Written questions by Whittingdale.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for covered tennis and padel facilities in Maldon constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That has to mean delivering a range of facilities across the country based on what each local community needs. On 16 March, the Prime Minister confirmed £10 million investment in 2026/27 to develop new delivery models, including at least £2.5 million to the Lawn Tennis Association for covered courts for tennis, padel and other activities. We provide the majority of our support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The LTA is receiving 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.We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for future funding for a range of sports across the country based on communities’ needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the findings in Ofcom's Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services regarding public demand for greater consistency in age ratings used on streaming services.

We note the findings of Ofcom’s Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services. The Government will shortly be designating mainstream video-on-demand services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then consult on a new Standards Code for these services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. This will give the public an important opportunity to set out their views directly on the use of age ratings and content warnings.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage greater consistency in age ratings and content warnings across streaming services to help parents ensure age-appropriate viewing for their children.

We note the findings of Ofcom’s Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services. The Government will shortly be designating mainstream video-on-demand services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then consult on a new Standards Code for these services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. This will give the public an important opportunity to set out their views directly on the use of age ratings and content warnings.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of TV viewing transitioning to online delivery digital viewing on linear TV broadcasting on her Department's policy aims for local TV.

The Government recognises the important role that local TV continues to play in the wider broadcasting ecosystem. That is why last year we brought forward legislation to enable Ofcom to renew the licences for the local TV multiplex and the 34 individual local TV services. Local TV services provide audiences with local content, including news and current affairs. This contributes to our broader policy objectives of ensuring a strong local media sector and keeping communities informed about local issues and decision making. We will consider how we can further safeguard local TV’s contribution to these objectives through the Local Media Strategy.However, at the same time we understand that there are challenges facing the local TV sector, as there are all broadcasters. The shift from broadcast to online viewing has led to audiences becoming increasingly fragmented, while increasing distribution costs.In particular, we are aware of the local TV sector’s concerns that they will not receive prominence for their internet programme services (apps) as part of the new online prominence regime established in the Media Act 2024. At the moment we are not aware of the existence of any local TV on-demand apps. However, we would strongly welcome an app being brought to market that improves the availability of local content. This would enable the Government to consider whether the app should receive prominence under the online prominence regime in the same way local TV services have enjoyed prominence on DTT, satellite and cable platforms since they began broadcasting in 2013.We are also aware of other distribution challenges that are material to local TV’s future success and sustainability, including the long term future of the DTT platform itself. We have launched a project to consider the future of TV distribution, with local TV representatives included on our stakeholder forum. As part of this work, we will also keep under review the policy framework which requires local TV services to broadcast over DTT as the market and viewer behaviour continues to evolve, subject to broader decisions about the future of DTT.

Media and Sport, how much funding her Department plans to provide for the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme in the 2025-26 financial year.

Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. Individual programmes will now be assessed during the departmental Business Planning process.