Speeches by Peacock.

“I do agree, and I share my hon. Friend’s shock. I am shocked and appalled. The Government’s stance remains unequivocal: racism has absolutely no place in our society, and it has no place in our sport either. Let me turn to the issue of accessibility. I recognise and understand the disappointment that many will feel reg…”

“I would not ordinarily intervene as the Minister, but I thought that it might be helpful to inform my hon. Friend and the House that I will chair the next meeting of the women’s sport taskforce, which aims to encourage and tackle some of the issues around women’s sport. Indeed, this Government have the ambition to doub…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg, and I am really pleased to respond to this debate. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) on securing today’s debate, and on all her hard work and representation. It is brilliant not only to set out what the Gove…”

“I would not ordinarily intervene as the Minister, but I thought that it might be helpful to inform my hon. Friend and the House that I will chair the next meeting of the women’s sport taskforce, which aims to encourage and tackle some of the issues around women’s sport. Indeed, this Government have the ambition to doub…”

“Of course I join my hon. Friend in condemning the appalling violence, and my heart goes out to all those involved. We must stand against this across the House. Sport unites us all. It transcends boundaries, fosters camaraderie and instils the values of fairness, respect and perseverance. It is a mirror on our society, …”

“I do agree, and I share my hon. Friend’s shock. I am shocked and appalled. The Government’s stance remains unequivocal: racism has absolutely no place in our society, and it has no place in our sport either. Let me turn to the issue of accessibility. I recognise and understand the disappointment that many will feel reg…”

“That is a completely fair point. When you talk about touring and music, and moving equipment, Minister Murray leads on that. I met with him ahead of this Committee. I will put the points to him that you put to me. We engage across Government and we engage on an ongoing basis with the EU, which is led by the Cabinet Off…”

“I do appreciate that there are pressures on the sector. I am not familiar with those figures. I have engaged with the tourism sector a lot in the six months that I have been the Tourism Minister. I appreciate the cumulative pressures on the sector. I heard that at first hand. Talking of cross-Government working, I have…”

“I will have to write to the Committee on that point.”

“I totally take that point. I say it from the outset that I very much acknowledge it, as does the Secretary of State. We were both in attendance at the Grand Prix last summer. I was at the Motorsport Awards in January and I have met with F1 about the points that you have put to me. As well as the Committee visiting, I b…”

“That is a very fair point. From my engagement with the sector, it has been welcomed. The Government accepted the recommendations, but I appreciate the points being made. If there are specific things they think that the Government should do more, and indeed across Government, I am happy to take away those recommendation…”

“We probably need to keep that under review. I pointed to the pilot taking place in London. There is that balance between giving power to local areas and letting them do it in the best way that suits them, which can sometimes lead to some doing it better than others. It is an area where I am very keen to see how it roll…”

“We speak regularly to the Business Department. I have pointed out that Minister McDougall has been engaged in a lot of ongoing discussions.”

“I reiterate the point that I opened with. Major events are about our self-confidence as a nation. They are about showcasing the country on the global stage. All the different examples that we have talked about, whether it be F1 or Wimbledon, and whether it be the ones that we are hosting such as the Euros or the Tour d…”

“I acknowledge that point.”

“We have had huge interest in the Town of Culture programme, as I am sure you are aware. We have had more than 400 applicants. That is incredibly welcome. One recommendation of the predecessor Committee was to give that money up front for the City of Culture, which has been done. I referenced the fact that we are hostin…”

“That is an important question and resonates with me as MP for Barnsley South. It is something I think about often. I can give some clear examples of where legacy planning starts from the outset and we think about how we can get as many people involved as possible. I went to the figure skating in Sheffield and met some …”

“I heard the evidence they gave and I was quite struck by some of the details. They talked about their pyramid of events. There was perhaps a sense of caution. They welcomed a UK strategy perhaps, but they did not want to cut across it. That is something we hear from both the regions and nations on anything from the UK …”

“We would all agree with that. Of course, there were mistakes made and lessons need to be learned, and that is really important, but as I said just now, they are inherently a good thing. I discuss the issue across Government. I have spoken to the Home Office about it, and we have agreed very clearly that following those…”

“I hope I am not mischaracterising the theme of the evidence that the witnesses gave, but I think it was broadly welcomed, and that has been my experience when talking to the sector. The basic aim behind it was to remove barriers at all different levels. Through that taskforce, the Government accepted the recommendation…”