Written questions by Arthur.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Iranian diaspora and community cohesion in the UK via her cultural programme.

The Government is committed to fostering social cohesion and building stronger, more integrated communities across the UK. Culture is central to this mission, strengthening ties between people and the places they live. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not however, generally run programmes specifically targeted only at the Iranian diaspora. Instead, it supports community cohesion and diaspora cultural expression through broader cultural, arts, and heritage programmes that are open to diverse communities across the UK. Iranian organisations, artists, and community groups can access these initiatives alongside other diaspora groups. For instance, Arts Council England administers the National Lottery Project Grants, an open fund providing over £100 million annually to artists and organisations of all backgrounds. Similarly, the National Lottery Heritage Fund provides an open funding programme which supports a broad range of projects that connect people and communities to the UK's heritage including those in diaspora in the UK. Their National Lottery Heritage grants can be used to support cultural traditions, exploring the history of different cultures through storytelling, dance, theatre, food or language for example.

Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to ensure charities do not endorse or promote hate crimes or terrorism linked to Iran's governing regime.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities will be extended. This includes automatically disqualifying individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and helping the Charity Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred. The Charity Commission is not a prosecuting authority, so any allegation or evidence of criminal offences, including terrorism, is referred to the police to investigate. The Charity Commission has published guidance for charities with links to Iran to be clear that charities must ensure any activity furthers their charity’s purposes and complies with the law and its guidance, or else face regulatory consequences.

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that Gaelic-language services are given clear and equivalent visibility alongside other UK national language services on BBC digital platforms.

The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in the UK’s indigenous and minority languages - including Scottish Gaelic - by including it in the modernised public service remit for television in the UK. The Public Service Broadcasters, as well as MG ALBA, are operationally and editorially independent from Government, and specific decisions regarding content are a matter for them. MG ALBA committed in its 2024/25 annual plan to explicitly consider international reach and opportunities. The Government launched the BBC Charter Review last year, which will consider how the BBC can best support minority language broadcasting, including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. The Green paper also sets out that we are considering what further obligations the BBC should have to ensure a broad range of public service content is promoted within the BBC’s own platforms. On funding, we will consider options for providing MG ALBA with more certainty over its partnership arrangements with the BBC and its funding as part of the Charter Review.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level of the funding gap between the BBC, ALBA and S4C; and whether she plans to take steps to address disparities in long-term funding security between Gaelic and Welsh language broadcasting.

The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in the UK’s indigenous and minority languages - including Scottish Gaelic - by including it in the modernised public service remit for television in the UK. The Public Service Broadcasters, as well as MG ALBA, are operationally and editorially independent from Government, and specific decisions regarding content are a matter for them. MG ALBA committed in its 2024/25 annual plan to explicitly consider international reach and opportunities. The Government launched the BBC Charter Review last year, which will consider how the BBC can best support minority language broadcasting, including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. The Green paper also sets out that we are considering what further obligations the BBC should have to ensure a broad range of public service content is promoted within the BBC’s own platforms. On funding, we will consider options for providing MG ALBA with more certainty over its partnership arrangements with the BBC and its funding as part of the Charter Review.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential audience for Gaelic-language broadcasting among the global Gaelic diaspora.

The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in the UK’s indigenous and minority languages - including Scottish Gaelic - by including it in the modernised public service remit for television in the UK. The Public Service Broadcasters, as well as MG ALBA, are operationally and editorially independent from Government, and specific decisions regarding content are a matter for them. MG ALBA committed in its 2024/25 annual plan to explicitly consider international reach and opportunities. The Government launched the BBC Charter Review last year, which will consider how the BBC can best support minority language broadcasting, including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. The Green paper also sets out that we are considering what further obligations the BBC should have to ensure a broad range of public service content is promoted within the BBC’s own platforms. On funding, we will consider options for providing MG ALBA with more certainty over its partnership arrangements with the BBC and its funding as part of the Charter Review.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current regulatory requirements on gambling operators to carry out due diligence in verifying the source of funds when accepting customer deposits; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to strengthen such requirements.

The Gambling Commission has a duty to ensure that the necessary controls are in place to prevent gambling businesses being used for illicit purposes.As part of the Operator’s Gambling Licence in Great Britain under the Condition of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), operators are required to keep up-to-date with emerging risks information published by the Gambling Commission. This assessment is a trigger for operators to review their own money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments and related policies, procedures and controls to ensure that they remain appropriate and effective.The Gambling Commission regularly publishes its enforcement actions which identifies and enforces penalties for breaches. We have regular engagement with the GC on appropriate measures and keep these under review.

Media and Sport, if her Department will provide support to The Art Works facility in Granton.

