Written questions by Vickers.

Media and Sport, what progress has been made in increasing the accessibility of major cultural institutions for people with disabilities.

The Equality Act 2010 sets out the core legal obligations for cultural venues in the UK regarding disability access. Under this Act, venues must implement "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. These adjustments cover both physical modifications, such as installing ramps and accessible toilets, and changes to services and policies. The latter includes provisions like permitting assistance dogs, offering information in formats that are accessible, and providing aids like sign language interpretation or audio description. DCMS-funded Capital funds, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund all fund renovations across major cultural institutions designed to repair and modernise buildings, including improvements to access and interpretation for visitors with disabilities. The Creative Foundations Fund is a major government investment supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. The Creative Foundations Fund has a specific aim relating to access, supporting capital projects that address equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to: improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances, installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets and installing signage that meets best practice guidelines. The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). DCMS is supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on (a) museums, (b) theatres, and (c) other cultural venues.

We recognise the challenges that museums, theatres and cultural venues face, including rising energy costs. The Government is committed to supporting these sectors, and that’s why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year which will commit over £270 million to support arts and cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, through the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund, and the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, theatres, museums, galleries and other arts and cultural venues can access grants to address urgent issues with their estates. This includes works to improve the energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of their buildings and equipment, ensuring their infrastructure is fit for future generations to benefit from. The department regularly assesses pressures faced by sectors for which ministers are responsible. Recognising that our regional museums - many of which run multiple sites or large estates - are facing increased operating costs, the government has introduced a new, £20 million Museum Renewal Fund this year. The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. Museums and Galleries Exhibition tax relief was also made permanent. On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and culture through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to theatres, museums and cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes. DCMS will continue to engage constructively across the arts and cultural sectors to monitor the impact of rising energy costs.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in grassroots sports, including in communities with lower activity levels.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities.In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.The Government is also investing £98 million in grassroots sports facilities to support increased participation across the UK via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial grass pitches, changing rooms and pavilions, and floodlights. The Programme has a specific objective to target at least 50% of investment into the 30% most deprived areas, based on a combination of deprivation and inactivity levels.The Government has announced £400 million will be invested in grassroots sports facilities across the UK over the next four years to 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 are working in collaboration with the sport sector and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out plans on how future funding will be allocated.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the long-term financial stability of local sports clubs and community leisure centres.

The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and ensuring everyone has access to leisure centres and sport clubs, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country. The Government has committed another £400 million to transform grassroots sports facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK. This funding is on top of the £250 million that Sport England invests every year in grassroots sport in England. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of (a) cultural and (b) creative industries on regional growth, including in the North East.

There are thriving creative businesses and cultural organisations across the UK and they play a key role in regional growth. Unleashing the full potential of our city regions and clusters across the UK is a core objective of our Creative Industries Sector Plan. The Sector Plan includes a universal offer to drive growth in the creative industries in any place in the UK, outlining new measures to break down barriers such as access to finance, supply of skills, and new support to kickstart innovation.

Media and Sport, what plans the Department has to expand opportunities for schools to access cultural and creative learning programmes.

In addition to the cultural and creative learning programmes set out in response to your question at UIN93270, DCMS, in strategic partnership with DfE, will invest £22.5 million across 3 years to support up to 400 schools to provide a better youth-voice led, tailored enrichment offer. This will give pupils access to high-quality out of school enrichment opportunities—including arts, cultural activities and sport— with a particular focus on disadvantaged and underserved pupils. This will align with the benchmarks and support wellbeing, personal development, and essential life skills around the school day, as set out in Enrichment Framework.

Media and Sport, what discussions the Department has had with streaming platforms on ensuring adequate remuneration for artists and creators.

Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music. We have worked with key stakeholders from across the music industry on this matter through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, including senior representatives from music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube. We were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions, as well as the individual commitments made by the UK’s major labels, to deliver real benefits for UK creators. We will evaluate the outcomes of this work after one year. DCMS officials maintain regular engagement with music streaming platforms and their trade body, the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), meeting frequently to address a broad spectrum of music industry matters. Ministers have also met with music streaming platforms to discuss the emerging challenges and implications of AI-generated content on their platforms, and the impact this could have on creator remuneration.

Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to encourage young people to pursue careers in the creative and digital sectors.

