Written questions by Robertson.

Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the eligibility criteria and application details for the Richer Young Lives Fund; and how she will help ensure that rural and island communities are able to access this funding.

The Richer Young Lives Fund will invest over £60 million over the next three years, enabling organisations to deliver high-quality youth work and activities.The Fund will be targeted at underserved areas and focus on making activities easier to access for disadvantaged young people. Young people will be involved in designing the fund and making decisions on how the funding is spent. More information on the eligibility criteria and application details, including location eligibility, will be shared in due course.The Fund will launch in the financial year 2026/27.

Media and Sport, what criteria is being used to determine the locations of Young Futures Hubs.

The first eight early adopter Young Futures Hubs were located where they will have the most impact, using data on knife crime and anti-social behaviour.The Government’s aim is to set up an additional 42 Young Futures Hubs over the next four years. The locations for the remaining 42 hubs will be determined using learnings from the eight early adopter hubs, alongside appropriate metrics to ensure hubs help those young people with greatest need.

Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government unveils ambitious plan to tackle youth isolation crisis and deliver real life opportunities, published on 10 December 2025, what proportion of the £500 million funding will be allocated to (a) sustaining and (b) expanding existing youth services.

The Government recognises that high-quality youth services are vital for the health, wellbeing, and development of young people. The £500 million investment announced on 10 December 2025 as part of the National Youth Strategy represents a significant commitment to transforming the youth sector.Some of the first funded steps to work towards the strategy include over £60 million for the Richer Young Lives Fund, nearly £70 million to improve local youth offers, over £22 million towards school-based enrichment opportunities and £15 million to support youth workers, volunteers and wider trusted adults. Meanwhile the £350 million Better Youth Spaces fund is specifically designed to expand the reach and quality of the youth estate.The precise proportion of funding allocated to the maintenance of current services and the creation of new capacity will be determined during the detailed programme design phase. The Department will share further information on these allocations in due course.

Media and Sport, how the schools identified to receive support through the National Youth Strategy will be selected; and whether schools on the Isle of Wight will receive support.

The Government's National Youth Strategy is a 10-year plan designed to ensure that every young person nationwide has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them, and a community they feel a part of. Schools are key to implementing the strategy including through enrichment activities, especially for disadvantaged youth.DCMS, in partnership with DfE, will invest £22.5 million over 3 years to enable up to 400 schools across England to deliver a youth-voice led, tailored enrichment offer. This funding will help schools meet the Enrichment Framework benchmarks and ensure disadvantaged pupils have access to good enrichment activities, supporting their wellbeing, personal development, and life skills.The programme is currently in the design phase, and we will share the selection criteria in due course.

Media and Sport, whether the Isle of Wight will be eligible for funding under the National Youth Strategy; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the Island is supported thought the national funding criteria.

‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.This is backed by over £500 million of new youth funding over the next 3 years from DCMS, which complements a range of funding committed by other departments. The majority of the funding underpinning the first steps of the Strategy will be available from next the financial year 2026/27. We will share more information as our plans develop, including details on the eligible areas for funding.

Media and Sport, how much funding her Department plans to provide to (a) tennis and (b) padel in each year until 2028.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to support the development of affordable and accessible padel courts in (a) Isle of Wight East and (b) in Britain.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to support the provision of indoor or covered tennis and facilities in Isle of Wight East.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled From court to community, published on 17 September 2025, how much funding has been earmarked for (a) tennis, (b) padel and (c) other court-based sports.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for tennis and padel facilities.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, how much of the £400m UK Government funding for grassroots sports facilities will go to (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage people into the youth work profession.

This Government recognises the vital role that youth workers play in the lives of young people. In 2024-25, we provided over £600,000 of bursary funding to support over 400 individuals from underrepresented groups to gain a youth work qualification. In a written ministerial statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced DCMS's commitment to provide over £3 million in the financial year 2025-26 to increase youth sector and workforce capacity, this includes a further £250,000 in bursary funding to support up to 160 individuals to gain a qualification, and funding to the National Youth Agency to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum to ensure a sufficiently qualified and trained youth work workforce.

Media and Sport, whether funding for the National Citizenship Service will be redistributed to other youth services.

This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. We know that being part of supportive communities and having access to youth provision can improve a young person’s wellbeing, health and personal development.The Secretary of State previously committed to set out this department's 2025-26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy this Autumn. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in the strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector and will be announced in due course.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of combined authorities on youth services funding.

We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the introduction of combined authorities and the potential impact this will have on youth services. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. DCMS published the updated, more fit-for-purpose guidance in 2023 to support local authorities to better understand what their existing duty is and how to deliver it. We have launched the Local Youth Transformation Pilot which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities to deliver for young people.

Media and Sport, how she plans to allocate dormant assets to youth organisations.

On the 2nd June, DCMS Secretary of State announced that £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability, and be delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund.It also includes the £15 million ‘Building Futures’ programme announced under the previous government in September 2023, and delivered by Youth Futures Foundation.Further details, including how the funding will be allocated, will be shared in due course.

Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of pensioners who (a) are in poverty and (b) rely on free terrestrial television to watch TV.

The department does not currently hold data that combines TV distribution method, age and poverty. DCMS is currently undertaking a project to evaluate the future distribution of television over the next decade. This project will continue to consider the impact of any decision on potentially vulnerable groups.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital terrestrial television on rural connectivity.

DCMS is currently undertaking a project to evaluate the future distribution of television as the sector continues to evolve over the next decade. As part of this project, the Government published independent research led by Exeter University last year that included data on the use of different distribution methods by a range of different demographic groups, which included rural communities. The Government has also commissioned follow up qualitative research to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among a variety of groups including rural households. A wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure through the Stakeholder Forum. This includes a number of groups representing rural and UK-wide audiences, such as the Rural Services Network.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department’s Future of TV Distribution Stakeholder Forum takes account of the needs of rural communities.

DCMS is currently undertaking a project to evaluate the future distribution of television as the sector continues to evolve over the next decade. As part of this project, the Government published independent research led by Exeter University last year that included data on the use of different distribution methods by a range of different demographic groups, which included rural communities. The Government has also commissioned follow up qualitative research to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among a variety of groups including rural households. A wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure through the Stakeholder Forum. This includes a number of groups representing rural and UK-wide audiences, such as the Rural Services Network.

Media and Sport, how many staff in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours.

The majority of staff time spent on diversity staff networks is voluntary and unpaid. We have 11 staff in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who have been permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours.