Written questions by Shannon.

Media and Sport, what funding has been allocated in the current financial year to support regional museums.

Museums funding is fully devolved to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.In England, DCMS announced earlier this year that it would allocate £160 million to accredited local museums in England from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Funding programmes for the current financial year include:£25.5 million of Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) to support infrastructure projects across 28 regional museums in England.£13.6 million will be invested in a Museum Transformation fund to support English museums in achieving a more sustainable business model.£4 million will be allocated amongst the 24 recipients of the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund to help local and regional museums across England improve their displays and increase the accessibility of exhibitions.Arts Council England also provides roughly £44m per year through their National Portfolio and Museum Development Programme to regional museums in England.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in maintaining access to community library services.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources, including how community libraries may form a part of that.Where a community library is part of the Local Authority service statutory network it can benefit from wider government initiatives such as the improved Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26, and could also benefit from library specific funding such as the Libraries Improvement Fund.In January 2026 the Secretary of State announced funding for Arts Everywhere which included a commitment of £27.5 million between 2025-2030 for the Libraries Improvement Fund which supports public libraries to upgrade their buildings and technology to meet changing needs to better serve their communities.

Media and Sport, how many public libraries have closed in England in the past five years.

As the libraries development agency for England, Arts Council England (ACE) collects and publishes data on library closures, openings and relocations in its annual English Public Libraries Location Dataset. The dataset can be found at the following link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-librariesDCMS estimates the number of static libraries that have permanently closed (and not been replaced by or relocated to a new static library) in England in each of the last 5 years (for which data is available) is as follows:Calendar YearEstimated Permanent Static Library Closures202013202116202217202310202417This data is based upon ACE’s English Public Libraries Location Dataset 2024, which shows the number of static libraries open as at 31 December 2024 is 2,866. The 2025 basic library dataset is expected to be published later this year.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve participation in sport among women and girls.

The Government is committed to ensuring that as many women and girls as possible have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. 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 to help people get active. Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active. 1.6 million more women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028. Since summer 2024, the Government has also provided £6.7 million into the Women’s Rugby World Cup Legacy Programme, Impact ‘25, which has benefited 850 clubs across the country. These clubs have received investment which goes towards supporting girls of all ages to get involved in rugby.

Media and Sport, what funding has been provided to grassroots sports facilities through programmes administered by Sport England.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding across England. Sport England allocates funds to National Governing Bodies and grassroots sports providers primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. This also includes The Movement Fund which invests over £20 million annually into community physical activity programmes. Sport England’s website provides full transparency data about how their funding is invested. Additionally, the Government is investing £85 million in the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) programme in 2026/27 - via Sport England, national Football Associations and the Football Foundation. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded artificial grass pitches, changing rooms and clubhouses. A key objective of the MSGF programme is to increase access and participation levels for women and girls, disabled players and communities most in need across the UK. We will ensure these communities are prioritised using deprivation and inactivity data. An additional £15 million is being invested through Sport England into new delivery models across England in 2026/27, to allow more people to participate in their chosen sports.

Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to support freelance workers in the creative sector.

The self-employed workforce is crucial to the success of the UK's world-leading creative industries, which employ nearly twice the number of self-employed workers as a proportion of the workforce compared to the rest of the economy. We understand that many self-employed workers in the creative industries desire greater job security. That is why we committed in the Creative Industries Sector Plan to appoint a Freelance Champion, who will advocate for the creative sector’s freelancers within government and be a member of the Creative Industries Council. More broadly, with the Employment Rights Act we have committed to helping the self-employed thrive in good quality work through additional measures to strengthen protections - including the extension of health and safety and blacklisting protections, and right to a written contract. The Government has also announced measures to address the misuse of non-disclosure agreements by employers to silence workplace harassment and abuse, and a power to extend the protections to wider groups than employees and workers.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with national governing bodies of sport on safeguarding standards in youth sport.

The safety and wellbeing of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. Sport England and UK Sport (DCMS’s Arm’s Length Bodies for sport) require National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to adopt and implement safeguarding policies and practices as a condition of public funding. Both organisations provide support to the sport and physical activity sector around safeguarding, including funding the Ann Craft Trust and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit who provide safeguarding standards and guidance.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the level of the contribution of the UK creative industries to economic growth.

DCMS Economic Estimates provide accredited official statistics on the contribution of the creative industries to the UK economy over time, measured by Gross Value Added (GVA). In 2024, the creative industries contributed an estimated £145.8 billion in GVA to the UK economy. The sector grew by 4.6% between 2023 and 2024 - more than four times the growth rate of the overall UK economy (1.0%) during the same period. In the longer term, from 2010 to 2024 creative industries GVA grew faster than the UK economy (60.3% vs 24.3%). In 2024, the creative industries accounted for approximately 5.6% of the total UK GVA, compared to 4.7% in 2010.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to gambling regulation on consumers experiencing harms associated with gambling disorder.

