Written questions by French.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the regulatory framework for white-collar boxing.

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

Media and Sport, what her Department's planned timeline is for publishing its response to the consultation on safety at white-collar boxing events.

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

Media and Sport, what data her department holds on the number of deaths at (a) white collar and (b) regulated boxing events in the last five years.

Following participant fatalities in white collar boxing, the Government is exploring improvements to participant safety, and recently undertook a targeted consultation on this topic to support the development of those options. The findings are being used to inform next steps, which will be set out in due course.As part of this work, DCMS officials have met and engaged with National Governing Bodies for boxing and white collar boxing event promoters. These stakeholders were also invited to respond to the written consultation, which ran from 6th October to 21st November, 2025. DCMS will publish its response to the consultation by Summer 2026.The DCMS does not centrally collect data on deaths occurring at such sporting events or resulting from participation in specific sports. Primary responsibility for investigating the cause and circumstances of such deaths rests with the relevant Coroner. However, DCMS and its ALBs will respond to any relevant recommendations made by coroners when deaths have occurred as a result of sport to ensure the maintenance of safety in all sports.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of Local Authorities commissioning gambling harms prevention; and of their capacity to do so.

In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 30% allocated to gambling harms prevention activity. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for the implementation and oversight of the gambling levy, remains confident that levy commissioners are best placed to make decisions on the future of their work programmes regarding the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harms. As prevention commissioners, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in England and the Scottish and Welsh administrations continue to work collaboratively on the development of their respective work programmes, drawing on expertise from across the system. OHID will employ a ‘test and learn’ approach as they transition to the new levy system, to better-understand what interventions are most effective in preventing gambling harms at a local, regional, and national level. Local authorities are well placed to play a central role in preventing gambling‑related harms across local communities. An OHID-led stocktake of local authority activity in this space indicated that whilst some activity is already underway, there is appetite within local authorities to do more. OHID are developing a fund for all upper-tier local authorities across England, which will aim to strengthen local capacity to tackle gambling‑related harm by facilitating improved understanding of local need and supporting the development of effective local and regional networks. This will be delivered alongside the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise grant fund which launched in January to fund voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations to deliver prevention activity across England until March 2028. Further information on the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise grant fund is avaiable at the following link: https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/gambling-harms-prevention-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-grant-fund-1

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of Local Authorities commissioning gambling harms prevention; and of their capacity to do so.

In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 30% allocated to gambling harms prevention activity.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for the implementation and oversight of the gambling levy, remains confident that levy commissioners are best placed to make decisions on the future of their work programmes regarding the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms.As prevention commissioners, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in England and Scottish and Welsh Governments continue to work collaboratively on the development of their respective work programmes, drawing on expertise from across the system. OHID will employ a ‘test and learn’ approach as they transition to the new levy system, to better-understand what interventions are most effective in preventing gambling harms at a local, regional and national level.Local authorities are well placed to play a central role in preventing gambling‑related harms across local communities. An OHID-led stocktake of local authority activity in this space indicated that whilst some activity is already underway, there is appetite within local authorities to do more.OHID is developing a fund for all upper-tier local authorities across England, which will aim to strengthen local capacity to tackle gambling‑related harm by facilitating improved understanding of local need and supporting the development of effective local and regional networks. This will be delivered alongside the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) grant fund which launched in January to fund VCSE organisations to deliver prevention activity across England until March 2028. More information on the grant is available at the following link:https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/gambling-harms-prevention-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-grant-fund-1

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Local Authorities commissioning gambling harms prevention; and of their capacity to do so.

In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 30% allocated to gambling harms prevention activity. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for the implementation and oversight of the gambling levy, remains confident that levy commissioners are best placed to make decisions on the future of their work programmes regarding the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. As prevention commissioners, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in England and Scottish and Welsh Governments continue to work collaboratively on the development of their respective work programmes, drawing on expertise from across the system. OHID will employ a ‘test and learn’ approach as they transition to the new levy system, to better-understand what interventions are most effective in preventing gambling harms at a local, regional and national level. Local authorities are well placed to play a central role in preventing gambling‑related harms across local communities. An OHID-led stocktake of local authority activity in this space indicated that whilst some activity is already underway, there is appetite within local authorities to do more. OHID is developing a fund for all upper-tier local authorities across England, which will aim to strengthen local capacity to tackle gambling‑related harm by facilitating improved understanding of local need and supporting the development of effective local and regional networks. This will be delivered alongside the Gambling Harms Prevention: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) grant fund which will fund VCSE organisations to deliver prevention activity across England from April 2026 to March 2028.

