Written questions by Collins.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to end the use of promotional offers by gambling companies that may increase gambling-related harm.

As part of the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions, all gambling operators in the UK must comply with advertising codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority independently of the government. These advertising codes contain a range of measures which are designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm.The Gambling Commission have also introduced further restrictions to ensure that bonuses are constructed in a responsible way which does not encourage harmful gambling. Since January 2026, operators have been banned from cross-marketing more than one gambling product within one incentive. This measure further raises standards to ensure that advertising does not encourage excessive and harmful gambling.We will continue to monitor the best available evidence that assesses the impact of consumer protection measures when making future policy decisions.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help tackle misleading advertising online.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator for advertising in the UK and enforces the Advertising Codes. These codes include specific rules intended to protect consumers from misleading marketing communications, including online. If advertising includes the omission, exaggeration, or ambiguous presentation of information, it can be considered misleading. The ASA works with online platforms via its Intermediary and Platform Principles to promote greater adherence to the non-broadcast advertising codes, resulting in more responsible advertising online. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also prohibits unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decisions. The Government commenced Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Act, which sets out rules on unfair trading, in April 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that public procurement for heritage projects support the use of locally sourced stone appropriate to local architectural traditions.

Whilst DCMS does not have public procurement policies relating to the use of locally used stone, there are a number of ways in which the Government supports the use of stone appropriate to local architectural traditions. If anyone wants to alter or extend a listed building in a way that affects its character or appearance as a building of special architectural or historic interest they must first apply for Listed Building Consent from the local planning authority. This process will typically consider whether appropriate materials are being used as the Government’s planning policy means Local Planning Authorities give particular attention to the desirability of preserving the building, its setting and those features which make it special. In addition, our arm's-length body, Historic England, takes steps to support applicants seeking approval for changes to heritage buildings. Historic England has published advice on how to obtain matching stone for repairing historic buildings and monuments. They have also made available the Building Stones Database for England which brings together information on local building stones, their uses and sources as an online interactive GIS (Geographical Information System) resource. Working with the British Geological Survey (BGS), local geologists and historic buildings experts, Historic England has identified important building stones, where they came from and potential alternative sources for repairs and new construction. Historic England's Repair Grants guidance advises that they expect any works that they fund to be carried out using traditional methods and materials appropriate to the history and condition of the building, monument, park or garden, stipulating that when replacement is necessary, it should normally be done on a like-for-like basis.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding for (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to help support the development of covered (a) tennis, (b) padel and (b) multi-sport facilities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to support the development of (a) affordable and (b) accessible padel courts in (i) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (ii) England.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of press regulation in preventing press intrusion.

Our aim as a Government is ensuring the balance is right between press freedom and instances of intrusion. The government recognises that for victims and their families, incidents of undue attention and harassment from the media cause significant distress. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is important for press freedom, and the Government therefore does not intervene in or oversee the work of press regulators in preventing press intrusion. These independent regulators enforce codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas, including on accuracy, privacy and harassment. We are also clear, however, that with this freedom comes responsibility, and newspapers must operate within the bounds of the law and have a responsibility to uphold high professional and ethical standards. This includes ensuring access to clear, timely and effective routes to redress.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to finance for creative SMEs in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The new Creative Industries Sector Plan, published as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, recognises that outside London and the South East, creative businesses find it harder to access finance. The £43 million DCMS Create Growth Programme supports thousands of creative SMEs to grow and access finance, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, providing grant funding, investor capacity building activities and investment readiness support.The Sector Plan sets out further support for creative SMEs, including significantly increased support for the sector from the British Business Bank and UKRI as well as a £380 million funding package over the Spending Review period.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the British film industry, in the context of potential US tariffs.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan announced significant support for the UK film industry, including a new £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years. This includes a scaled-up £18 million per year UK Global Screen Fund; support for the London Film Festival; funding to attract inward investment; and an expansion of the BFI Film Academy to get more 16-25 year olds from underrepresented backgrounds into the industry.In addition to this package, we are devolving £150 million to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities through our Creative Places Growth Fund, which can be used by local leaders to boost their film and TV industries. We are investing £25 million to fund five new CoSTAR labs to develop innovative technologies like augmented reality and motion capture and two showcase spaces to demonstrate new innovations, working with partners including the BFI. And we are delivering £10 million to expand the world-leading National Film and Television School, unlocking £11 million of private investment.There are no tariffs on the UK’s film industry. The deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual economic and cultural benefits to both countries and we are committed to maintaining our strong partnership. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will continue to take a calm and balanced approach to our engagement with the US.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support freelancers in the creative industries in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.

