle loneliness.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Many people experience loneliness and social isolation, and across government, we’re committed to building a more connected society, where everyone is able to build meaningful relationships. Having strong social relationships play an important role in our physical and mental wellbeing, and local councils, health systems and voluntary and community sector organisations all have an important role to play in tackling loneliness. Local services can achieve better outcomes in tackling loneliness by working together and building a shared understanding of the local community’s needs and assets.
The government is working with partners to support local areas to share and learn from best practice examples. This includes working with the Local Government Association to provide guidance on how local councils can tackle loneliness, and providing a space for organisations to share resources on the Tackling Loneliness Hub. Furthermore, through the delivery and evaluation of the £30 million Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, local authorities and community organisations in high deprivation areas will have access to evidence on what works to increase regular volunteering and reduce chronic loneliness.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what programmes exist to support 18 year olds leaving the care system.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in the Children Act 1989, local authorities have the primary responsibility for supporting care leavers. The 2017 Children and Social Work Act imposed a new duty on local authorities to consult on and publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, setting out their legal entitlements and any further discretionary support that the local authority provides, such as Council Tax exemptions.
All care leavers up to the age of 25 are entitled to support from a personal adviser to help with access support from mainstream services, such as housing, health, and benefits. Personal advisors also provide practical and emotional support to help them prepare for and cope with the challenges of living independently.
The department is providing over £230 million over this spending review to support young people leaving care with housing, access to education, employment, and training, and to help them develop social connections and networks to avoid loneliness and isolation.
To support young people leaving the care system the department has:
Our ambitions for reform, set out in the ‘stable homes, built on love’ strategy and consultation, put loving and stable relationships at the heart of children’s social care. This includes the mission that by 2027, every care-experienced child and young person will feel that they have strong, loving relationships in place.
As outlined in ‘stable homes, built on love’ the department is providing over £30 million in the next two years to significantly increase the number of local authorities with family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes. The department also wants to increase the accessibility and take-up of the Independent Visitors offer by working with the sector to reinforce current good practice and developing standards for Independent Visitor services. Additionally, the department is assessing levels of interest in introducing a way for care-experienced people to legally formalise a lifelong bond with someone they care about, such as a former foster carer or family friend. The ‘stable homes, built on love’ consultation is attached.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle loneliness and social isolation among armed forces (a) personnel and (b) veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For the serving community there are extensive welfare systems that offer support for those in need, including those experiencing loneliness and isolation, provided by the Chain of Command, welfare, pastoral, and medical staff. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) also works closely with the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA), National Health Service, and the Service charity sector. In 2021, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust awarded 60 grants of £70,000 to various projects across the UK, under the Tackling Loneliness Programme. In total £4.2 million was provided to projects in traditionally harder to reach groups with the aim of helping beneficiaries to engage in their community, access services and build stronger networks with peers, support organizations and service providers.
For veterans, support is available via the MOD through Veterans UK, which provides free support for veterans and their families, including a helpline and the Veterans Welfare Service. It is important to recognise, however, that the welfare of veterans is a cross-Government responsibility, overseen by the OVA in the Cabinet Office, and statutory services for veterans are provided by the responsible Departments, Devolved Administrations, and Local Authorities as applicable, in common with the general population. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has primary responsibility for tackling loneliness and social isolation among the UK population.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the amount of physical activity undertaken by young people at school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants all schools to understand the importance of Physical Education (PE), sport, and physical activity in keeping pupils healthy, and the positive impact it can have on pupils’ wellbeing and educational outcomes.
The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey is a national sample of 5 to 16 year olds conducted by Sport England, which is published annually. The headline data from the most recent survey for 2021/22 shows that the proportion of children who are active for an average of 60+ minutes a day has increased by 2.6% to 47% compared to the previous academic year, bringing activity levels back in line with those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report states that there is a positive association between levels of sport and physical activity and levels of mental wellbeing, individual development, community development and loneliness. The full report can be found at: https://www.sportengland.org/research-and-data/data/active-lives.
