Ian Murray MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Ticket Price Regulation: Live Events · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) for a very dramatic speech. She went through places where she has seen concerts; I do not know if she, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith), is hankering for her youth, and wishing she could go back there, but it was a tremendous speech, and I think we would agree with every word she said. My hon. Friend mentioned Bon Jovi. I would have been at that concert this evening as they took the stage, had I not been here answering her debate. It had particular relevance for me, because I am not new to this industry; I had my own business when I left university, and the very first thing that I organised was a Scotland-wide tour for a tribute band. Hon. Members will never guess which artist they were a tribute to; they were called Non Jovi. Those tickets were dynamically priced—the price would only ever go down, because nobody ever came to see them. Never mind; that is my hankering after the good old days. The UK live events sector is, as my hon. Friend said, a jewel in our national crown. From world-class sporting matches to unforgettable concerts—tonight we have heard about many that have not been forgotten—and plays, those events enrich our lives, strengthen community bonds and inspire future generations. Crucially, they provide us with stories that we can tell for years and years. They greatly benefit our economy, generating billions annually, and support a dynamic creative and sporting ecosystem. This Government understand that, and we have put the creative industries front and centre of our modern industrial strategy; we are committing to boosting investment in the sector from £17 billion to £31 billion by 2035. For too long, however, as highlighted by Lord Brennan of Canton’s report following the independent fan-led music review, the joy of attending live events has been marred by unfair practices in the ticketing market, most notably the systematic activities of ticket touts, which we heard about from my hon. Friend. They crowd out fans from the primary market and resell at extortionate prices. Ticket touts—this is a remarkable figure—take £400,000 a day from fans’ pockets; that is nearly £150 million a year. That is money that should be going into the industry. The Government are committed to tackling industrial-scale touting once and for all, improving transparency around pricing practices, and putting money in fans’ pockets. As my hon. Friend has demonstrated, far too often, fans are crowded out of the primary market by touts, who are only interested in making a quick and exorbitant profit at fans’ expense. The Government have been clear: this has to stop. My hon. Friend is correct: as I said in the Daily Record , the touts’ time is up. We want to improve transparency, consumer protection and fans’ access to live events. We also want to make sure that they have a safe and secure means of selling, reselling or transferring their tickets, and to ensure that money flows back into the live events sector and fans’ pockets. That is why we committed in our manifesto and our recently published plan for music to introducing new consumer protections for live event ticket resale, and it is why my Department, alongside the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, undertook a consultation last year on the best ways of tackling this, as well as issuing a call for evidence on pricing practices across the wider sector. We received over 500 responses from right across the live events sector. There were some clear themes for us to address, and those themes have been highlighted this evening. First, genuine fans should be able to recoup the costs of their ticket when no longer able to attend. Enforcement needs to be effective if our measures are to have impact. Secondary platforms need to play their part in ensuring that new rules are implemented and complied with, and that primary and secondary platforms are part of the same ticketing ecosystem. The former could do more to protect their sales and, where appropriate, share information more seamlessly with resale platforms. As a result, we are taking action. Last November, we announced a robust package of measures to tackle exploitative touting, including a resale price cap, a separate service fee cap, limits on the number of tickets that can be resold, and obligations on platforms, all reinforced by the Competition and Markets Authority’s new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. In the King’s Speech briefing earlier this year, we announced that the Government will publish a draft ticket tout ban Bill in this Session for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, of which my hon. Friend is a member. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and the Committee through that process. Following pre-legislative scrutiny, the Government will introduce the Bill when parliamentary time allows and, as the Secretary of State said in Parliament last week— [Interruption.] We are coming to it. As the Secretary of State said last week, the Prime Minister is particularly passionate about this issue, and we will give the legislation the priority that it deserves and needs. We all want to see this on the statute book as soon as possible.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Ticket Price Regulation: Live Events · Hansard source