DCMS has committed in the recent Creative Industries Sector Plan to appoint a Freelance Champion, who will give freelancers a voice within government.DCMS will work with industry to develop Terms of Reference for this role. We envisage that it will represent the interests of creative freelancers in areas such as the development of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Small Business Commissioner, the Fair Work Agency, and the Department for Business and Trade’s Small Business Growth Forum.Skills Bootcamps continue to support adults across England to build sector-specific skills, including those needed for the creative industries. The government is allocating up to £5.6 million for Skills Bootcamps in 25/26 for Hertfordshire County Council, to support training for local learners, including those that are freelance or self-employed. This includes production assistant training and training in content creation for the creative industry.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to encourage local government support for arts and culture in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Cabinet colleagues across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts and culture with their counterparts across His Majesty’s Government.In last month’s spending review, the government committed to providing an additional £3.4 billion of grant funding to local government in 2028‑29 compared to 2024‑25. This equates to an average annual real terms increase in overall local authority core spending power of 3.1% across the spending review period. Whilst individual decisions on how to invest departmental resources will be determined in due course, there will be significant investment into Arts and Culture over the spending review period, including to Arts Council England (ACE) who will continue to support local arts programmes and projects across the country.In the 2024-25 financial year, ACE provided over £22k of funding to arts projects in the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. Details of this funding can be found on the ACE website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support (a) small and (b) independent artists in securing adequate levels of payments from music streaming services.

The Government recognises the vital importance of ensuring that all music creators, including independent artists, are appropriately compensated for their work. Many have raised legitimate concerns about remuneration from streaming platforms and we take these issues seriously. Through a dedicated working group, we are facilitating industry-led action on music streaming remuneration, with the aim of making meaningful progress.We recognise that positive steps are being taken by parts of the industry, such as the decision by some, but not all, labels to disregard unrecouped advances in legacy contracts on a rolling basis. These are welcome moves that reflect an increasing recognition across the sector of the need for more equitable outcomes. However, there is still a clear need for further progress. Too many musicians and song writers are expected to work for a pittance. We remain committed to pursuing practical, effective solutions that empower our world-class industry and its creators to thrive.

Media and Sport, what funding her Department has provided for tennis facilities Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency in each of the past three years; and whether she plans to provide further funding.

The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.In 2022/23, £5,950.00 was invested in Harpenden and Berkhamsted with 3 tennis courts at Rothamsted Park renovated directly as a result of investment from the Park Tennis Court Programme.Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme funding is delivered through the Football Foundation in England and further detail on funded projects will be published on gov.uk in due course. Tennis/padel projects are not currently funded through the programme but at least 40% of funded projects will support non-football sports where similar pitch types/playing surfaces can be shared (such as rugby, cricket and basketball), ensuring more people can participate and get active across a variety of sports.Future funding for grassroots facilities beyond 2025/26 is subject to the ongoing Spending Review.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding for (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.In 2022/23, £5,950.00 was invested in Harpenden and Berkhamsted with 3 tennis courts at Rothamsted Park renovated directly as a result of investment from the Park Tennis Court Programme.Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme funding is delivered through the Football Foundation in England and further detail on funded projects will be published on gov.uk in due course. Tennis/padel projects are not currently funded through the programme but at least 40% of funded projects will support non-football sports where similar pitch types/playing surfaces can be shared (such as rugby, cricket and basketball), ensuring more people can participate and get active across a variety of sports.Future funding for grassroots facilities beyond 2025/26 is subject to the ongoing Spending Review.

Media and Sport, how much Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme funding will go to (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities.

The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.In 2022/23, £5,950.00 was invested in Harpenden and Berkhamsted with 3 tennis courts at Rothamsted Park renovated directly as a result of investment from the Park Tennis Court Programme.Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme funding is delivered through the Football Foundation in England and further detail on funded projects will be published on gov.uk in due course. Tennis/padel projects are not currently funded through the programme but at least 40% of funded projects will support non-football sports where similar pitch types/playing surfaces can be shared (such as rugby, cricket and basketball), ensuring more people can participate and get active across a variety of sports.Future funding for grassroots facilities beyond 2025/26 is subject to the ongoing Spending Review.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of the sale of local authority leisure facilities on public access to sports and recreation services.

The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector.Sport England’s Moving Communities service provides insight which informs local authorities in making strategic decisions about the most effective investments to benefit local communities.

Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to reform online gambling to tackle gambling addictions; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of limiting the practice of offering free bets to attract new players.

The Government is considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil its manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm.The Gambling Commission has recently implemented a number of regulatory reforms aimed at reducing harm, such as introducing new regulations to make online games safer and financial vulnerability checks aimed at reducing cases of unaffordable losses. The Commission has also consulted on measures to ensure that incentives such as free bets are constructed in a socially responsible manner and will respond to this consultation in due course.We will provide further updates to the House soon.