Speeches by Peacock.

“We speak regularly to the Business Department. I have pointed out that Minister McDougall has been engaged in a lot of ongoing discussions.”

“I do appreciate that there are pressures on the sector. I am not familiar with those figures. I have engaged with the tourism sector a lot in the six months that I have been the Tourism Minister. I appreciate the cumulative pressures on the sector. I heard that at first hand. Talking of cross-Government working, I have…”

“I totally take that point. I say it from the outset that I very much acknowledge it, as does the Secretary of State. We were both in attendance at the Grand Prix last summer. I was at the Motorsport Awards in January and I have met with F1 about the points that you have put to me. As well as the Committee visiting, I b…”

“That is a completely fair point. When you talk about touring and music, and moving equipment, Minister Murray leads on that. I met with him ahead of this Committee. I will put the points to him that you put to me. We engage across Government and we engage on an ongoing basis with the EU, which is led by the Cabinet Off…”

“I will have to write to the Committee on that point.”

“I reiterate the point that I opened with. Major events are about our self-confidence as a nation. They are about showcasing the country on the global stage. All the different examples that we have talked about, whether it be F1 or Wimbledon, and whether it be the ones that we are hosting such as the Euros or the Tour d…”

“I met with Mayor Kim McGuinness last week. I have met with mayors, and when I have been out and about doing visits I regularly meet my counterparts, often on a very practical level but also to talk about shared opportunities. When I attended the Olympics and Paralympics, there was a Sports Ministers meeting. We will ho…”

“It is all the things that you have heard—that we can be greater.”

“A stronger, clearer vision, which I have set the scene for, and clearly, better co-ordination so that, for the organisations that you have put to me today, whether it be F1 or others, we can do a better job at communicating and having a clear front door into Government so that it is easier and simpler to do business wi…”

“Yes, in essence, I would like to get to that point. I announced the intention today to pull together the strategy. I am not here to run through all the specific details of it.”

“It is a great idea. I agree. I will put it to her later today.”

“The Committee heard some evidence on this, and there are some good examples of where events have been exported. In terms of the practical ongoing support, there will be official-level engagement. Jonathan, do you want to share some examples of that?”

“The answer is no, and that is a challenge and somewhere we need to improve. That is why we want to do some of this work with the Cabinet Office and DBT. There are lots of figures around there. It is not a settled figure. We need to make sure that we have that. That is a fair point.”

“That is something that the roundtable group that I referenced could certainly pick up. I will take that away and will reflect that point to DBT. We have our next meeting in July, but I will make sure that we pick that up. There is more we could do on that.”

“There was a targeted consultation. It is a matter for the Home Office. When I met with the Policing Minister, she shared her experience of having three roundtables with the sector. They were co-ordinated along with DCMS. Her words to me were recognising that it needs to be proportionate and reasonable. Having had many …”

“I totally appreciate the point. We have corresponded on it, and I know the Secretary of State is very mindful of it as well.”

“The simple answer is yes, we can absolutely do better on that point. I share the example from my portfolio of the World Travel Market and I cover a wide range of sectors, as I am sure the Committee is aware. I make a personal commitment to make sure I am there representing the Government and the Department. I was struc…”

“I have some examples. I met with the Policing Minister to talk about a number of the different policies that fall to the Home Office. I do that on an ongoing basis. When I lead on tourism, I have done a number of sector engagements with the Treasury and Minister Tomlinson. As I said earlier, I note the feedback that yo…”

“The UK Government have consistently backed Glasgow 2026 as a positive outcome for the games movement and for the UK. The Government are engaging partners to explore trade and investment opportunities around the games in order to support the games and maximise the benefits for the whole UK.”

“The Government believe in the power of grassroots sport. We have committed £400 million over the next four years, and £85 million in this coming year. Of course, Sport England invests £250 million annually through Exchequer and lottery funding.”