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  As I replied to my hon. Friend at the Select Committee meeting I attended last week, there were 39 Bills in the first Session of this new Government—39 very important Bills—that took us nearly two years to get through. In this Session, through the King’s Speech, we have of course introduced a number of Bills, and this one is a draft Bill. I can only reassure my hon. Friend and the House that we want to get this done as quickly as possible. That means we need to find the parliamentary time, once the draft Bill has been prepared and is ready, which should be imminently—not too many sleeps left; it depends on how many days we want to sleep for. We will then have a draft Bill that we can take forward, but there is a commitment from my Department and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to getting this done as quickly as possible. My hon. Friend had her private Member’s Bill, which she is waving around, on this topic in the last parliamentary Session. I share her concern for fans. It is worth noting that her Bill was drafted before the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which imposes new requirements around price transparency, came into effect in April last year. Our legislation will be focused on ending the scourge of touting, thereby improving access to live events. Tackling touting, and ensuring that fans are at the heart of live events, cannot be done by Government alone, of course; industry needs to play its part. It is industry-led action, innovation and best practice, alongside the Government’s new measures, that will truly transform the fan experience. The Government recognise that many ticketing platforms, event organisers and venues have devoted a lot of time, energy and resources to this issue in recent years. We know that significant money has been spent combating ticket fraud, touts and bot use, as well as educating fans on what to look out for when they are buying tickets online, all to ensure that buying tickets is as safe and seamless for fans as possible. Nevertheless, the strength of feeling from respondents to our consultation and the call for evidence was clear. In fact, they share our strength of feeling about the touting issue. Industry must build on existing guidance to do more to tackle exploitative practices. This is why we strongly welcome the commitment by the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers—STAR for short—to convene the sector. It will establish new best practice that ensures that pricing information is clear and up front, and that fans are empowered to make informed purchasing decisions, free from undue pressure. This work is already under way; I attended the inaugural meeting in March this year. The work is organised under four headings, to address some of the key issues in the ticketing sector. First, it will look at pricing transparency. Secondly, the industry will look at how the primary market can continue to be healthy. Thirdly, another workstream will look at accessibility issues. Finally, the industry will look at consumer education. Let us have a look at dynamic pricing. We know this is a subject that many people are concerned about. Businesses should feel free to use whatever pricing strategy meets their needs, but they must comply with the law. Where it appears that this is not happening, the CMA has the powers to enforce that and act upon it, and when businesses fall short of what is expected of them under the law, the CMA has powerful enforcement tools to ensure that businesses can be penalised and brought into line. Drip pricing is another one that my hon. Friend mentioned. It is not right when fans are shown a price for a product, only to find that it has increased by mandatory charges that are added as the transaction proceeds, particularly if they have been waiting all day on a screen to get to the front of the queue to buy tickets. I do not know if my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) has sat in his parliamentary office doing that at any point, but it is a real problem. In June this year, the Competition and Markets Authority fined StubHub International close to £900,000 and ordered it to issue refunds exceeding £590,000 to 50,000 fans for using this illegal practice. The CMA is also investigating Viagogo for similar practices. Lastly, on a related point, I continue to encourage the industry to adopt the voluntary £1 ticket levy for live events to support our grassroots music and grassroots music venues. The industry is doing the levy, but is it doing enough? Is a big question mark, and we just keep encouraging it to do as much as it possibly can. I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate on such an important issue, which affects the dedicated fans who sustain our live events sector. I would like to reassure the House that this Government are tackling industrial-scale ticket touting with urgency and will bring forth the legislation to ensure that fans are not priced out of major cultural and sporting events. That is a priority for this Government, and we will do that. I look forward to returning to this House with the draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny, and I welcome further engagement with my hon. Friend, and many other hon. Friends who have a deep interest in this issue, to help tackle ticket touting once and for all. Question put and agreed to .

• 8 Sept 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  In the interests of time, I will take that as a lobby and will add it to the consultation responses. I want to deal very briefly with two big issues that have been raised a lot. The first is about what trustworthy news is; that is what the Green Paper is trying to address, and we will come back with proposals relatively shortly. I welcome the debate across the Chamber. The second issue is the future of television distribution. I think we all agree that we have dealt with the “if”—we will move from DTT to internet-only television at some point—but we have to deal with the “when”. Is it 2034? Is it 2044? I accept the big arguments around payments and around connectivity, the quality of connectivity and digital inclusion, but none of those should be a reason not to go forward in 2034 if that is what we decide. It should be the beacon that we aim for to deliver on digital inclusion and high-quality broadband in every part of the country and make sure that people are included. As a Government, as a Parliament and as constituency Members of Parliament, we should not just accept that broadband might not be good enough and that therefore we should not make these decisions. We should use it as a key driver to make sure that we can deliver on connecting everyone and on the benefits not just of television, but of everything that comes with being digitally included and digitally connected. We have not made a decision on 2034 or 2044, which is why both dates are in the Green Paper. Other issues have been raised, but in the interests of time I will conclude. No doubt we will come back to this debate. We have the Green Paper and the consultation closed on 31 August, so the next steps are to go through the process of analysing all the responses that many Members and their constituents have inputted. I thank the right hon. Member for Maldon for bringing forward this debate; I look forward to his securing further debates on the Green Paper as the process works through.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  It is great to see you in the Chair, Dr Allin-Khan; I think this is the first time I have responded to a debate with you in the Chair, so congratulations. I congratulate the new shadow Minister on what I understand is his first visit to Westminster Hall since his appointment. It has been a good visit. It is great to be having this debate, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) on securing it. He is right to say that an hour is not enough for it, but I am sure we will come back to these issues on a number of occasions. As he knows, we have a Green Paper process to consider the principles behind these big issues, and we then work out the detail by asking people what they think is the best way to deliver things. I know that he is very knowledgeable about these issues and will continue to bring that knowledge and experience to the Chamber. The right hon. Gentleman said that the Green Paper has some controversial proposals, but I am not sure that they are necessarily controversial. There are big questions that we have to answer in a changing media environment, and they sit alongside a number of other big issues that the Government currently have timetabled, including the BBC charter, which I will come to in a few moments. BBC charter renewal, the Green Paper and other issues of online safety are all coming together in this new environment, with the blurring between what is television and other issues. Let me set the scene for why we are doing this. When they are functioning effectively, we would all agree that our media provide the foundation for a cohesive country and a healthy democracy. They can establish shared understanding, shared facts and shared experiences. That is crucial for helping people to trust and understand one another, and for communities to be held together. However, the media are facing huge challenges. As we set out in the Green Paper, television is undergoing a profound transformation, having moved from the system of limited broadcast channels we had when we were growing up, as the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) suggests, to an environment of having content everywhere for everyone, where the largest players are the global streaming services, video-sharing platforms and social media companies. Our domestic broadcasters, which are the best in the world, including our public service media providers, are battling to be seen in an increasingly competitive and fragmented market in which audiences are seeking their entertainment and news. As we know, people—particularly the young—increasingly access news online, rather than through more regulated spaces such as their TV sets, so there is a disparity: if someone is sitting in front of a piece of content on television, it is regulated, whereas if they watch the same or similar content online, it is not regulated. That is the kind of big issue that the Green Paper is trying to draw out. That weakens the ability of trustworthy news providers to reach audiences and shape and inform public debate. The Government believe that we need to do more to adequately equip younger generations with access to high-quality media. That is why we are acting. In the light of those challenges, for the “Watch this space” Green Paper we consulted on a variety of proposals to ensure that media, and television in particular, can continue to play a vital role in our society and our democracy by making high-quality UK content and trustworthy news accessible and sustainable for the next generation and beyond. I welcome this debate and the many thousands of responses to the consultation that we received—many tens of thousands, I believe—which help us scrutinise every measure properly to ensure it is as robust and forward-looking as possible. Let me come to some of the issues that Members raised. First, the right hon. Member for Maldon raised prominence. Public