Written questions by Dinenage.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to develop a cross government strategy to increase physical activity levels, as recommended by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in its report on community and school sport.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on setting out further details of the Government’s strategy on physical activity, as referenced in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan published in July 2025.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with cabinet colleagues to develop further details of the Government’s strategy on physical activity; and what role the Department of Health and Social Care is playing in that work.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to ensure close cross-departmental working to maximise the effectiveness of Young Futures Hubs.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what guidance is being provided to local authorities implementing Young Futures Hubs to ensure safe and effective responses when disclosures of VAWG-related incidents are made.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what guidance is being provided to local authorities on implementing Young Futures Hubs to ensure that they are safe spaces for children.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, if she will make a comparative assessment of trends in the level of participation in physical activity for people with intellectual disabilities with the national average.

The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that contribute to the persisting inequalities in participation and want to ensure that everyone can experience the physical, mental and social benefits that come with being active.Our Arm’s Length Body Sport England engages with Special Olympics Great Britain and other sector partners to understand participation rates amongst underrepresented groups including people with intellectual disabilities, and how access for all can be improved. The most recent statistics from Special Olympics Great Britain outline that as many as 59% of people with a learning disability do not participate in sport. Sport England recognises these challenges, and has invested £1.5 million across 4 years into Special Olympics Great Britain as part of its Uniting the Movement strategy.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Special Olympics Great Britain on the difference in participation in physical activity between people with intellectual disabilities and the national average.

The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that contribute to the persisting inequalities in participation and want to ensure that everyone can experience the physical, mental and social benefits that come with being active.Our Arm’s Length Body Sport England engages with Special Olympics Great Britain and other sector partners to understand participation rates amongst underrepresented groups including people with intellectual disabilities, and how access for all can be improved. The most recent statistics from Special Olympics Great Britain outline that as many as 59% of people with a learning disability do not participate in sport. Sport England recognises these challenges, and has invested £1.5 million across 4 years into Special Olympics Great Britain as part of its Uniting the Movement strategy.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to bid for the 2031 Special Olympic Games; and whether she has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of such a bid.

The UK has a strong record of delivering events that unite diverse communities and reflect inclusivity, creativity, resilience and openness and the Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events. We recognise that major sporting events deliver significant socio-economic benefits and play a unique role in bringing people together, fostering a shared sense of belonging, and showcasing the UK’s cultural and sporting identity both domestically and internationally.We are always keen to work alongside our arm’s-length body UK Sport and other stakeholders to grow and develop our strong pipeline of events. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on trends in the number of sporting and cultural events in the UK.

DCMS officials engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation. DCMS will continue to engage with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with sporting (a) bodies, (b) venues and (c) events organisers on proposed changes to the role of the Care Quality Commission.

The Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report recommended the government make changes to the law to enable the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums and under temporary arrangements at sporting and cultural events to ensure public safety. The government and CQC has engaged a range of stakeholders within the health, sports and events sector. The government has also held a public consultation which fed into the development of these regulatory changes. The government and CQC continues this engagement, where the CQC will also develop further guidance for Treatment of Disease, Disorder, or Injury providers to support registering with the CQC.DCMS officials regularly engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation, and will continue to do so with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events, to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

Media and Sport, when she will publish her Local Media Strategy.

Supporting local media across the country is a particular concern for this Government and we are working across Government and with stakeholders to develop a Local Media Strategy. DCMS ministers held a roundtable discussion with local news editors last year to discuss the planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has been meeting regularly since June 2025 to consider the issues in more detail. The Strategy will be published in the coming months.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for statutory levy funding on the financial resilience of organisations operating within the gambling harm prevention sector.