High-quality careers guidance helps young people make informed choices about their futures, so they can develop their interests and potential, and follow the path that is right for them to progress into work. Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. Last month was ‘Discover! Creative Careers Month’ as part of our Creative Careers Programme which seeks to increase awareness, consideration and uptake of creative careers among young people aged 13-17 years old, as well as their parents and carers. The month provided 70,000 young people aged 11-18 years old with employer-led experiences and opportunities, including experiences related to digital careers, such as video games and VFX. In our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, we committed to refreshing the £9 million Creative Careers Programme as a UK-wide programme. We will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries, including the createch sector, and the refreshed programme will launch in the next financial year. Building on the Creative Careers Programme, the government announced in November that we were investing £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.

Media and Sport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the Women’s World Cup and other major events on participation rates among girls and young women.

Major events have the power to transform communities and increase participation. The recent Women’s Rugby World Cup and associated legacy programme has contributed to a 35% increase in female age grade registrations in England rising from 17,700 places in 2022 to 23,900 in 2025. Hosting the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup has the potential to be a transformational opportunity for women’s football, and for women’s sport in the UK more generally. Following the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, we saw a 140% increase in participation among women and girls, with over 519,000 new grassroots opportunities created specifically for women and girls across England. Should the UK-wide bid to host the tournament be successful, we will work with partners to maximise its impact for the whole nation.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with sporting bodies about improving safeguarding across all levels of sport.

The safety and wellbeing of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. Sport England and UK Sport (DCMS’ Arm’s Length Bodies for sport) require National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to implement safeguarding policies and practices as a condition of public funding at grassroots and elite level, respectively. DCMS officials regularly meet with both organisations to discuss issues and ongoing work in this area.The sport sector is rightly prioritising this issue. UK Sport has been working in partnership with the Home Nations sports councils and NGBs to assess and identify improvements to safeguarding systems across the sport sector. This project produced a report in June this year entitled Safe Sport, which includes a set of recommendations for sector-wide reforms. The five Sports Councils have committed to taking this work forward and are now scoping out possibilities and timelines for implementation of the report’s recommendations.

Media and Sport, what steps the Department is taking to ensure a safe and sustainable future for live music venues.

Live music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform, supporting local economies and creative jobs, and giving thousands the joy of live music up close. That is why we are committed to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire live music ecosystem. The Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, announced our Music Growth Package of up to £30m over three years from 2026, which more than doubles previous funding. This package will strengthen grassroots infrastructure (including grassroots music venues), support emerging artists and music professionals, and boost exports, breaking down barriers to success at home and abroad. In advance of this, the Government is also providing £2.5m of funding for the Arts Council England’s (ACE) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025/26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for fans. To further support grassroots music venues, the Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy. The Government is transforming the business rates system to create a fairer system, co-designed with stakeholders from the creative sectors. To support these industries, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure (RHL) premises with rateable values under £500k, starting in 2026/27. As a bridge to this permanent change, we have extended the 40% RHL business rates relief for 2025-26.

Media and Sport, what action the Department is taking to support the growth of British film and television production outside London.

The Government is committed to spreading the benefits of our world-leading film and TV sector across the country. The Creative Industries Sector Plan was published in June and announced a £75 million Screen Growth Package. This includes funding to assist productions filming across England, alongside support for the British Film Commission, to build on its work in doubling UK studio capacity outside London, including Space Studios Manchester and The Depot in Liverpool. The recent Budget announced plans to maintain the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, giving emerging production hubs in places such as Hartlepool and Digbeth a strong foundation on which to build. We are also investing directly in regional creative ecosystems. Our £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is providing £25 million over three years to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities: West of England, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the North East. Unleashing the full potential of cities and regions is a core objective of the Sector Plan and is already delivering results, including the recent agreement between the BBC, the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Create Central to expand regional production investment.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the resilience of local journalism; and what plans she has to provide support to help sustain local news providers.

Resilience of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Stockton West and more broadly across County Durham. The Government understands the important work that local news providers do across the UK, including outlets such as The Darlington and Stockton Times and The Northern Echo. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of sustaining this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops. DCMS ministers held a roundtable discussion with local news editors in the spring to discuss the planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has since been set up to consider the issues in more detail and has been meeting regularly since June. More will be announced on the Strategy in the coming months.

Media and Sport, what steps have been taken to support the heritage sector in maintaining and restoring historic buildings.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is committed to supporting the heritage sector in maintaining and restoring historic buildings,through direct funding and partnership working.We provide significant financial support through our Arm's-Length Bodies, primarily Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who last year spent £287.2m on heritage. We have introduced dedicated funding streams, such as the £4.85m Heritage Revival Fund and the £15m Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, which provides support for the rescue, repair, and adaptive reuse of neglected historic buildings, often focusing on community-led projects and regeneration in deprived areas.DCMS also supports maintenance through specialist schemes, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which helps cover the cost of VAT on repairs and has been extended until March 2026.