service media content needs to be easy to find on the platforms on which people watch TV or TV-like content. The Green Paper therefore examines the need for increased discoverability on third-party platforms such as video-sharing platforms. The Government have been very clear that our strong preference remains an industry-led voluntary agreement to achieve that in a sustainable and robust way that satisfies all parties. I pay particular tribute to YouTube for the way in which it has engaged with us. However, should those partnerships not go far enough in delivering our objectives, we will need to consider legislation. The hon. Member for North West Norfolk said that content on YouTube is delivered by the user or by user preference. It is not, really; it is delivered by the algorithm. What is delivered to users is fed to them by whatever the algorithm suggests. If it were purely user-driven, that would deal with prominence, because people would be looking for the stuff that they want to see.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. The international comparisons are not there, because nobody in other regimes has done this before for prominence. If we look at the entire online world, we see that Australia has been the cheerleader for an under-16s social media ban and for functionality changes to social media, but nobody has really looked at the algorithms, how people digest their entertainment and where it comes from, so we would be the first movers. One of the key issues that we have to unpick is that we want a UK solution for UK audiences and users, but west coast American companies dominate the marketplace. That is one of the key things that we are trying to work through with this Green Paper and the big issues that have been raised. I will not go into the various ways of improving discoverability today, but they will be looked at in the coming weeks and months as a result of the Green Paper consultation. We want a thriving public service media sector, which would have massive spill-over effects for the entirety of the rest of the economy. If we crack prominence and get it right on a voluntary basis, we will not need legislation. The right hon. Member for Maldon said that YouTube is all user-generated and not mainstream, so we should not give public service media prominence in it. I am sure he shares that very strong view with others. YouTube may once have been the home of cat videos and other things, but it is changing. In December 2025, YouTube had higher monthly viewing figures than the BBC for the very first time, so people are digesting that content, and I am not quite sure whether those users are aware of the differences between it and television. I know that if I sit my six-year-old daughter down in front of the television, she can watch something that is heavily regulated and safe. I would never sit her down in front of YouTube and just let her watch stuff, for the simple reason that she should probably not be doing that at six—and it is unregulated. I want to talk briefly about the BBC, because it sits alongside the issues of public service media and prominence. My hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) raised a number of issues about the BBC. We will have a permanent charter. The hon. Member for North West Norfolk raised that issue as well, but the Secretary of State has been very clear that we will have a permanent charter. That is a great outcome for the charter renewal period, I think. On under-75s, we have no plans to change the position. It is now the preserve of the BBC to make those decisions, and it has done so. Under-75s on pension credit do receive a free television licence. I say to the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) that the charter review has a very clear commitment to supporting minority language broadcasting, including Welsh and indeed Gaelic, as Members can tell from my accent. We are actively exploring ways to ensure that S4C in particular and minority-language broadcasting continue to be sustainably funded. Of course, one of the key questions for the BBC in relation to renewal is about the issue of sustainable funding, which the White Paper will address.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  Nobody brings good vibes to the Chamber more than my hon. Friend. Portsmouth holds an important place in our national story, with its strong maritime history, thriving cultural sector and iconic sites such as the historic dockyard. The UK city of culture competition gives all bidders, win or lose, opportunities to deliver on their ambitions to use culture as a catalyst to make transformative change for their people and place. The competition has an independent panel of judges, chaired by the wonderful Sir Phil Redmond. I wish Portsmouth and all bidding places the very best of luck, and I thank my hon. Friend, who does so much for her constituents, for her lobbying.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  I commend the Gatehouse theatre in Stafford for all that it does for young people; it is a fantastic initiative. The DCMS understands that people in rural areas face additional challenges in accessing culture. We know that transport challenges make accessing touring productions and after-school activities more difficult. Indeed, that was something we discussed on Staffordshire Day in this place. Arts Council England is committed to responding to the specific needs of rural areas, such as working with artists, improving access for rural audiences and building partnerships for growth. Access to culture should not be a postcode lottery, either due to transport restrictions or availability, and that is what our arts everywhere programme is all about.