Topical Questions 2025-04-03
2025-04-03
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The Oswaldtwistle civic theatre closed in Hyndburn and Haslingden in 2023 and is on the theatres at risk register. Recent grants have been awarded by Theatres Trust and Hyndburn borough council.
Access to arts and culture can help to break down barriers to opportunity. Sadly, our much-loved Oswaldtwistle civic theatre closed in 2023 and had to be placed on the theatres at risk register. I welcome the recent grants awarded by Theatres Trust and Hyndburn borough council, but will the Minister meet me to see how the Government could help to secure the future of this much-loved and important community asset?
I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend. I know that a lot of work has gone in to try to get that back up, to get actors back on the stage and to get audiences back in. I hope that we can arrange a meeting as soon as possible.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP visited a grassroots football club, Bletchley Scot FC, which expressed the need for modern sports facilities.
Grassroots football clubs such as Bletchley Scot FC are inspiring the next generation of girls and boys to take up the beautiful game. When I visited them last month, they told me that securing funding for modern sports facilities was their top priority, but that engaging with the Football Association was incredibly challenging. Can the Minister set out what steps she is taking to work with the FA at the local and national levels?
Our investment through the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme is delivered through the Football Foundation in England, which engages with local Football Association and community stakeholders to identify needs in each area. I encourage clubs such as Bletchley Scot FC to approach the Football Foundation directly to explore potential funding opportunities, and I am very happy to set up a meeting for my hon. Friend.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q3
Direct Answer
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Context
Market Drayton in North Shropshire has poor grassroots sports facilities serving over 12,500 people and is not receiving support from the local council.
Market Drayton in my constituency has really poor grassroots sports facilities for a town that serves more than 12,500 people. Shropshire’s Conservatives will not allocate any of the community infrastructure levy money from the significant recent development there to improving those facilities, so will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can get proper funding in, in order to provide Market Drayton—Shropshire’s third largest town—with the sports facilities it deserves?
I am sorry to hear that the hon. Lady is not receiving the support that she needs, but we are absolutely determined to provide it to her, and to any other Member of this House who is a champion of grassroots sports facilities. I know that sites in Market Drayton have been awarded grants totalling over £6,000 through the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme, but we are very aware that there are huge numbers of people—particularly young people—who want to get involved in sports, and we will work with the hon. Lady to make that a reality.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The previous government's opening school facilities fund helped deliver sport to 300,000 people outside of school hours. The fund ended on Monday.
As the Select Committee looks into school and community sports, it has learned that the previous Government’s opening school facilities fund helped deliver sport to 300,000 people outside of school hours, seeing more girls, more disadvantaged pupils and more of those with special educational needs taking part. That fund ended on Monday, and I have already heard from two schools in my constituency that they will be scaling back their community provision. The Government talk a lot about the importance of communities and supporting young people, but this flies in the face of that, does it not?
I thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue, and I will certainly look into the specific fund she has mentioned. The Education Secretary and I are committed to putting sport back at the heart of the curriculum and our classrooms. We will be in a position to announce more about that shortly, but we share the hon. Lady’s vision of schools that are the hubs of their communities and are open longer hours to enable them to provide those opportunities for young people.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to specific funding or timelines beyond vague promises about future announcements.
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
Paul Dadge, a constituent of Josh Newbury's, was photographed rescuing a survivor of the 7/7 bombings. His phone was later hacked by newspapers.
My constituent Paul Dadge was iconically photographed rescuing a badly burned survivor of the 7/7 bombings. What thanks did Paul get? His phone was hacked by a newspaper looking for stories. Twelve years on from the Leveson inquiry, most national papers are still in the Independent Press Standards Organisation, a complaints handler that they control and that has never investigated or fined a single newspaper in its history. Will the Secretary of State consult on introducing a truly independent press regulator for all national papers, so that we can make sure there are no more victims of phone hacking and press intrusion?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this very serious issue. He will know that since the Leveson inquiry concluded, there have been dramatic changes in the media landscape, meaning that we need to take a much wider view of how to protect a free, fair and self-regulated press and to protect the public. Nevertheless, we recognise that there are long-standing issues with the protection of members of the public such as my hon. Friend’s constituent, who the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism knows well. I recently met families from the campaign group Hacked Off and listened to their stories. It was a harrowing meeting, and we are committed to working with them to resolve these issues.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to specific actions beyond general statements of commitment.
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
Creative professionals are having their work stolen, leading to calls for better protection.
Mr Speaker, if I enter your house and steal the draft manuscript of your memoirs, I am guilty of a crime. Artists, writers, musicians and other creatives are all having their work stolen as we speak, and you and I have received letters about this issue. We do not have the time to wait; what are the Government going to do to protect creatives and their work?
Copyright law stands firmly behind the creative industries today, and will in the future. We will do absolutely nothing to undermine the fact that this country is one of the few great countries in the world that is able to boast of itself as a content superpower, and anything we do in relation to artificial intelligence and copyright will proceed only if we can make sure that the creative industries have more control and more remuneration at the end of that process, rather than less.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to specific actions beyond general statements about existing laws and future considerations.
Response accuracy