What steps the Government has taken or plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report into abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation published on 12 November set out in stark detail the horrific abuse that boys and young men experienced at Medomsley Detention Centre (MDC). The PPO asked the Government to consider three issues – that the Government make an apology, that the complaints process should be reformed, and that children should be asked about their experiences of custody by a trained independent member of staff.On 12 November, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement and sent an open letter to victims and survivors. In both, we made a full apology for the abuse which victims and survivors endured and recognised the ineffective governance structures and failures of leadership at every level, which meant the abuse was allowed to continue for such a long time. In the Government response, we also committed to setting up a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to make recommendations to improve safeguarding across the youth estate today, including reviewing the ways children can make complaints and are asked about their experiences in custody. This panel has now been established and will be chaired by Isabelle Trowler (the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families), who will consider the issues raised in the PPO report and report to ministers by spring 2026.In terms of support for victims and survivors, the Ministry of Justice put in place a settlement scheme to provide compensation. To date, this has settled over 2,700 claims, totalling over £10 million. Whilst no amount of compensation can change what has happened in the past, this scheme remains open and we have encouraged anyone who has not already, to make a claim.There are not any plans to establish a public inquiry into MDC. The PPO report is forensic and follows criminal investigations by the Durham Constabulary – Operations Halter One and Two in the 2000s, and the comprehensive Operation Seabrook beginning in 2013. Due to the breadth and depth of these investigations, a public inquiry would be very unlikely to uncover any new information or insight. Adrian Usher, the Ombudsman, has shared this view – “It is my opinion that should a public inquiry arise following the publication of my report, I cannot see how it would produce a more comprehensive account of what happened at Medomsley, and the causes of it, than my investigation has revealed.”

What measures are currently in place, or planned, to provide ongoing support and redress for survivors of abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation published on 12 November set out in stark detail the horrific abuse that boys and young men experienced at Medomsley Detention Centre (MDC). The PPO asked the Government to consider three issues – that the Government make an apology, that the complaints process should be reformed, and that children should be asked about their experiences of custody by a trained independent member of staff.On 12 November, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement and sent an open letter to victims and survivors. In both, we made a full apology for the abuse which victims and survivors endured and recognised the ineffective governance structures and failures of leadership at every level, which meant the abuse was allowed to continue for such a long time. In the Government response, we also committed to setting up a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to make recommendations to improve safeguarding across the youth estate today, including reviewing the ways children can make complaints and are asked about their experiences in custody. This panel has now been established and will be chaired by Isabelle Trowler (the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families), who will consider the issues raised in the PPO report and report to ministers by spring 2026.In terms of support for victims and survivors, the Ministry of Justice put in place a settlement scheme to provide compensation. To date, this has settled over 2,700 claims, totalling over £10 million. Whilst no amount of compensation can change what has happened in the past, this scheme remains open and we have encouraged anyone who has not already, to make a claim.There are not any plans to establish a public inquiry into MDC. The PPO report is forensic and follows criminal investigations by the Durham Constabulary – Operations Halter One and Two in the 2000s, and the comprehensive Operation Seabrook beginning in 2013. Due to the breadth and depth of these investigations, a public inquiry would be very unlikely to uncover any new information or insight. Adrian Usher, the Ombudsman, has shared this view – “It is my opinion that should a public inquiry arise following the publication of my report, I cannot see how it would produce a more comprehensive account of what happened at Medomsley, and the causes of it, than my investigation has revealed.”

What steps he is taking to ensure that lessons are learned from the systemic failings at Medomsley Detention Centre to prevent similar abuse in youth detention facilities in the future.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation published on 12 November set out in stark detail the horrific abuse that boys and young men experienced at Medomsley Detention Centre (MDC). The PPO asked the Government to consider three issues – that the Government make an apology, that the complaints process should be reformed, and that children should be asked about their experiences of custody by a trained independent member of staff.On 12 November, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement and sent an open letter to victims and survivors. In both, we made a full apology for the abuse which victims and survivors endured and recognised the ineffective governance structures and failures of leadership at every level, which meant the abuse was allowed to continue for such a long time. In the Government response, we also committed to setting up a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to make recommendations to improve safeguarding across the youth estate today, including reviewing the ways children can make complaints and are asked about their experiences in custody. This panel has now been established and will be chaired by Isabelle Trowler (the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families), who will consider the issues raised in the PPO report and report to ministers by spring 2026.In terms of support for victims and survivors, the Ministry of Justice put in place a settlement scheme to provide compensation. To date, this has settled over 2,700 claims, totalling over £10 million. Whilst no amount of compensation can change what has happened in the past, this scheme remains open and we have encouraged anyone who has not already, to make a claim.There are not any plans to establish a public inquiry into MDC. The PPO report is forensic and follows criminal investigations by the Durham Constabulary – Operations Halter One and Two in the 2000s, and the comprehensive Operation Seabrook beginning in 2013. Due to the breadth and depth of these investigations, a public inquiry would be very unlikely to uncover any new information or insight. Adrian Usher, the Ombudsman, has shared this view – “It is my opinion that should a public inquiry arise following the publication of my report, I cannot see how it would produce a more comprehensive account of what happened at Medomsley, and the causes of it, than my investigation has revealed.”