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Lady on her position and welcome her to her place. I look forward to the many discussions the ministerial team will have with her shadow ministerial team. I am sure that she will do a marvellous job. It was the 60th anniversary of Notting Hill carnival. Everyone is concerned about the 636 arrests. It is a carnival that has been enjoyed by tens of millions of people over the past 60 years. Its policing is the responsibility of the Mayor of London, and we will work closely with the Mayor of London on what will happen over the next 60 years of the Notting Hill carnival. It is something that we should celebrate and enjoy, but that has to be done safely, without discrimination for anyone and without fear or favour for anyone.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, and I commend the hon. Gentleman for the work done in his constituency, including at Castle Ward. Encouraging everyone to go and visit would be the best thing for me to do as the Minister. Transport connectivity for those attending cultural and music events and historic and heritage places came up at the Select Committee sitting I attended this week, so we are working hard to resolve these issues.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  In the interests of time, I will just say that I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss that issue in more detail.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Access to Culture · Hansard source

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  Everyone should be able to participate in and enjoy culture wherever they live in the country. Through our arts everywhere programme, we are investing £1.5 billion into arts, culture and heritage across England. In addition, our UK city and town of culture competitions are empowering cities and towns to celebrate their local culture, and we are focusing investment and engagement in our culture priority places to ensure that the benefits of culture can be felt everywhere.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this incredibly serious question to DCMS questions this morning. There is no place for homophobia or prejudice in our society, and the media has a duty to uphold the highest standards, not polarise or divide. I understand that Ofcom is investigating whether the programme has breached broadcasting code standards, and I expect it to do so without fear or favour. Through our media Green Paper, we are considering how to ensure Ofcom has the right powers to protect audiences and regulate TV services in the future. We have a proud free media and free press in this country, but that does not come without responsibilities, and GB News should be thoroughly ashamed of itself.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  Let me start by answering the hon. Member for Surrey Heath. It will depend on which package he is on, of course. I have a worldwide roaming package, which means that I take my package with me wherever I go, but that is the package that I purchased; it is not necessarily open to everyone who has a mobile phone. On the challenge with Canada, Mexico and the US, there will be many fans over there at the moment—maybe not many Scotland fans, but a lot of England fans. Some will be racking up huge bills, while some will not; it will depend on which package they are on. That is why I am very clear that this is about wholesale prices and implementing the provisions in the agreement, not about the charges to the consumer. That explains my answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill about the consequences and whether we should be passing the savings on. The answer to that is, of course, yes, but they do not need to be passed on to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath, because he has a package already and is paying in other ways to cover these kinds of issue. I say to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, that this Government’s manifesto was perfectly clear about what we want to achieve with the EU. The current Prime Minister has been very clear about resetting the relationship with the European Union. The EU-UK summit agreement from last May is coming into effect; that is deepening our relationship in a whole host of ways, from defence to trade in goods, digital and things like EU touring, which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport looks after closely. That will be renewed every year; there is a summit every year now, deepening that relationship even further. The direction of travel from this Government is very clearly to get closer to our allies in the European Union. The Prime Minister has led the charge on defence spending through NATO and with our European partners, and that has been recognised, particularly by the NATO Secretary-General. There is no doubt at all that we are deepening that relationship, because it is right for our economy, it is right for our people and it is right for issues like this. Question put and agreed to.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  That is a good question. Actually, yes. This is purely about the EEA EFTA-UK agreement countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, although Liechtenstein is outside it at the moment because of its relationship with the European Union. On the prices, we are looking to align with the Euro rate, which the European Union uses, so the answer to my hon. Friend’s question, by default of the technicalities of the measure, is yes. I can confirm that surcharge-free roaming has not been delivered for all UK travellers to Norway and Iceland. Mobile network operators EE and Three continue to surcharge their customers roaming in Norway and Iceland, so they should be passing that on. It is welcome that Vodafone removed the surcharges as a result of the change, and VMO2 did not reintroduce roaming charges to the EU and EEA EFTA post Brexit—post the transition period, in any case. The Government have continued to review options for delivering surcharge-free roaming for UK travellers to Norway and Iceland, in line with the aspirations of the free trade agreement. I fully agree with hon. Members that if there are wholesale rate savings, companies that have not yet taken off surcharging for Norway and Iceland should do so. I stress that the draft regulations are strictly about amending the wholesale rates contained in the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations and fulfilling the commitments that the UK made under the international treaty. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. It is great to see a fellow Edinburgher in the Chair, Ms Jardine. [Interruption.] I will not divide the Committee on the pronunciation of “Jardine”. The draft regulations are required in order to amend the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations 2023 by updating the international mobile roaming wholesale rates that they set. Wholesale rates are those that mobile operators charge other mobile operators, as opposed to retail customers. The amendments will give effect in domestic law to a November 2025 decision of the EEA EFTA-UK free trade agreement joint committee, the governing body of the agreement, on which each party has a seat. I note, however, that one EEA EFTA member, Liechtenstein, has opted out of the international mobile roaming provisions in the free trade agreement. The amendments to the international mobile roaming wholesale rates are being made to ensure that they continue to reflect current international benchmarks, which reflect market conditions. This is consistent with and necessary under the terms of the free trade agreement. Let me provide some background for the Committee. In 2021, the UK and the EEA EFTA signed a free trade agreement. Its core terms included provisions on industrial goods, digital trade, services and investment and, of course, fisheries and agriculture. Under digital trade, in a telecoms chapter, it contained provisions on international mobile roaming. These provisions set a wholesale cap, which limits what mobile operators can charge each other. In 2023, the UK introduced the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations to implement these provisions in UK legislation. The draft regulations will amend those regulations. As per the free trade agreement, the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations covered wholesale charges only. The free trade agreement contains a review clause, under which the wholesale rates should be reviewed by all affected parties every two years “with a view to determining whether those rates are still appropriate”. The UK is one of the affected parties, along with Norway and Iceland. The rate set under the agreement has now diverged from the “relevant international benchmarks” that the agreement states should be considered. The benchmark relevant to EEA EFTA-UK is the European Union-set international mobile roaming wholesale rate, called the Euro rate. EEA EFTA adheres to the Euro rate as part of its access to the EU single market. The UK adhered to the Euro rate until 2021, with the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of 2020. The EU benchmark is based on the principle that the wholesale cap must be high enough to allow operators fully to recover reasonably incurred costs involved in building, maintaining and operating their networks. This principle, based on market conditions, is supported by the United Kingdom. In 2025, Norway, supported by Iceland, requested a move to reflect the Euro rate. The reason was that the wholesale cap in the UK-EEA EFTA agreement should reflect international benchmarks and current market conditions. Ministers agreed to proceed with legislation for these new rates to demonstrate the UK’s willingness to align with the provisions of the free trade agreement. In November 2025, the governing body of the agreement, the UK-EEA EFTA joint committee, made Decision No. 1/2025, which agreed that the wholesale rates should be changed. The draft regulations will amend the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations 2023 to give effect in domestic law to the commitments that the UK has made to the joint committee. I should start asking questions, to see whether people are still keeping up with all this. I think I am. The draft regulations are strictly about amending the wholesale rate set out in the Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations. It is a very technical amendment. However, I believe that it would be helpful to conclude by setting the context for the wholesale cap in the free trade agreement.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  The shadow Minister is correct that we should be doing things at a greater pace, but I disagree with him about the value of the wholesale rates. The voice call rate is already higher. As I said to the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill, it is going from €0.032 to €0.019, and SMS is going from €0.01 to €0.003. That is a reduction. Data is going from €2.50 to €1.30 per gigabyte, and then €1 on the Euro rate. That is about formalising in the SI what was in the EEA EFTA agreement to reflect the wholesale prices at these international benchmarks. The international benchmark used by EFTA in this agreement is the Euro rate, which is the rate that will come into effect for the wholesale charges. I hope that that answers the shadow Minister’s question. The reason that there is no impact on consumers is that this measure does not directly affect consumers at this moment in time. As I say, some mobile operators have already reduced their surcharges regardless. In fact, VMO2 did not reintroduce any roaming surcharges at all to EEA EFTA countries post the Brexit transition period. Operators EE and Three continue to surcharge their customers roaming in Norway and Iceland, and Vodafone removed its surcharges as a result of the agreement, so this instrument will have no impact on consumer prices, because it is a wholesale issue, not a consumer issue. On the time and the cost that it has taken to get here, I may have to come back to the shadow Minister. The cost of bringing this SI to the House is the cost of doing parliamentary democracy. It is a price worth paying for the hon. Gentleman to have his voice heard.