Every parliamentary written question tabled by Matt Vickers this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 37 · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Media and Sport, with reference the Government's December 2025 BBC Charter Review Green Paper proposing the expansion of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that independent academic researchers are able to access the comprehensive set of content produced by that scheme.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the BBC on how the Local Democracy Reporting Service ensures political impartiality in reporting on local councils, combined authorities and other local democratic institutions.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of safeguards to ensure that BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporters produce balanced and impartial coverage when their reports are supplied to local news outlets.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what proportion of Local Democracy Reporting Service funded reporter posts are currently hosted by Reach plc publications.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the value for money of the Local Democracy Reporting Service; and whether future funding for the Local Democracy Reporting Service will be conditional on demonstrable compliance with impartiality, accuracy and editorial transparency standards.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect media plurality and ensure that a wide range of political viewpoints are represented in UK broadcasting.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) protect media plurality and (b) ensure a wide range of political viewpoints in broadcasting.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on maintaining operational independence when considering complaints against licensed broadcasters.
Awaiting answer.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support partnerships between schools and grassroots cycling clubs to increase participation in physical activity among pupils.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. This includes long term investment to British Cycling, which receives up to £33.5 million for the funding period 2022-2029 to invest in grassroots cycling initiatives.Sport England has also provided funding of £5.35 million to projects with cycling as the main beneficiary in 2024/2025. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including cycling, providing more opportunities for children and young people from all backgrounds to be active.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of designated areas where children can safely improve their cycling skills.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. This includes long term investment to British Cycling, which receives up to £33.5 million for the funding period 2022-2029 to invest in grassroots cycling initiatives.Sport England has also provided funding of £5.35 million to projects with cycling as the main beneficiary in 2024/2025. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including cycling, providing more opportunities for children and young people from all backgrounds to be active.
Media and Sport, what steps is her Department taking to help reduce the barriers preventing young people from engaging with grassroots cycling organisations.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. This includes long term investment to British Cycling, which receives up to £33.5 million for the funding period 2022-2029 to invest in grassroots cycling initiatives.Sport England has also provided funding of £5.35 million to projects with cycling as the main beneficiary in 2024/2025. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including cycling, providing more opportunities for children and young people from all backgrounds to be active.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help protect cultural heritage sites at risk from conflict or natural disaster.
The UK’s principal mechanism for safeguarding cultural heritage at risk from conflict and natural disaster internationally is delivered by DCMS’s International Cultural Heritage Protection Programme (ICHP). This operates in 25 ODA-eligible countries predominantly across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and in Ukraine. The primary initiative is the Cultural Protection Fund (CPF) delivered by the British Council. In addition, DCMS has funded the project ‘Climate Change & UNESCO Heritage’. Delivered by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, this has developed open-source tools to support UNESCO heritage sites to address climate challenges.
Media and Sport, what progress has been made in increasing the accessibility of major cultural institutions for people with disabilities.
The Equality Act 2010 sets out the core legal obligations for cultural venues in the UK regarding disability access. Under this Act, venues must implement "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled individuals are not disadvantaged. These adjustments cover both physical modifications, such as installing ramps and accessible toilets, and changes to services and policies. The latter includes provisions like permitting assistance dogs, offering information in formats that are accessible, and providing aids like sign language interpretation or audio description. DCMS-funded Capital funds, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund all fund renovations across major cultural institutions designed to repair and modernise buildings, including improvements to access and interpretation for visitors with disabilities. The Creative Foundations Fund is a major government investment supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. The Creative Foundations Fund has a specific aim relating to access, supporting capital projects that address equality and accessibility issues to provide independent access for disabled people and welcome users with diverse needs such as but not limited to: improvements to surfaces such as paths, landscaping, such as level or ramped access or level drop-off points near entrances, installing Changing Places facilities or increasing provision of accessible, ambulant disabled, or gender-neutral toilets and installing signage that meets best practice guidelines. The government primarily supports the arts and cultural projects through Arts Council England (ACE). DCMS is supporting ACE and the other arts councils in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to develop All In - an access scheme dedicated to removing barriers and improving the experience of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people when attending creative and cultural events. All In aims to increase overall attendance by making it easier for people with access requirements to find and book tickets, while also developing standards for creativity and culture that promote quality and consistency across the UK and Ireland; all supported by training and skills development.
Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on (a) museums, (b) theatres, and (c) other cultural venues.