On 8 March 2023, the Department committed to £600 million across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years for the continuation of the Primary PE and Sport Premium, which is funding to improve the quality of PE and sports in primary schools to help pupils benefit from regular activity.
The Department is also funding up to £57 million to deliver phase three of the Opening School Facilities programme, which allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours.
Alongside this, £977,068.60 over three years has been made available to improve and increase opportunities for more girls to access competitive sport and sport leadership opportunities. Up to £900,000 has also been made available over three years to increase and improve opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities to engage and participate in PE and school sport.
The Department will shortly be publishing an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. The plan will set out actions to help all pupils take part in sport and do more physical activity. It will align with the Government’s new sport strategy.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech at the Centre for Policy Studies on 27 June 2023, what plans he has for future healthcare-related funding for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department of Health and Social Care does not have a live funding agreement with the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed £118,484 of the 2023-24 tackling loneliness budget to the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, for ongoing delivery of the Tackling Loneliness Hub and research, exploring what works to tackle loneliness.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to announce measures in the forthcoming Sports Strategy to address some of the challenges faced by disabled people in sport, activity and employment.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to tackling barriers which prevent people with disabilities from taking part in sport and physical activity, and from enjoying the physical and mental health benefits that it provides.
HM Government’s Tackling Loneliness Strategy set out a number of measures we will take to support those at risk of loneliness and social isolation. This includes publishing our new sport strategy, which will make sport and physical activity a core part of everyone’s daily life with a focus on supporting under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, to be more active and to participate in sport. We will also consult on and publish a new Disability Action Plan in 2023, which will include participation in social and physical activities for people with disabilities as a priority.
We will continue to work with our arm’s-length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, and sector partners to encourage sport bodies to make sport more accessible.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what cross-departmental plans they have to close the gap between the level of activity of disabled people and that of non-disabled people.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to tackling barriers which prevent people with disabilities from taking part in sport and physical activity, and from enjoying the physical and mental health benefits that it provides.
HM Government’s Tackling Loneliness Strategy set out a number of measures we will take to support those at risk of loneliness and social isolation. This includes publishing our new sport strategy, which will make sport and physical activity a core part of everyone’s daily life with a focus on supporting under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, to be more active and to participate in sport. We will also consult on and publish a new Disability Action Plan in 2023, which will include participation in social and physical activities for people with disabilities as a priority.
We will continue to work with our arm’s-length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, and sector partners to encourage sport bodies to make sport more accessible.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to develop specific sport and activity action plans for disabled people as part of their work on tackling loneliness.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting people at risk of loneliness and social isolation, including people with disabilities. Having strong social relationships play an important role in our physical and mental wellbeing, and sport has an incredible ability to reach into the places we live, reduce loneliness, and build a sense of pride and belonging.
HM Government’s Tackling Loneliness Strategy set out a number of measures we will take to support those at risk of loneliness and social isolation. This includes publishing our new sport strategy, which will make sport and physical activity a core part of everyone’s daily life with a focus on supporting under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, to be more active and to participate in sport. We will also consult on and publish a new Disability Action Plan in 2023, which will include participation in social and physical activities for people with disabilities as a priority.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of the effectiveness of smaller TV channels in catering to (a) faith groups, (b) specific ethnic groups, (c) minority groups and (d) local audiences.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the importance of a diverse broadcasting landscape for communities around the country, with hundreds of channels, large and small, catering to a wide range of audiences.
The Government is committed to supporting a broadcasting sector that delivers for all audiences. On a local level, the BBC, local TV providers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news and local information, strengthening pride of place, reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve, connecting communities, and helping to address social issues like loneliness and mental health.
The Government also believes that it is important that the broadcasting industry – both on- and off-screen – is representative of the country in which we live. In this context, the Government recognises the editorial and operational independence of the broadcasting sector and understands the value of smaller channels and content that caters to specific audiences.
The BBC also plays an important role in delivering this, and in the UK’s wider public service broadcasting ecosystem, with a mission to serve all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.