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade (Mobile Roaming) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  That is an incredibly good question. That is why we are making the draft regulations, because the wholesale rates, or the Euro rates, are much lower than the rates currently in operation. For example, a voice call, which is €0.032, will go down to €0.019; an SMS, which is €0.01, will go down to €0.003; and data, which is €2.50 per gigabyte, will go down to €1.30 per gigabyte. The Euro rate is €1 per gigabyte. One would hope that if wholesale prices are being lowered, the savings will be passed on to consumers, as I am sure the Committee agrees they should be. Although the hon. Gentleman’s question was not strictly about the draft regulations, it was a great question to which I am delighted to have the answer.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Astronomy and Space Science: Funding · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman and everyone at the Harwell campus, which hosts over £1 billion of world-leading research infrastructure. A lot of concerns have been raised by the physics community about this issue. I can confirm that funding for STFC has not been cut. UKRI has decided that STFC’s core budget should be maintained over the spending review period. Of course, we understand the cost pressures through inflation, foreign exchange and the ambitious commitments that were made from the previous spending review. No final decisions are being made, but STFC is working through that with the community.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Astronomy and Space Science: Funding · Hansard source

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  I do not agree with my hon. Friend about the policy. We are putting £86 billion into research and development, including astronomy and space science, including a record £38 billion for UK Research and Innovation. Of that, £14.5 billion is for curiosity-driven research because we know that there is no route to stronger growth in this country than through significant investment in science, innovation and tech.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Astronomy and Space Science: Funding · Hansard source

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  I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am proud that this Labour Government have committed a record £86 billion towards R&D, including on astronomy, space science and others, to supercharge innovation. Within that, UK Research and Innovation’s Science and Technology Facilities Council—the main funder of particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics—has a stable budget with increasing investment in research areas that lead to and underpin discovery.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology laid out to the House on 18 March, we are taking forward four big strategic priorities—digital replicas, AI labelling, creative control and licensing—to get this right. No country in the world has been able to resolve this problem, but the UK is uniquely placed to try to resolve it. We want to work across the House and with both the tech and creative industries to get it right.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Redditch local history museum deserve all the support it can get. Local museums are hugely important, and decisions on the operation of cultural organisations are taken locally, independent of Government, through Arts Council England. The national development agency for museums may be able to offer some advice, and I wish Redditch good luck in the town of culture bid.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The music plan is to help grassroots music. It is part of a whole package that this Government are putting in place to ensure that music thrives, and continues to thrive, in this country, including the £30 million music growth fund. We have the music plan, which will be coming out and announced shortly, but we also have the ticket levy—a £1 voluntary ticket levy on every single ticket sold for major concerts—which is putting money straight into grassroots music. That has put in half a million; there is another million to come, so that is hugely good news for grassroots music.

• 18 Jun 2026 · UK Artists Touring in Europe · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Committee on its report, and I welcome its continued interest in recognising the importance of international touring to the UK’s world-leading arts and creative industries sector. We are carefully considering the recommendations and will form the response in due course. The Prime Minister agreed with the European Commission President on Tuesday to press ahead with the UK-EU summit on 22 July, so that people on both sides can feel the benefits of the UK-EU collaboration as soon as possible. Touring artists were mentioned in the summit agreement last year. I cannot comment on the ongoing negotiations, but we are determined to ensure that UK touring artists can tour again in the EU as best as possible.

• 18 Jun 2026 · UK Artists Touring in Europe · Hansard source

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  A tremendous question. Helping touring artists is a manifesto commitment. At last year’s UK-EU summit, the UK and the European Commission committed to supporting cultural exchange, recognising those touring artists. I discussed cultural professionals’ working conditions with the European culture commissioner at the first high-level meeting on culture in March. Digital ATA carnets that enable movement without customs declarations or duties were launched on 1 June across the UK, EU, Norway and Switzerland. We continue to engage with our EU counterparts at all levels and with industry to support touring.