We recognise the concerns raised by some organisations about funding uncertainty and the impact this can have on their financial resilience and day-to-day operations. We are taking steps to ensure that valuable knowledge, skills and expertise are retained across the gambling harms prevention system during the transition to the statutory levy.Working with commissioners, we have engaged closely with GambleAware, which is continuing to provide funding to relevant voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations until April 2026. This includes transitional funding to help stabilise prevention-focused organisations that sit outside GambleAware’s routine commissioning activity.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has now launched the application process for its Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise grant fund. This follows extensive market engagement to provide timely updates, manage provider expectations around future funding processes and timescales, and support greater stability across the system. The application window will close on 6 February 2026, with funding released from April 2026. Devolved governments are responsible for delivery of the prevention programmes in Scotland and Wales and work is progressing to support organisations there.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on ensuring the long-term cultural and heritage stewardship of the Old Royal Naval College.

DCMS has had discussions with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) regarding the future for the Old Royal Naval College. The College is not an arms-length body of DCMS and the Department is not directly responsible for ensuring the stewardship of the site. However, the Department has been supporting conversations between local interested parties, including the MoD, and is keen to see those discussions progress.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Creative Industries Sector Vision (a) supports and (b) expands (i) existing skills training schemes and (ii) new training programmes.

Our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June 2025, sets out our approach to developing a high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries.This includes refining and developing the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognise the particular needs of the sector, supporting existing schemes like flexi-job apprenticeships, and introducing new flexibilities such as short courses. The Government introduced new creative Higher Technical Qualifications in September, and will continue to expand the quantity of creative training pathways more broadly, including through further regional creative skills bootcamps.Access to a high-quality arts education supports the pipeline into the creative industries and cultural sectors. Under this government, access will not be the preserve of the privileged few, but the entitlement of every child. The Curriculum and Assessment Review and the government's response has been published. We are committing to revitalising arts education, putting it back at the heart of a rich and broad curriculum through high-quality support for teachers of creative subjects and the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.The National Centre for Arts and Music Education will launch in September 2026, improving access and opportunity for children and young people and strengthening collaboration between schools and industry. It will promote high quality arts education, provide continuous professional development to teachers, and boost partnerships between schools and creative organisations.We are also supporting music and dance through Arts Council England which provides £450,000 per annum to the National Youth Dance Company, which offers high-quality training and performance opportunities; and £420,000 per annum to the National Youth Music Organisations who help develop talented young musicians across all kinds of music styles.

Media and Sport, what plans she has to ensure that music and dance education remains central to the creative industries.

Our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June 2025, sets out our approach to developing a high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries.This includes refining and developing the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognise the particular needs of the sector, supporting existing schemes like flexi-job apprenticeships, and introducing new flexibilities such as short courses. The Government introduced new creative Higher Technical Qualifications in September, and will continue to expand the quantity of creative training pathways more broadly, including through further regional creative skills bootcamps.Access to a high-quality arts education supports the pipeline into the creative industries and cultural sectors. Under this government, access will not be the preserve of the privileged few, but the entitlement of every child. The Curriculum and Assessment Review and the government's response has been published. We are committing to revitalising arts education, putting it back at the heart of a rich and broad curriculum through high-quality support for teachers of creative subjects and the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.The National Centre for Arts and Music Education will launch in September 2026, improving access and opportunity for children and young people and strengthening collaboration between schools and industry. It will promote high quality arts education, provide continuous professional development to teachers, and boost partnerships between schools and creative organisations.We are also supporting music and dance through Arts Council England which provides £450,000 per annum to the National Youth Dance Company, which offers high-quality training and performance opportunities; and £420,000 per annum to the National Youth Music Organisations who help develop talented young musicians across all kinds of music styles.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the £400 million grassroots sport funding supports swimming pools in areas with limited access to aquatic facilities.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the role of swimming pools in delivering (a) health, (b) wellbeing and (c) community cohesion outcomes.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Media and Sport, what proportion of the £400 million funding for grassroots sport facilities she plans to allocate to support the (a) development, (b) refurbishment and (c) sustainability of public swimming pools.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.

Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to work with (a) Swim England and (b) other stakeholders to prioritise swimming pool provision as part of the £400 million grassroots sport investment.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.This funding is on top of the £250 million per year which we invest through Sport England, our arm’s length body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, into grassroots sport and physical activity.