Written questions by Hayes.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the provision of disability sport in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, how much of the £500 million allocated to the Better Futures Fund has been committed to projects in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, if she will provide a list of training programmes used by civil servants in her department since 2020.

Since 2020, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has provided training programmes accessed via Civil Service Learning, Government campus and an internal curriculum. The offer includes the development of core skills, leadership and management, profession related training and accelerated-development programmes including apprenticeships and the Civil service Fast Stream programme. We do not hold a central list of all training that Civil Servants in DCMS have either attended or completed, as the training programmes are delivered by a cross-section of teams. This involves several groups including a central People development team, profession-specific learning teams, policy teams and individual Directorates sharing knowledge and best practice.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The drafting of primary and secondary legislation is the responsibility of a large number of officials across government departments. A range of tools are used to assist with this drafting, including AI which is most commonly used to check, critique, and otherwise interrogate drafts. Work is continuously underway to identify ways of improving the efficiency of this work, including collaboration between departments to share ideas and emerging practices.While AI can be used to assist with the drafting of legislation, the production of any draft remains the responsibility of a lead human drafter to meet the high standards expected of Government legislation.Policy teams in DCMS can use approved AI tools to assist with the drafting and synthesis of documents, as well as the analysis of data; however, like other government departments, we have a strong human-led AI approach, meaning that any policy document, analysis or decision made remains the responsibility of a human, and no decision is made based on AI outputs alone, without manual intervention or overarching human accountability. This approach aligns with the UK Government’s AI Playbook, published in 2025, and with DCMS’s wider work to support the secure, appropriate, responsible and well-governed use of AI across the department.

Media and Sport, whether her department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not paid for followers on any of its corporate social media accounts.

Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Media and Sport, how many libraries have (1) closed and (2) opened in Lincolnshire in each of the last ten years.

As the libraries development agency for England, Arts Council England collects and publishes data on library closures and openings 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-libraries and will be updated in April 2026 with figures for 2025. The English Public Libraries Location Dataset 2024 shows the following for Lincolnshire: Calendar YearStatic Library ClosuresStatic Library Openings20160132017012018322019002020002021002022002023002024002025Data not yet availableData not yet available2026Data not yet availableData not yet available

Media and Sport, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow.For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, which DCMS does, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers.The positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take proportionate action that aims to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and increase participation. More information on this can be found on gov.uk.Employers who choose to use positive action can help people who share a particular protected characteristic to overcome certain barriers under the measures. However, employers need to ensure they do this in a way which does not unfairly disadvantage other groups as this could amount to ‘positive discrimination’, which is unlawful.

Media and Sport, how many staff in her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has less than five employees who are reliant on a visa for employment. The exact number has been redacted to avoid identification of individuals.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support heritage assets in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

This Government takes our responsibility to the built historic environment seriously. For this year alone, my Department has committed nearly £60 million of funding for heritage, including £15m for Heritage at Risk.Funding is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arms-Length-Bodies. Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £5,540,760 to 110 projects in South Holland and the Deepings.Historic England has also administered funding in South Holland and the Deepings. This has gone towards projects such as the 2024 - 2027 Lincolnshire Extended Urban Survey, which worked to underpin better decision making, archaeological understanding and design in the county’s towns, and received £211,000.There are currently 12 heritage assets on the Heritage at Risk Register in the area, and Historic England are actively engaged with all of them. These include conservation areas, listed buildings, and scheduled monuments.The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme gives grants towards VAT paid on repairs and renovations to the nation’s listed sites of worship across the UK. Since August 2022, 41 claims have been paid to 15 Listed Places of Worship based in the South Holland local authority area to a value of £78,125.6.

Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025 Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report andAccounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the tourism industry in Lincolnshire.

DCMS is committed to ensuring that tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country particularly in rural areas such as Lincolnshire, home to historic sites such as Lincoln Cathedral and Castle and family attractions including Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.DCMS works with VisitBritain and VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience with the aim of ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are felt by all regions and nations.The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Plan, which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.

Media and Sport, how many full time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport delivers a wide range of communications campaigns through digital and traditional channels. It is not possible to provide the exact number of staff employed solely to create social media content. These responsibilities are integrated into the broader roles of staff within the digital and communications teams to ensure the best value for the taxpayer.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase volunteering opportunities in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Volunteering is vital to the fabric of British life and communities throughout the country. That’s why the Government aims to encourage and enable as many people as possible to be involved. This year, we are investing in developing an open data infrastructure for volunteering, which will make it easier for people to find opportunities online and volunteer in their communities.DCMS is also supporting the launch of The Big Help Out 2026, which aims to encourage organisations to provide meaningful volunteering opportunities and inspire people to make a difference in communities across the country. The campaign will signpost local opportunities, including in Lincolnshire, to encourage new volunteers to get involved in a range of activities. People can register their interest in The Big Help Out 2026 here.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders to improve tennis facilities in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed £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, along with representatives from other 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 will receive up to £14.5 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on improving access to all weather football pitches in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government’s recent announcement of £400 million to be invested in grassroots sports facilities across the UK over the next four years will ensure we can continue to deliver high-quality grass, artificial grass pitches and other multi-sport facilities in the areas that require them, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active. Following this announcement, we have been working in collaboration with the sports sector and local leaders to develop plans for delivering future funding. We want to ensure these plans take a place-based approach to investment, using regional expertise across the country to deliver in line with demand in each area. Plans for future funding programmes will be confirmed in due course.

Media and Sport, how much the Charity Commission has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

The Charity Commission’s total spend on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years is detailed in the below table: YearSpend (£)2024/2531,219.522023/2435,879.832022/2334,318.512021/2215,016.082020/2110,129.45

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to support the delivery of additional youth services in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, 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.This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. The National Youth Strategy will be published later this year.This financial year, we are investing over £145 million in youth programmes to provide stability to the sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities.

Media and Sport, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities her Department provides in its main Whitehall building.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s main Whitehall building is 100 Parliament Street, housed within the Government Offices Great George Street (GOGGS). GOGGS is managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA) on behalf of the departments which occupy the building. It has 201 single sex cubicles, 80 urinals and 2 non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). This is in addition to 40 wheelchair accessible toilets.These figures come from an audit carried out by the GPA and therefore reflect the facilities across both 100 Parliament Street and 1 Horseguards Road.

Media and Sport, if she will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in her Department since 2017.

DCMS staff are permitted to attend Civil Service Network events in line with the Civil Service Network Policy. However, DCMS does not currently host any Civil Service wide networks and therefore did not organise any such events.