Whether he plans to establish a statutory public inquiry into the abuse of young men at Medomsley Detention Centre and the systemic failures highlighted in the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s report.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation published on 12 November set out in stark detail the horrific abuse that boys and young men experienced at Medomsley Detention Centre (MDC). The PPO asked the Government to consider three issues – that the Government make an apology, that the complaints process should be reformed, and that children should be asked about their experiences of custody by a trained independent member of staff.On 12 November, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement and sent an open letter to victims and survivors. In both, we made a full apology for the abuse which victims and survivors endured and recognised the ineffective governance structures and failures of leadership at every level, which meant the abuse was allowed to continue for such a long time. In the Government response, we also committed to setting up a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to make recommendations to improve safeguarding across the youth estate today, including reviewing the ways children can make complaints and are asked about their experiences in custody. This panel has now been established and will be chaired by Isabelle Trowler (the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families), who will consider the issues raised in the PPO report and report to ministers by spring 2026.In terms of support for victims and survivors, the Ministry of Justice put in place a settlement scheme to provide compensation. To date, this has settled over 2,700 claims, totalling over £10 million. Whilst no amount of compensation can change what has happened in the past, this scheme remains open and we have encouraged anyone who has not already, to make a claim.There are not any plans to establish a public inquiry into MDC. The PPO report is forensic and follows criminal investigations by the Durham Constabulary – Operations Halter One and Two in the 2000s, and the comprehensive Operation Seabrook beginning in 2013. Due to the breadth and depth of these investigations, a public inquiry would be very unlikely to uncover any new information or insight. Adrian Usher, the Ombudsman, has shared this view – “It is my opinion that should a public inquiry arise following the publication of my report, I cannot see how it would produce a more comprehensive account of what happened at Medomsley, and the causes of it, than my investigation has revealed.”

What progress he has made on reducing delayed discharges from hospitals.

The Government is committed to tackling delayed discharges, to ensure patients do not remain in hospital longer than necessary and to free up hospital beds for patients that need them.The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 sets as a priority that hospitals should tackle the delays in patients waiting to be discharged. They should eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, and work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning. In January 2025, we published a new policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund, which gives the National Health Service and local authorities accountability for setting and achieving joint goals for reducing discharge delays. Starting in the financial year 2026/27, we will reform the Better Care Fund, focusing on ensuring consistent joint NHS and local authority funding for services essential to integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation, and reablement.

What steps he is taking to expand preventative health programmes in communities with high chronic-disease prevalence.

Our mission is to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between rich and poor, through the 10-Year Health Plan. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how a shift to prevention will deliver healthier, more prosperous lives for all, but particularly for those suffering the consequences of widening levels of health inequality. We are committed to taking action to tackle both the chronic diseases themselves and the modifiable risk factors that contribute to them, including:doubling the number of patients able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and expanding access to obesity medicines by working closely with industry and local systems to test new models of care and identify innovative ways to do this. Investing £70 million in 2025/26 to support local authority-led Stop Smoking Services will ensure that there is a comprehensive offer across local authorities in England, while providing additional weighted funding to local authorities with the highest smoking rates. The national Swap to Stop scheme and Smoke-free Pregnancy Incentives Scheme are also continuing. We are also working to ensure that all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care, making every clinical consultation count;continuing to deliver the NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme, which aims to detect those at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease and who are aged between 40 and 74 years old. To improve access to the programme we are piloting an online NHS Health Check so that people can undertake a check at a time and place that is convenient to them.investing in hypertension case-finding for those over 40 years old in community pharmacies, with nearly 4.2 million people having received a free blood pressure check through the service; anddeveloping other extensive digital prevention programmes to help people live healthier lives for longer and reduce inequalities. These ‘always-on’ and free at the point of use resources were used by nearly 20 million people in the last 12 months, offering support for the priority preventable conditions, with, for example, one in four users of our NHS Quit Smoking app reaching 28 days smoke free, which in turn makes them five times more likely to stop smoking for good, and with those who complete the 12-week weight loss plan losing on average 5.6 kilograms.