Arts and culture in Scotland is a devolved matter.The UK Government provides the Scottish Government with a settlement through the Barnett Formula which they can spend on cultural activities and priorities across Scotland. The Scottish Government also has substantial revenue raising capability. Support for the National Galleries Scotland’s project The Art Works in North Edinburgh is best directed to the Scottish Government who make the decisions about how to prioritise cultural funding.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with FIFA on the pricing of participating member association's tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Government understands the strong interest in ticket pricing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the impact it has on fans.FIFA is an independent international body with its own governance structures. Ticket pricing is a commercial decision determined solely by the World Cup organisers, which are FIFA and the Host Nations (Canada, Mexico, and the United States).Representations regarding the interests of fans fall to the respective football associations. The Football Association (FA), Scottish Football Association (SFA), Football Association of Wales (FAW), and Irish Football Association (IFA) are the recognised home nation representatives within the international football structure, and are the appropriate bodies to raise such matters with FIFA.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with streaming services on adopting the British Board of Film Classification's age and content classifications.

Ofcom, the independent regulator, has a new duty introduced through the Media Act 2024 to assess audience protection measures used by video-on-demand (VoD) services, such as age ratings, to ensure they are adequate to protect audiences from harm. The Government will in due course be designating mainstream VoD 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 could include the use of age ratings, if Ofcom considers it appropriate.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with streaming services on effective audience protection measures and age classifications.

Ofcom, the independent regulator, has a new duty introduced through the Media Act 2024 to assess audience protection measures used by video-on-demand (VoD) services, such as age ratings, to ensure they are adequate to protect audiences from harm. The Government will in due course be designating mainstream VoD 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 could include the use of age ratings, if Ofcom considers it appropriate.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of an annual cap on grants to individual places of worship under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme on those places of worship.

DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impact on introducing an annual cap of £25,000 per place of worship for the 2025/26 financial year.The changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Church Commissioners on extending the spending cap on the Listed Places of Worship scheme after 2026.

The future of the grant scheme funding after March 2026 will be considered as we work through the results of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.The Department has had various meetings with representatives of the Church and other stakeholders on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In June 2025, the Heritage Minister met church leaders including Marsha de Cordova MP, who is the Second Church Estates Commissioner.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential savings from the introduction of the £25,000 annual cap on grants under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme.

In January this government announced that we would extend the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for one year with an overall budget of £23 million, coming into effect from April 2025. Previous to that the budget for the scheme was up to £42 million, with an average spend of £29 million per year between 2017 and 2024. However, to ensure the £23 million budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship.This means there is a saving of approximately £6m per year.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of gambling legislation in protecting young people from gambling-related harm.

We are committed to implementing gambling white paper legislative measures and to evaluating these measures effectively. As part of this, we introduced a £2 online slots stake limit for 18-24 year olds in May this year, a targeted-harm reduction measure for a high risk product. We have committed to review these measures within five years, or earlier if there is evidence to do so. We have also introduced a statutory gambling levy. 30% of levy funding will be allocated to prevention activity, including education and early intervention to help protect young people from gambling-related harm. We are also assessing white paper measures through an ongoing evaluation, and will publish the final report on the impact of these measures in due course. In parallel we will continue to monitor the best available evidence to inform how we protect young people from gambling harm amongst children and young people.

Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to support independent cinemas.

We are supporting cinemas through permanently lower business rates multipliers for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure premises with rateable values under £500,000 from 2026/27.Our Plan for Neighbourhoods will provide £1.5 billion to 75 towns across the UK over ten years. Places will be able to use their £20 million to enrich their cultural and media offering and could, amongst other opportunities, refurbish, restore, or develop cultural and heritage assets, including local cinemas.The British Film Institute (BFI), a DCMS Arms Length Body, also provides support to the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of eight film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support that connect cinemas, festivals and creative practitioners including using lottery funding to support the independent cinema exhibition sector by enhancing skills and sharing best practice.Further information about film hubs is available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-audience/bfi-film-audience-networkFurthermore, we are actively considering the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's recommendation to deliver capital infrastructure funding for independent cinemas and what we can do to further recognise the importance of cinemas within their local area.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the (a) long-term growth and (b) international competitiveness of the video game industry.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered reintroducing a skills investment fund dedicated to the games industry to help tackle skills shortages.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the UK video games industry remains a source of economic growth in the context of US tariffs.

The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to introduce further regulation for prize draws.

Large scale commercial prize draws are a significant and growing market. Whilst not regulated as a gambling product under the Gambling Act, we want people who participate to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. The department is grateful for the voluntary action taken so far by the sector to act transparently and apply player protection measures. We want to ensure high standards across the sector. The Minister for Gambling recently met with the leading operator Omaze to discuss this work further and will meet others in the sector soon. We will update Parliament further in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local independent journalism.

Sustainability of the local media sector across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of 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.Officials have met with the Public Interest News Foundation, founders of the Local News Commission, as part of our continued engagement with key external stakeholders. Government welcomes the publication of the Commission’s report and will consider its recommendations as part of our wider work on the Strategy. Our work is also being informed by the range of studies conducted into the state of local journalism in the UK in recent years.