The Government is acutely aware of the impact that gambling harm can have on individuals, families and communities. We therefore consider a wide range of evidence when assessing the impact of gambling regulation on those experiencing harm.

Media and Sport, what support programmes exist to encourage greater participation in the arts among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to sports facilities for people living in rural communities.

The Government is committed to ensure everyone, regardless of where they live, should have access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities.That is why we provide the majority of support for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. They invest in over 90 Place Partnerships in various locations across the country, including in rural areas, to promote sport and physical activity.In addition, on 27 January, the Government announced that £85 million of the £400 million package for grassroots sport facilities will be invested in during 2026/27, funding the continuation of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. In Northern Ireland specifically, £2.775 million will be invested through the programme. This funding is designed to increase participation opportunities and benefit the areas most in need, with 50% investment going to the 30% most deprived areas in the UK.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support independent television production companies with their production costs.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the sustainability of local journalism.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of trends in the level of online scams targeting elderly people.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what support her Department provides for faith-based social enterprises.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government supports grassroots programmes, such as Near Neighbours, which promotes dialogue, relationship building and civic engagement across religiously and ethnically diverse communities. In the previous financial year, MHCLG provided £587,000 of grant funding to the Near Neighbours programme. MHCLG also supported Inter Faith Week 2025, ensuring it remains a key part of the national calendar for dialogue, learning, and connection between people of different faiths and beliefs.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle loneliness among older men.

The government is committed to supporting people of all ages, including older men, to have the social connections they need. Our ambition to strengthen positive social connections is a key part of achieving wider government objectives to create a healthier society and more connected communities across all ages.This government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online community which enables people to connect across sectors to share insights and collaborate. A recent webinar on the Hub highlighted this report regarding interventions to specifically address loneliness among older men. The Hub has recently been refreshed to reach a broader range of people who work on tackling loneliness and improving social connection.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect local media outlets from needing to consolidate.

This Government is committed to ensuring a healthy and plural local media, for the benefit of communities and citizens across the UK. We recognise the vital role that local media plays in scrutinising local institutions, and reflecting communities’ views and perspectives.The actions in the Local Media Action Plan are aimed at helping local newsrooms across the country to innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high quality, trustworthy news.The Local News Fund, which is worth £6m in 2026/2027 and up to £6m in 2027/2028, will help the industry adapt in the short-medium term, before longer term measures set out in the Plan begin to take effect in helping enable a plural and thriving online local media ecosystem. Further detail on the Fund will be announced in the coming weeks.The Secretary of State has powers to intervene in media mergers which she believes are or may be harmful to the public interest. For newspapers, she has the power to intervene if she believes the merger may be harmful for freedom of expression, accurate presentation of news, sufficient plurality of views and sufficient plurality of control. She has the power to define the market in which she considers the public interest tests, and can therefore consider the plurality impacts on a specific region in the context of a local news acquisition or merger.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help protect whistleblowers in small charities.

Charity workers in England and Wales have statutory protections and are able to make disclosures to the Charity Commission for England and Wales about their charity. Charity workers in Northern Ireland and Scotland also have statutory protections and are able to make disclosures to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator respectively.Volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers. However, the Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers. DCMS considers the current protections for those who make whistleblowing disclosures, regardless of their status, to be appropriate.The Charity Commission for England and Wales publishes guidance for charities on a range of subjects, including reporting serious wrongdoing at a charity as a worker or volunteer.

Media and Sport, how funding is allocated to local sports clubs.

The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport clubs, which play an important role within communities across the country.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport clubs through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding.Through its Movement Fund, Sport England allocates funding to grassroots sports clubs primarily based on their ability to deliver against the aims set out in their ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy around getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people and tackling long-standing inequalities. Sport England’s website provides transparency data about how their funding is invested.

Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people employed in the creative industries in each of the last five years.

DCMS Economic Estimates provide annual estimates of employment in the creative industries in the UK, based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey. The total number of filled jobs in the creative industries for 2019 to 2024 are presented below. Employment data for 2025 is not yet available.In 2024, there were 2.4 million filled jobs in the creative industries. This is a 308,000 (14.7%) increase from 2019. Table 1: Filled jobs in the creative industries, 2019 to 2024, with lower and upper confidence intervals (95% confidence level) Filled jobs: 2024 (Latest estimate)Lower Bound Confidence IntervalUpper Bound Confidence Interval20242,409,0062,320,0382,497,97420232,418,7992,316,9492,520,64920222,396,1382,308,5752,483,70120212,339,0382,260,3952,417,68120202,221,2042,148,5062,299,42820192,100,6952,039,6012,161,789 This table includes confidence intervals which provide a range within which the ‘true’ value is likely to be. This helps us to assess whether changes over time are statistically significant, giving us confidence that we are seeing a real effect, rather than due to change or random factors in the survey used to collect the data.