Written questions by French.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the Problem Gambling Severity Index score for players of (a) The National Lottery, (b) Society Lotteries, and (c) instant win scratch cards.

The Government is committed to tackling gambling-related harm. DCMS regularly reviews the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) from the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey of Great Britain and uses it as one of a range of sources of evidence. In 2024, the proportion of National Lottery players who experienced ‘problem gambling’ (a PGSI score of 8+) is 3.9% for draw games, 9.5% for instant win games, and 7.9% for scratchcards. The rate of Society Lottery PGSI 8+ scores is 4.9%. The rate of non-National Lottery scratchcards PGSI 8+ is 14.5%.

Media and Sport, pursuant to Minister's statement to the House on 26 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the merits of comparing identical time frames.

We are confident in the findings set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 June 2025 on society lotteries and prize draws. They are supported by a wide range of data and analysis, including official Industry Statistics published by the Gambling Commission, publicly available data published by operators, and from the robust independent research which was published on the same day.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Ambassadors to the Court of St James's on the payment of outstanding congestion charge debts by embassies.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement laid in the House on 19 November concerning the Debts owed by Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the UK, Official Report, vol. 775, cols. 57WS-60WS.

What meetings the Government has had with David Kogan since 4 July 2024.

Details of official meetings held in a ministerial capacity with external organisations or individuals are declared quarterly on GOV.UK.

Whether she has had recent discussions with RyanAir on potential changes to air passenger duty.

The government is committed to engaging with interested groups when developing and legislating tax policy and regularly engages with airlines and the wider aviation industry. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on political donations made by the Independent Football Regulator Chair since 2019.

Mr Kogan’s donations are publicly disclosed on the Electoral Commission donation register. On 7 May 2025 Mr Kogan declared additional political donations, beneath the thresholds required by the Governance Code, when he appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

Pursuant to the answer of 28 October to question 83432 on Betting: Excise Duties, if she will publish a list of the stakeholders who (a) have responded to the consultation, and (b) have met with Ministers as part of the consultation.

The Government launched a consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling, which closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025. As is standard practice the consultation response will include a list of stakeholders who responded to the consultation. As part of HM Treasury’s commitment to transparency details of ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published and the latest version can be found at the following link: HM Treasury: ministerial overseas travel and meetings, April to June 2025 - GOV.UK

Media and Sport, what meetings she has held with David Kogan since 4 July 2024.

All the Secretary of State’s meetings are published Quarterly as part of the transparency data available on Gov.uk

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Rt hon. Gordon Brown on gambling duties.

The Chancellor discusses a variety of issues with stakeholders throughout the year, including the run up to Budget.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 November to Question 87901 on Individual Savings Accounts, what assessment she has made of (a) the impact of the property price cap on the number of first-time buyers purchasing homes, (b) the number of first-time buyers by London borough, and (c) if she will make it her policy to provide a separate cap for properties in (i) inner London boroughs and (ii) outer London boroughs.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers is below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK. This includes London, where the average price paid by first-time buyers in November 2023 was under £437,000. A single UK-wide cap keeps the Lifetime ISA simple for savers and providers. In 2024/25, 87,250 individuals withdrew Lifetime ISA funds for a house purchase, an increase of around 30,500 on the previous tax year. While HMRC does collect data on regional breakdown of Lifetime ISA account holders, the data quality is not sufficient to provide accurate regional breakdowns or produce statistics on individual London boroughs. In HMRC’s response to the recent Treasury Select Committee’s LISA enquiry (link), a regional breakdown was provided where homes were bought using LISAs: HMRC LISA enquiry response - Tables 1, 2 and 3. The Government keeps all aspects of tax and savings policy under review.

What assessment she has made of the international competitiveness of the tax regime.

The UK has an internationally competitive tax system. The Government published its Corporate Tax Roadmap at Autumn Budget 2024, which included a commitment to ensuring a competitive and sustainable main rate of corporation tax by capping it at 25 per cent for the duration of this parliament. The current rate of corporation tax is the lowest in the G7, and this is supplemented by generous business investment tax reliefs which directly support investment, including Capital Allowances, R&D tax reliefs, and the Patent Box regime.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to support the Deaflympics.

Sport England are exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots. The Government, through the UK Sport grant, supports Olympic and Paralympic success. Beyond this the Government does not provide additional funding to performance sport, in line with our approach to a great many other areas of individual sporting performance.

Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of mandating carbon monoxide detectors in every home with fixed combustion appliances.

I refer the hon. Member to answer given to Question UIN 80767 on 20 October 2025.The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They apply when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design, so that minimum standards for size, space and materials are included. The Regulations, which are supported by statutory guidance in Approved Document J, set minimum performance standards for new building work including, at Schedule 1 Part J, provisions for detection and early warning of carbon monoxide. The statutory guidance makes clear that where a new or replacement fixed gas or solid fuel burning appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located.The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, and government will protect tenants further through our review of the Decent Homes Standard and the new requirements to address health and safety hazards under Awaab’s Law.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November to question 84964 on Gambling, what steps she is taking to ensure that her department uses (a) impartial, and (b) accurate data, and commissions (i) impartial, and (ii) accurate data on gambling harms.

The Government recognises the importance of using impartial, accurate and up-to-date statistics on gambling behaviour and harms. We are committed to ensuring that policy decisions are guided by the best available evidence from a broad range of reliable sources. Developing impartial and accurate evidence on gambling-related harms is a key priority for the statutory gambling levy. That is why 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, which will be used to inform policy related to tackling gambling-related harm.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 3 November to question 84965 on Gambling, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the statistical analysis in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' report entitled The economic and social cost of harms associated with gambling in England published on 11 January 2023; and if she will exclude it from use within her Department.

The report that the Honourable Member refers to estimates the economic and social costs of gambling-related harm and provides a useful addition to our evidence base. As we have previously set out in a number of gambling-related impact assessments, we recognise that the report has limitations relating to both data availability and methodology, which means that the cost estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true cost of harm. This is true of many reports that try to estimate the cost of harm. However, we continue to consider this report in the context of the wider evidence base, and as such have no plans to exclude it from use in the Department.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 28 October to question 83435, on Gambling: Taxation, if she will set out a timeline for publishing the Terms of Reference for the Levy Board and Advisory Group.

The Department intends to publish the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board and the Gambling Levy Advisory Group before the end of the year.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) local authority leaders, (b) metro-mayors and (c) the Mayor of London on the value for money of foreign visits.

Local authorities are responsible for their own financial management, and we do not monitor their day-to-day business. We expect all local authorities to take prudent decisions and ensure they manage their finances effectively, in line with “Best Value” guidance, under the Local Government Act 1999.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the trends in the number of houses in multiple occupation on house prices in each local authority.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75141 on 16 September 2025.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 5 November to question 85955 on Betting: Excise Duties, if she will list the stakeholders she has met since 4 July 2024.

DCMS Ministers have had regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about gambling taxation.Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the value for money of funding distributed by the Arts Council England.

The government ensures value for money from Arts Council England (ACE) funding by holding it accountable through performance reporting, financial controls, and grant-management standards set by DCMS. ACE also reports against key performance indicators and strategic outcomes in its annual report.The government has also strengthened performance measurement by developing long-term impact indicators, including a participation survey, to measure the outcomes of funded arts activity. Alongside this, through the Culture Heritage Capital programme, DCMS and its arms length bodies are developing new methodology and guidance to measure the value for money of investment in culture. In December 2024 DCMS published Embedding a Culture and Heritage Capital Approach, which set out the ambitions for the programme.