Written questions by Rosindell.

Media and Sport, whether she has considered providing funding for the creation of a Covid-19 memorial in Romford constituency.

The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration consulted on how to commemorate the COVID-19 pandemic and mark this distinctive period in our history at a national and community level. This Commission made a number of recommendations, including the importance of local memorials in commemorating the Covid-19 pandemic in providing a place to grieve and remember their loved ones. Since the publication of the Commission’s report, a number of COVID-19 memorials have been developed across the country by local Government, local businesses and community groups.This government wants to carefully consider all the Commission's recommendations, working closely with Bereaved Family groups, wider stakeholders and the Devolved Governments to do justice to the hard work of the Commission, and will publish a response, including to the recommendation around the creation of new memorials, in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Crown Dependencies to tackle illegally-operated online gambling in the (a) Isle of Man and (b) Channel Islands.

As set out by the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission regulates gambling in Great Britain only.Both DCMS and the Commission stand ready to support the Crown Dependencies on matters relating to gambling if requested. The Gambling Commission has a Memorandum of Understanding on Gambling with the Isle of Man regulator, the Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC).

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote cultural awareness of patron saints of the United Kingdom.

DCMS has no such plans, but we know that St David, St Andrew, St Patrick and St George are as well-sewn into the fabric of our national identities as they are inscribed on many of our buildings, including in the mosaics above Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help promote tourism within the Channel Islands.

DCMS is responsible for tourism within England, however the UK Government continues to consult and engage with the self-governing Crown Dependencies within the Channel Islands and their respective tourism boards (Visit Jersey and Visit Guernsey).These tourism boards for the Channel Islands are accountable to their respective Governments and the UK works in collaboration with the Crown Dependencies on tourism policy issues as part of the Common Travel Area.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to provide funding for local sports clubs in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

This Government recognises that grassroots sports clubs are central to communities up and down the country.The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.The Government has also committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities, investing £123 million UK-wide via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2024/25, working with our delivery partner the Football Foundation. In this year, Romford has had one funded project in Raphael Park.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote Morris dancing in England.

The UK ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in March 2024.Intangible Cultural Heritage, also known as living heritage, includes the folklore, performance, customs and crafts that play an important role in the identity, pride, and cohesion of communities across the UK, and includes traditions such as Morris dancing.The Government is committed to ensure the safeguarding of living heritage and as a first step of implementing the Convention will be creating, with the Devolved Governments, an inventory of living heritage in the UK later this year.We would expect this to include Morris dancing.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with local authorities to maintain community libraries in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources. DCMS Secretary of State has a duty to “superintend and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in England” under the Public Libraries and Museum Act 1964.I understand that Havering had 10 static libraries as of December 2023, all local authority run, with three (Collier Row, Gidea Park and Romford) in Romford constituency.The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the greyhound racing industry.

The Government recognises the importance of Greyhound Racing to our economy - providing employment to 5400 people across Britain - and its contribution to British cultural life.The greyhound racing industry is supported by the British Greyhound Racing Fund in the form of voluntary contributions from bookmakers on betting turnover on licensed greyhound racing. The Government remains committed to ensuring that those voluntary contributions reflect the benefits the betting industry derives from Greyhound Racing as a betting product. The levy has an important role in supporting the growth and sustainability of the sport.The Government welcomes the progress of the industry’s regulatory body, the Greyhound Board for Great Britain, in driving improvement in rehoming and overall welfare standards through its Greyhound Commitment and its long term national welfare strategy, “A Good Life for Every Greyhound”. The Government is committed to continuing to work with the greyhound and betting industries to deliver a more sustainable future for the Sport.

Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to support listed places of worship.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Church of England in maintaining its built heritage.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support press freedom.

Having a free and fair press in an age of misinformation and disinformation, is more important than ever. It is vital that the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources.To ensure journalists operating within the UK can do so free from physical, legal and online threats, abuse and violence, I am reconvening the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, together with the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, in December. The Committee facilitates collaboration between government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and civil society in support of this aim. I will continue to work with members on this important issue, including by delivering the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of pursuing machine ratio reforms to the land-based gambling industry.

We are considering the best available evidence in respect of machine ratio reforms, and the Minister for Gambling has met with a wide range of stakeholders including industry trade bodies. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the economic contribution of adult gaming centres to (a) high streets and (b) town centres.

Official statistics from a range of sources provide the Government with insights into the economic contribution of the betting and gaming industry as a whole. The latest headline statistics show that the gambling sector contributed £4.9bn to Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022, accounting for 0.2% of UK GVA. In the financial year 2023/24, the gambling sector employed around 94,000 people in Britain (provisional), accounting for 0.2% of UK jobs and paid approximately £3.4bn in betting and gaming duty.The Gambling Commission’s industry statistics show that between April 2022 and March 2023, gross gambling yield for adult gaming centres was £533m. This represented c. 11% of gross gambling yield generated by non-remote casinos, arcades, betting and bingo.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote the heritage of county Essex.

His Majesty’s Government is committed to promoting local heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.Historic England (HE), the government’s expert advisor on heritage, works closely with heritage organisations in Essex, such as the Thomas Plume Library and Maldon Town Council. HE has provided funding of £67,962 towards the grade I listed library in Maldon’s town centre for the removal and replacement of the ceiling, as well as repairs to the external masonry and windows. This work was completed in 2021.The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded significant grant funding to support heritage organisations in Essex, such as The Pioneering Sailing Trust in Brightlingsea, which was awarded £2.3 million this April (2024) to restore historic vessels and create an apprenticeship scheme.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help local authorities fund public libraries.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.I will work with my colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to get local government back on its feet after fourteen years of savage and drastic underfunding. We will do the basics right, providing councils with more stability through multi-year funding settlements and ending unnecessarily expensive competitive bidding for tiny pots of money.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Director of the British Museum on the long-term ownership of historic artefacts originating from other countries.

No.