Written questions by Morello.

Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department is taking to support rural listed places of worship in constituencies such as West Dorset if the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is not extended beyond March 2026.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme ending on listed places of worship in the West Dorset constituency. While we have confirmed the extension of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2026, the future funding of the scheme after this date is being assessed and considered as we work through the output of the Spending Review and the Departmental business planning process.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the case for extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond March 2026.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme ending on listed places of worship in the West Dorset constituency. While we have confirmed the extension of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2026, the future funding of the scheme after this date is being assessed and considered as we work through the output of the Spending Review and the Departmental business planning process.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support grassroots rugby.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities, including rugby.The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.Sport England provides long term investment of £16.9 million to the Rugby Football Football Union and £15.7 million to the Rugby Football League between 2022 and 2029, the National Governing Bodies for rugby to support grassroots participation.Since summer 2024 ,the Government has also provided £6.7 million into the Women’s Rugby World Cup Legacy Programme Impact 25 which has benefited 850 clubs across the country. These clubs have received investment which goes towards supporting girls of all ages to get involved in rugby.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support grassroots women’s rugby.

We hosted a record breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup, it was a pleasure to attend 4 matches across the country and I congratulate the Red Roses on their well deserved victory. I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the Rugby World Cup including the Chair of the Tournament Gill Whitaker and RFU President Deborah Griffin. Major events play an important role in inspiring people to get active.Since last summer we’ve provided £6.7m into the tournament's legacy programme Impact 25 which is reaching 850 clubs and supporting women and girls to get involved in rugby. This included Pontefract RUFC who I recently visited alongside the Foreign Secretary to see the work they are doing to get more women and girls playing Rugby.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with (a) public landowners, (b) the National Trust and (c) Forestry England on the potential impact of cashless-only car parking systems on (i) older people and (ii) people without mobile phones.

No such discussions have taken place. Car parking charges for publicly-owned car parks are primarily a matter for local authorities.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the hospitality industry in West Dorset constituency on staffing levels in the hotel sector.

DCMS regularly engages with representatives of the hospitality industry, both nationally and regionally, to understand current challenges and opportunities in the sector, including staffing levels.While we have not had discussions specifically with businesses in the West Dorset constituency, we work closely with industry bodies such as UKHospitality, which represent employers across the country (including those in West Dorset). Through these forums, the Government has listened to concerns about recruitment and retention, and continues to respond through a range of measures.We will also set out our vision and ambition for the sector in our forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy later this year.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) small and (b) independent hotels in West Dorset constituency during the off-peak season.

The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector as a valuable contributor to the UK economy and visitor offer. We are introducing permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000, alongside a new Licensing Taskforce to cut red tape. Targeted initiatives include a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme and the Zero Carbon Hospitality Trial, helping over 600 SMEs cut costs and emissions. Through ongoing collaboration with the Hospitality Sector Council, we are strengthening productivity and resilience across the sector.DCMS works closely with VisitEngland, Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) and industry to support small and independent accommodation providers, including hotels in West Dorset. Targeted marketing campaigns encourage off-peak domestic breaks, while LVEPs like Visit Dorset improve local coordination and promote year-round tourism. These efforts, alongside the upcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, help sustain the competitiveness of hotels and hospitality businesses throughout the year.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of hotels in West Dorset constituency on the local tourism economy.

DCMS works closely with VisitEngland and local authorities to understand the contribution of tourism assets across England, including accommodation providers such as hotels. While we have not carried out a constituency-specific economic assessment for West Dorset, DCMS recognises that hotels provide direct employment and support local supply chains, and they enable visitor spending across the local economy, including restaurants, attractions, shops, and transport.In Dorset, hotels play an important role in supporting domestic and international tourism, particularly linked to coastal and countryside destinations such as the Jurassic Coast, which help to sustain year-round economic activity in local communities. DCMS, in partnership with VisitEngland, works with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (such as Visit Dorset) to promote destinations and develop initiatives to maximise the economic impact of tourism throughout the county.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure youth work funding is distributed (a) across the country and (b) rural areas.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Finance Settlement in line with local need. To support Local Authorities, we launched the £8 million Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support local authorities across the country to build back capability to improve local youth offers. The selected local authorities for the pilot include a mix of urban and rural areas.In addition, we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The strategy will support better coordination of youth services across the country and will increase access to opportunities, in particular in underserved areas. The Strategy will be published in Autumn and will be supported by funding, across the SR period to develop new youth facilities and improve existing ones, as well as further funding to support local youth service provision.

Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of youth work on (a) the wellbeing of and (b) employment outcomes for young people.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We know the impact that youth work has on young people’s life chances, including on their wellbeing and their employment outcomes. That is why we are co-producing an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, with young people, sector experts and cross-government colleagues.The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts. We will publish the Strategy in the Autumn.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of national landscapes on levels of tourism in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural constituencies.

The Government recognises that our National Landscapes, such as the Dorset National Landscape, are among our nation's greatest assets and are significant drivers of domestic and international tourism for rural communities.No assessment has been made on the impact of national landscapes on levels of tourism. The Office for National Statistics has published data sets on business activity including tourism, Enterprises in National Landscapes, Trails and Parks, which can be found at Enterprises in National Landscapes, Trails and Parks 2023 - Office for National StatisticsDetails of tourism and visitor management undertaken by Dorset National Landscape in the West Dorset constituency can be found at Tourism and Visitor Management | Dorset National LandscapeWe continue to work with VisitEngland to promote rural and coastal destinations and support the work of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, such as the Visit Dorset Business Support Hub, in developing and marketing their local visitor offer, in which National Landscapes play a crucial role.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on (a) the Eden Portland project and (b) its potential contribution to (i) biodiversity education, (ii) scientific learning and (iii) tourism.

The Department welcomes the ambition of the Eden Project Portland and its stated aims to contribute to tourism, biodiversity education, and scientific learning on the Jurassic Coast.In relation to departmental support, officials discussed the project with representatives of the Eden Portland Project on 22 April 2025. It was explained that while primary responsibility for considering central Government funding for a project of this nature rests with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my department would be happy to engage with them to express our support for the project’s significant cultural, heritage, and tourism contributions.I remain focussed on creating the conditions for the visitor economy to thrive. My department is working closely with the sector to draft a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, which we anticipate publishing later this year. We encourage projects like Eden Portland to engage with their Local Visitor Economy Partnership, in this case the Visit Dorset Business Support Hub, to ensure they are aligned with and can benefit from this important work.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with the Eden Project on support for Eden Portland.

The Department welcomes the ambition of the Eden Project Portland and its stated aims to contribute to tourism, biodiversity education, and scientific learning on the Jurassic Coast.In relation to departmental support, officials discussed the project with representatives of the Eden Portland Project on 22 April 2025. It was explained that while primary responsibility for considering central Government funding for a project of this nature rests with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my department would be happy to engage with them to express our support for the project’s significant cultural, heritage, and tourism contributions.I remain focussed on creating the conditions for the visitor economy to thrive. My department is working closely with the sector to draft a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, which we anticipate publishing later this year. We encourage projects like Eden Portland to engage with their Local Visitor Economy Partnership, in this case the Visit Dorset Business Support Hub, to ensure they are aligned with and can benefit from this important work.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage girls to participate in grassroots rugby in (a) schools and (b) local clubs through its funding for the Impact 25 programme.

Since July 2024 the Government has invested £6.78m in Impact 25 the legacy programme for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Impact 25 supports women's and girls' clubs across England as part of the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to widen female participation. It has provided investment to 850 clubs to improve facilities and to train 3,385 new female coaches and match officials, making coaching sessions and matches more accessible contributing to a 35% increase in female age grade registrations in England rising from 17,700 places in 2022 to 23,900 in 2025. The programme has provided direct support to clubs in the West Dorset constituency, providing £10,000 of funding to Bridport RFC , Dorchester RFC and Sherborne RFC. Each club received funding for a ‘Girls Activity Day Pack’ to introduce girls aged 6-12 to rugby with activities, merchandise, and prizes (such as tickets to a Women's Rugby World Cup match). All clubs also received sanitary product packages which are made freely available in club restrooms. More broadly, we want as many girls as possible to get involved in sport and physical activity, including in schools. That is why on 19 June 2025, the Government announced a new School Sport Partnerships model and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. Girls will be given the same opportunity as boys to play sports at school.

Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to promote the Women's Rugby World Cup.

We are ambitious and want to make this the biggest Women’s World Cup (RWC) ever. Over 400,000 tickets have already been sold for the tournament, more than double the number bought for the previous tournament in New Zealand in 2022, including a sold out final at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham highlighting the demand for women’s sport in the country. The Government is proud to have provided just under £18m of investment into the tournament since summer 2024 which will be used for all aspects of tournament delivery. In addition to this DCMS Ministers have supported the promotion of the tournament directly with the Secretary of State Lisa Nandy appearing on the BBC at the 100 Days to go event which also coincided with the reveal of the new Women's RWC trophy. I was then delighted to represent the Department at the 50 Days to go Event held in Parliament and the England teams opening match of the tournament in Sunderland against the USA.

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to develop a cross-departmental strategy on youth work.

DCMS is leading a National Youth Strategy in collaboration with a number of other key departments to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. This strategy will cover youth services, provision and policy at local, regional and national levels. We are co-producing this National Youth Strategy with young people and cross-sector experts and so the breadth of issues will be shaped by our engagement. The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts. We will publish the Strategy in the Autumn.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of youth workers on levels of costs for (a) the NHS and (b) other public bodies providing services to young people.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We have not made an assessment of the potential impact of youth workers on costs for the NHS or other relevant public bodies, instead, we utilise the wealth of external research indicating the positive impact youth work and youth services can have on young people’s health and other outcomes, including helping to reduce costs for a range of public services. The new National Youth Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working and driving efficiencies - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the organisers of the Women's Rugby World Cup on the organisation of that event.

The Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events.The Government holds regular discussions with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and World Rugby, as joint venture partners, to ensure the successful delivery of the Women's Rugby World Cup (Women’s RWC) 2025. The Secretary of State and I attended the Women’s Rugby World Cup 100 ‘Days to go’ launch event in May 2025, where we discussed tournament delivery with senior RFU figures and other stakeholders.I also met with senior RFU figures while supporting England at the opening fixture and semi final of the Women's Rugby World Cup and discussed the delivery of the tournament.We are confident that the great collaboration which has taken place across all delivery partners will result in a landmark moment not just for women’s rugby but for women’s sport.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of youth work on (a) helping young people stay safe and (b) building relationships in communities.

This Government recognises the important role that youth work plays in young people’s lives. We know that youth workers are vital to youth services, building trusted relationships and creating safe spaces for young people. We also acknowledge the challenges facing the sector and the changing needs of the young people it supports.That is why this government launched the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which has been developed together with the youth sector. As part of the National Youth Strategy, we are exploring what young people’s current needs are, looking at access to safe spaces, role models, communities and much more. We will be publishing an interim report shortly, and the Strategy will be published in the autumn.

Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to support youth work that promotes volunteering opportunities among young people.

We know that being part of supportive communities, accessing youth work, youth provision and volunteering opportunities can transform young people’s lives. The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) supports the youth work sector in a number of ways, including through funding the National Youth Agency (NYA) to maintain youth work qualifications, curriculum and national standards for England. The NYA youth work curriculum outlines why and how to involve young people in volunteering and social action in their communities.We also fund and support the #iwill Movement, the only national movement which champions and supports young people engaged in social action, including volunteering. The National Lottery Community Fund and DCMS have jointly run the #iwill Fund since 2016, funding the creation of youth social action opportunities for an estimated 900,000 young people across the country.