Speeches by Peacock.

“I am happy to step in. I do not want to misquote the Secretary of State, but I believe she was in front of the Committee last week and used words around “increasingly unsustainable”. We all recognise that, over the last 10 to 15 years, the BBC has had a very challenging funding situation. Depending on what estimate you…”

“In terms of how we look at the funding of the World Service, we are assuming that its longer-term funding will be considered as part of the charter review. However, I do appreciate—and this point has been put to me by the World Service and others—that that is, ultimately, two and a half years away. In terms of the shor…”

“It will be jointly chaired between the two Departments. The Foreign Secretary said in front of your Committee that it is about getting greater bang for our buck. We have a huge amount of soft power, and a lot of that does fall into our Department with the creative sectors, the sports sectors and so on. It is about grea…”

“I am Stephanie Peacock I am the media Minister and the Member of Parliament for Barnsley South.”

“The shorter-term settlement, as Baroness Chapman has outlined, was a negotiation between the Foreign Office and the Treasury. We work closely with the Treasury and the Foreign Office, and we meet regularly with the BBC as a whole. In terms of the short to medium term, we will have the second spending review. The longer…”

“I am happy to step in. I do not want to misquote the Secretary of State, but I believe she was in front of the Committee last week and used words around “increasingly unsustainable”. We all recognise that, over the last 10 to 15 years, the BBC has had a very challenging funding situation. Depending on what estimate you…”

“In terms of how we look at the funding of the World Service, we are assuming that its longer-term funding will be considered as part of the charter review. However, I do appreciate—and this point has been put to me by the World Service and others—that that is, ultimately, two and a half years away. In terms of the shor…”

“That would be a conversation that we would have between the Foreign Office and the Treasury. Of course, we do have the second spending review coming up.”

“Yes. It is hard to tell. If I was to ask my constituents in Barnsley if they listen to the World Service, I would suspect that they would say not. However, if I was to talk to them about some of the motivators and reasons behind the World Service that this Committee has been exploring, and the huge contribution that it…”

“I can come in on that. It speaks to feedback, but, in terms of complaints, there is of course the BBC First service. If you complain to the BBC, you can then escalate it to the executive complaints unit. The detail was run through in your previous session with the BBC, so audiences who are not happy can certainly feed …”

“Of course, and there is a complaints procedure right now. A complaint goes to the BBC first, and it can then be escalated. If the hon. Gentleman’s constituents are not happy, they can then go to Ofcom. As part of the charter review, it is absolutely right that all members of the public can have their say. We will be la…”

“That is a very good question and one that I will ask the BBC and write to the Committee about.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) on securing this important debate. The public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure across the country. It does that throug…”

“I was grateful to the hon. Gentleman for coming to speak to me about this issue. I will speak to my officials and make sure that we approach Sport England very speedily.”

“As set out in a written ministerial statement yesterday, the Government will introduce a statutory levy on gambling operators, which was a commitment made as part of the gambling White Paper in 2023. Society lotteries will be charged the levy at the lowest rate of 0.1%. I know that they are a vital fundraising tool for…”

“My understanding was that the levy came after the money had gone to good causes, but I am not the Gambling Minister, who sits in the other place. I will happily arrange a meeting for the right hon. Member with the Gambling Minister.”

“The Government are committing to ensure that the community wealth fund delivers meaningful benefits across England. That is why we have allocated £87.5 million of dormant assets funding towards it. We will set out our position on the key design principles of the community wealth fund shortly.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I know Dudley well, and I know that she is a strong advocate for the area she represents. I reassure her that the Government are committed to supporting those places in need through the community wealth fund. We are working at pace on the details and delivery of the fund and wil…”

“Grassroots sports make a huge contribution to communities up and down the country, providing sport and physical activity opportunities, and a chance to socialise and learn new skills while supporting people’s health and wellbeing. The Government are supporting people to get active through our £123 million multi-sport g…”

“I know the hon. Gentleman is a huge advocate for boxing, and I was pleased to speak with him about it a few weeks ago. I have seen at first hand the impact that boxing can have. England Boxing was given £6.8 million by Sport England in 2022. I would be delighted to meet him to discuss the issue further.”