What discussions she has had with organisations impacted by the delay in the publication of the EHRC Code of Practice on single-sex spaces.

The Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations provides guidance on all protected characteristics, not solely sex and gender reassignment. This is a legally complex document which will have an impact on service providers up and down the country. We are working at pace to review it with the care it deserves. We have set out our expectation for service providers to follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary.

What progress has been made in appointing a delivery partner for the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network; and whether her Department plans to provide funding for the School Games Organisers Network after the 2025-26 academic year.

The department has carried out market engagement with the sector, and we are using feedback from this to inform our invitation to tender. We will launch procurement for a national delivery partner to run the Partnerships Network shortly.The government has confirmed funding for the School Games organisers until the end of the 2025/26 academic year.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December to Question 96967 on Sports: Facilities, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities.

The government has no plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) distribution and (b) availability of sports pitches by local authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that it is for local planning authorities to make assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities in their areas (including quantitative or qualitative deficits or surpluses), and opportunities for new provision. Information gained from the assessments should be used to determine what open space, sport and recreational provision is needed, which plans should then seek to accommodate.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November to Question 92039 on Embassies: Tolls, if she will publish the data on all outstanding debts; and what steps she is taking to recover outstanding congestion charge debts by embassies.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has published the relevant data on outstanding debts in the same level of detail as it was published under the previous government. In terms of the steps being taken to recover those debts, I refer the Hon Member to the opening paragraph of the written ministerial statement (UIN HCWS1076) laid in the House on 19 November.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the statutory consultee role of Sport England in the planning system on the level of provision of (a) pitches, (b) courts and (c) other sports facilities.

The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Sport England’s statutory consultee role in the planning regime and I encourage anyone interested to feed into that process. The aim of this consultation is not to reduce access to sports facilities. We will continue to work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed reforms.

Media and Sport, whether the £400 million announced for grassroots sports facilities on 19 June 2025 will include Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December to Question 96978 on Sports: Facilities, what data relating to non-pitch-based sports infrastructure her Department holds; and whether it holds datasets on local authority breakdowns.

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the difference between (a) harm caused by gambling and (b) harm associated with gambling; and if she will set out which of these measures is the policy objective of her department when it comes to gambling policy.

The Government is acutely aware of the impact that harmful gambling can have on individuals, their families and communities, and we are committed to strengthening protections to safeguard those at risk of both harm caused by, and associated with, gambling.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 December to Question 96308 on State Retirement Pensions, if he will publish a timeline for the Pensions Commission's work.

The Pensions Commission is expected to publish its final report in the first half of 2027.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 96307 on Emigration, if her Department will make an assessment of of the potential impact of the emigration of people aged (a) 18-25, (b) 26-35, (c) 36-49, and (d) 50+ years old on (i) the levels of revenue raised through taxation and (ii) the sustainability of the public finances.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assesses the fiscal implications of migration as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook and long-term fiscal projections.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96315 on Sports: Finance, how much of the £400 million announced for investment into grassroots sports facilities she anticipates will be spent in 2026, and on which sports will that funding be spent.

The Government’s announcement of £400m of investment into grassroots sports over the next four years will ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality multi-sport facilities in communities that need them across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, in order to increase participation and allow people to be active.According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 56,855 non-pitch-based sport facilities in England, which can be broken down by local authority. More details can be found here.We are working on our plans for future grassroots sports funding and we will continue to engage the Devolved Governments and our local partners across the UK on this matter. We will provide an update early in 2026.

With reference to her Department’s webpage entitled Transforming business rates, published on 30 October 2024, whether it remains her policy that the business rate system should level the playing field between high street businesses and online retailers.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. We are doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including those on the high street. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to gambling duties on Gibraltar's economy.

Increasing gambling duties will raise over £1 billion per year to support the public finances and forms part of our ambition to create a fair, modern and sustainable tax system. The changes affect all businesses that offer gambling services to UK customers. The government understands that Gibraltar has a gambling industry that faces the UK, and will continue to monitor all impacts of these changes. A Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the expected impacts was published at Budget and can be found here: Gambling duty changes - GOV.UK

Media and Sport, what representations she has received from the Government of Gibraltar regarding the potential impact of changes to gambling levies on its economy.

DCMS has not received any direct representations from the Government of Gibraltar regarding the potential impact of changes to gambling levies on its economy.