Written questions by Lockhart.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to enable smaller charities to contribute more effectively to public policy development, including through improving access to (a) tenders, (b) grant applications and (c) policy consultations.

This Government is doing much to reset the relationship with civil society and ensure we listen to - and heed - a broad range of voices from across the sector, including those from small charities. The Civil Society Covenant, launched by the Prime Minister in July 2025, sets out the ambition of this government to fully recognise the value of civil society. No.10 has established the Civil Society Council, to work in partnership with government at the highest level to drive and oversee the implementation of the Covenant. Our recently-launched £11.5 million Local Covenant Partnerships (LCP) Fund puts many of the Covenant’s principles into practice, including testing new approaches to commissioning and procurement. The LCP Fund will invest in 15 places across England to develop innovative partnership models between VCSE organisations and local public sector bodies. This in turn will increase levels of local VCSE delivery of public services, including from small charities, and work towards developing the local sector’s knowledge and confidence of commissioning structures and procurement processes.

Media and Sport, what measures her Department has put in place to protect historic places of worship.

The Department offers support for the protection and preservation of historic places of worship through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which in January 2025 was extended for a further year to March 2026 with a £23 million budget. This scheme allows religious organisations to reclaim the VAT costs of eligible repairs and renovations, recognising the vital heritage and community role of these sites. Furthermore, DCMS arm's length bodies provide additional funding. The National Lottery Heritage Fund is committing around £100 million between 2023 and 2026 to help secure the future of places of worship across the UK. This includes £15 million dedicated to large-scale projects aimed at enhancing the heritage sector's sustainability and security. A further £85 million is expected to be awarded through National Lottery Heritage Grants over the next three years to improve the condition of places of worship and help develop the necessary skills for their future preservation. In exceptional circumstances, some listed places of worship may also be eligible for Heritage at Risk funding provided by Historic England. In addition, the Department funded a Heritage At Risk Capital Fund in 2025/26 and of 37 projects awarded funding, 4 were places of worship receiving £1,387,842 in total.

Media and Sport, if she will meet with the National Churches Trust regarding support for the protection of historic places of worship.

DCMS recognises the value and expertise of the National Churches Trust in supporting the protection of historic places of worship. Baroness Twycross, the Minister for Heritage, is open to meeting with the National Churches Trust. The Department has engaged in various meetings with representatives of the sector, including the National Churches Trust, throughout the year, and the Minister looks forward to continuing this important dialogue.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure equitable levels of representation of Northern Ireland in UK (a) broadcasting and (b) public service media.

Public service media plays an important role in terms of providing news and other content which reflects the full diversity of people, communities and experiences across the nations and regions, including Northern Ireland. Currently under their Operating Licence, the BBC has to produce 3% of its network programming output in Northern Ireland each year, by spend and hours. Meanwhile Channel 4’s nations quota for content spend and hours has recently been increased by Ofcom from 9% to 12% from 2030 which Channel 4 have committed to delivering by 2028. Ofcom has overall responsibility for these quotas and monitoring compliance.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with (a) church authorities and (b) Historic England on increasing flexibility in the (i) renovation and (ii) adaptation of listed churches for (A) community use and (B) accessibility improvements.

DCMS ministers have recently met with both Church representatives and Historic England, however discussions have not covered the specific issue of increasing flexibility in the renovation and adaptation of listed churches for community use and accessibility improvements. Through the Ecclesiastical Exemption, many denominations are already able to manage alterations to their own listed buildings, including adaptation to community use and greater accessibility, through internal permission systems.

Media and Sport, what funding her Department is providing to (a) churches and (b) faith-based charities in the context of trends in the level of (i) energy costs and (ii) donations.

We know this is a difficult time for the civil society sector; cost of living pressures are leading to increased demand for many organisations, alongside their higher running costs.Over the last year, my department has been delivering the VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is a £25.5 million fund to support voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across England to save money on energy bills. The fund was designed to help groups with rising energy costs and was targeted at those delivering key frontline services. Recipients of the fund have included over 40 churches and faith-based organisations.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of broadcasting regulations on the impartiality of news coverage in Northern Ireland.

The regulation of due impartiality in broadcast news is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.