We recognise the challenges that museums, theatres and cultural venues face, including rising energy costs. The Government is committed to supporting these sectors, and that’s why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year which will commit over £270 million to support arts and cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, through the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund, and the £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, theatres, museums, galleries and other arts and cultural venues can access grants to address urgent issues with their estates. This includes works to improve the energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of their buildings and equipment, ensuring their infrastructure is fit for future generations to benefit from. The department regularly assesses pressures faced by sectors for which ministers are responsible. Recognising that our regional museums - many of which run multiple sites or large estates - are facing increased operating costs, the government has introduced a new, £20 million Museum Renewal Fund this year. The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. Museums and Galleries Exhibition tax relief was also made permanent. On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and culture through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to theatres, museums and cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes. DCMS will continue to engage constructively across the arts and cultural sectors to monitor the impact of rising energy costs.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the long-term financial stability of local sports clubs and community leisure centres.
The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and ensuring everyone has access to leisure centres and sport clubs, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country. The Government has committed another £400 million to transform grassroots sports facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK. This funding is on top of the £250 million that Sport England invests every year in grassroots sport in England. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve.
Media and Sport, what action the Department is taking to support the growth of British film and television production outside London.
The Government is committed to spreading the benefits of our world-leading film and TV sector across the country. The Creative Industries Sector Plan was published in June and announced a £75 million Screen Growth Package. This includes funding to assist productions filming across England, alongside support for the British Film Commission, to build on its work in doubling UK studio capacity outside London, including Space Studios Manchester and The Depot in Liverpool. The recent Budget announced plans to maintain the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, giving emerging production hubs in places such as Hartlepool and Digbeth a strong foundation on which to build. We are also investing directly in regional creative ecosystems. Our £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is providing £25 million over three years to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities: West of England, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the North East. Unleashing the full potential of cities and regions is a core objective of the Sector Plan and is already delivering results, including the recent agreement between the BBC, the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Create Central to expand regional production investment.
Media and Sport, what steps the Department is taking to ensure a safe and sustainable future for live music venues.
Live music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform, supporting local economies and creative jobs, and giving thousands the joy of live music up close. That is why we are committed to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire live music ecosystem. The Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, announced our Music Growth Package of up to £30m over three years from 2026, which more than doubles previous funding. This package will strengthen grassroots infrastructure (including grassroots music venues), support emerging artists and music professionals, and boost exports, breaking down barriers to success at home and abroad. In advance of this, the Government is also providing £2.5m of funding for the Arts Council England’s (ACE) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025/26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for fans. To further support grassroots music venues, the Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy. The Government is transforming the business rates system to create a fairer system, co-designed with stakeholders from the creative sectors. To support these industries, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure (RHL) premises with rateable values under £500k, starting in 2026/27. As a bridge to this permanent change, we have extended the 40% RHL business rates relief for 2025-26.
Media and Sport, what discussions the Department has had with streaming platforms on ensuring adequate remuneration for artists and creators.
Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music. We have worked with key stakeholders from across the music industry on this matter through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, including senior representatives from music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube. We were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions, as well as the individual commitments made by the UK’s major labels, to deliver real benefits for UK creators. We will evaluate the outcomes of this work after one year. DCMS officials maintain regular engagement with music streaming platforms and their trade body, the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), meeting frequently to address a broad spectrum of music industry matters. Ministers have also met with music streaming platforms to discuss the emerging challenges and implications of AI-generated content on their platforms, and the impact this could have on creator remuneration.
Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to encourage young people to pursue careers in the creative and digital sectors.
High-quality careers guidance helps young people make informed choices about their futures, so they can develop their interests and potential, and follow the path that is right for them to progress into work. Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. Last month was ‘Discover! Creative Careers Month’ as part of our Creative Careers Programme which seeks to increase awareness, consideration and uptake of creative careers among young people aged 13-17 years old, as well as their parents and carers. The month provided 70,000 young people aged 11-18 years old with employer-led experiences and opportunities, including experiences related to digital careers, such as video games and VFX. In our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, we committed to refreshing the £9 million Creative Careers Programme as a UK-wide programme. We will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries, including the createch sector, and the refreshed programme will launch in the next financial year. Building on the Creative Careers Programme, the government announced in November that we were investing £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.
Media and Sport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the Women’s World Cup and other major events on participation rates among girls and young women.
Major events have the power to transform communities and increase participation. The recent Women’s Rugby World Cup and associated legacy programme has contributed to a 35% increase in female age grade registrations in England rising from 17,700 places in 2022 to 23,900 in 2025. Hosting the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup has the potential to be a transformational opportunity for women’s football, and for women’s sport in the UK more generally. Following the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, we saw a 140% increase in participation among women and girls, with over 519,000 new grassroots opportunities created specifically for women and girls across England. Should the UK-wide bid to host the tournament be successful, we will work with partners to maximise its impact for the whole nation.