PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Topical Questions - 16 January 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Secretary of State?

We are moving very fast—it is almost like you have done this before, Mr Speaker.

We are wasting no time in standing up for people and fighting their corner. We are taking on the ticket touts, working with the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority to tackle harassment in the creative industries and working with Jewish leaders to tackle antisemitism in the arts. We will take every action necessary to progress the Football Governance Bill through the House of Lords and to deliver for football fans. We have launched the AI copyright consultation and convened the Creative Industries Council under its new chair Baroness Shriti Vadera. Tomorrow I will be in the great town of Gateshead to host the first creative growth summit to bring good jobs and growth to every part of the United Kingdom.

Gables, an animal rescue charity in my constituency that I met before Christmas, and the Devon Mental Health Alliance have shared the negative impacts the increase to employers’ national insurance contributions will have on their service delivery. For Gables, it is a £22,000 increase to its costs. For DMHA, it decreases the amount of services it can provide, which are needed to ease local NHS pressures. What hope can the Secretary of State offer them for the future?

I reassure the hon. Member that the Government work closely with the charity sector. Only a few months ago, the Prime Minister threw open the doors of Downing Street to launch a new covenant with civil society to work hand in hand with them on the shared challenges we face. We are aware of the impact of the changes on charities. That is why we have more than doubled the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500 to protect the smallest charities, and we published an impact assessment alongside the autumn Budget process that sets out the impact on charities. We will continue to work closely with charities to support them.

We fully acknowledge the challenges faced by the sector and the challenging needs of young people. The strategy will help us move forward from a one-size-fits-all approach from central Government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable youth sector.

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

January is traditionally a time when people commit to exercising more, and it is the perfect opportunity to encourage a more active nation—

Go on then!

Bingo! I knew he would do that.

I am proud that in government we had a sport strategy and set up the national physical activity taskforce, which brought together Departments, delivery partners and industry to work to increase activity rates. May I ask the Secretary of State when the taskforce last met, whether it discussed the impact of the jobs tax on the sector’s ability to get more people active, and what alternative measures there will be for the school holidays when facilities will no longer be open?

The shadow Secretary of State will know that we have regular meetings with representatives from sporting bodies and industry. We are determined to roll out grassroots sport to every part of the UK, and we have already signalled our intention as a new Government on that. When I returned from the Euros, we announced a whole tranche of funding for the coming years to ensure that those incredible grassroots sports facilities that support not just young men, but young women across the country continue. I would be happy to discuss this further with him to ensure—

Order. Please, this is topical questions, and we have six minutes before I have to hand over.

The murder of Jimmy Mizen sadly sticks in the minds of many of us. An investigation by The Sun has revealed that his killer, Jake Farhi, is the masked rapper who has shockingly been promoted by the BBC despite his lyrics sickeningly boasting about killing and other crimes. Will the Secretary of State join me in calling for an investigation into how the BBC allowed this to happen? I cannot imagine the pain and upset that it is causing Jimmy’s family.

I add my voice to the support for Jimmy’s family. The shadow Secretary of State raises that matter in a particularly sensitive way, and I would be happy to consider it with him.

Yes, I congratulate the church. I know that lots of people are interested in the future of the fund. The best way of describing how the Department is approaching that is to quote a hymn:

“God is working this purpose out,

As year succeeds to year…

Nearer and nearer draws the time,

The time that shall surely be”

when we announce.

That will definitely be part of my 12-point plan for music. The hon. Lady is absolutely right: music education is a vital part of ensuring that every child in this country has a decent chance to prosper in life.

I absolutely add my voice to that. Certain sports in the UK, including boxing, darts and snooker, have been under-represented in terms of Government attention. We are determined for that to change because we know how much joy they bring to millions of people.

The hon. Gentleman knows, because we have had several discussions about it, that I cannot enter into the precise details of the negotiations, but they are going well, and I am hopeful that this will be absolutely transformational for the British tourism industry if we manage to pull it off. I am sure that he will urge everybody to co-operate with the Government in that process.

Members of the school council of Bromstone primary school in Broadstairs visited Parliament yesterday and wanted me to convey in the strongest terms to the Secretary of State the importance of learning art, not only because they love it but for the skills they learn from it. Is she doing all in her power to ensure that creativity will have a prominent and central place in the curriculum?

May I reassure my hon. Friend’s young constituents that we absolutely agree with them? We know that music, sport and art not only enrich young people’s lives, but can unlock so much more. We will take their views seriously.

I was delighted to host representatives from Grimsby in Wigan to show them our amazing OnSide youth facility. I am delighted that the Grimsby facility is now moving ahead at pace, but I share his concern about people from surrounding areas, particularly in relation to transport. Some of the youth funding that we have allocated for next year will address precisely those issues so that existing youth facilities can buy minibuses, for example, to ensure access for all young people.

The BBC has a responsibility to share content that licence fee payers can trust, yet the Asserson report found widespread evidence of bias in the BBC’s reporting of the Israel-Hamas war, which, from what I can see, continues. What representations have been made to the BBC and Ofcom to ensure that impartiality is upheld in all areas?

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. When I met representatives from the Jewish community recently about antisemitism in the arts, I was shocked and horrified by some of their experiences, and we are working closely with them to tackle it. I can confirm to my hon. Friend that I have raised this issue directly with the BBC director general. I am aware that the BBC gets criticism from all sides about its reporting and has a difficult balance to strike, but we are determined to work with the BBC and support it to get that right.

Tourism is very important to Burnham-on-Sea, Berrow and Brean in my constituency. Will the Secretary of State reassure business owners in those towns and villages that her Government have no plans to introduce a tourism tax?

We have no plans to introduce additional taxes. I want to get 50 million international visitors coming to the UK, because our tourism industry is an important part of what we do well in this country. That is why I will be hosting the first visitor economy advisory council on Monday morning.

A tourism levy in York could raise £125,000 through a voluntary scheme, but if there were a comprehensive scheme, £1.7 million could go to my local community. Will the Minister not consider such a scheme so that we can raise that revenue for York?

Attacked on both sides in different ways—pushmi-pullyu, I think it was—but my hon. Friend makes a good point. There is of course provision for local mayors and local authorities to be able to introduce similar measures on a voluntary basis, as has already happened in Manchester.

I think we in this House can all agree that the premier league is the world’s most successful league. It has grown up under self-regulation, but there are now proposals to regulate it. The premier league transmits soft power across the world and raises huge amounts of revenue for the Government. Given the damage that the Financial Services and Markets Act has done to the London stock exchange and other markets, will the Government take responsibility if football declines after they introduce football regulation?

Football is an ecosystem, and we work very closely with the Premier League. As a crown jewel of British exports, it brings joy to millions of people all over the world, but the fact is that far too many football clubs are currently unsustainable, suffering from poor ownership and poor financial flow. The Football Governance Bill was in our manifesto and those of Opposition parties, and we will not be blocked by unelected peers from enacting what was a manifesto commitment and making good on that promise for football fans.

Kirkcaldy Community Football Partnership does an amazing job in my constituency, supporting a number of local football clubs including Kirkcaldy and Dysart football club and Templehall United. It also runs an over-35s walking football team, which is of particular interest to me. It badly needs funding for a new synthetic all-weather pitch; does the Minister agree that this is an important cause, and one that deserves support?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The issue she has raised is incredibly important, and I suggest that she reaches out to the Football Foundation. I would be happy to set up that meeting for her.