Stephanie Peacock MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member raises some important points. We had a debate in Westminster Hall on this issue very recently. Of course we want rugby to sort the issues out for itself, but we appreciate the seriousness of the issues, and the Secretary of State and I meet regularly with its representatives.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I attended the launch of the women’s innovation hub at Loughborough University a few weeks ago, and I convened the women in sport taskforce, along with Karen Carney. We are clear that we want to support women’s sport at every level.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  I absolutely will, and the Secretary of State says that she will too; we were both in Scotland a few weeks ago. Will my hon. Friend pass on my thanks to the volunteers at the Kirkcaldy community football partnership for their valuable work? I recognise the issues that she puts forward. We will be investing £8.6 million through our multi-sport grassroots facilities programme, through the Scottish Football Association, which I am pleased she will be meeting soon.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the teams that my hon. Friend mentions. Grassroots clubs do such an important job in nurturing sporting talent. Brilliant sports groups across the country will receive funding for facilities. We will be targeting the most deprived areas, supporting under-represented groups and providing the multi-sport benefit through the Football Foundation, which will deliver that through its local football facilities plans, which are being refreshed to reflect changes including the growth in the women’s game and need in other sports.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source

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  The Government are clear that people should have access to sport and physical activity when they want, no matter who they are and where they are in the country. That is why we recently announced a further £100 million investment across the UK for the coming year, to ensure better access to high-quality facilities.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right to pay tribute to the economic contribution and the huge inspiration of these events. We have a number of exciting events coming up, whether that be rugby or cricket, and the Government are hugely supportive of major events.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games · Hansard source

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  My Department is in regular contact with the organising company, and I was pleased to meet recently with both the CEO and the chair to discuss progress on delivery, at a meeting in my Department and when I was delighted to attend the King’s baton relay launch at Buckingham Palace with His Majesty the King to mark 500 days until the games. The UK has been proud to host the Commonwealth games twice since 2014, and I am delighted that the UK Government have been able to get behind and support Glasgow 2026.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games · Hansard source

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  Of course, I agree with my hon. Friend that it is important that a successful games supports lasting benefits for the city and the region. As I said, I met with the CEO and chair two weeks ago. I was in Edinburgh to meet with my counterpart in the Scottish Government to discuss the games. My team is in close contact with the Scottish Government, the Scotland Office and other delivery partners to understand the games’ ambitions for these wider benefits. The organising company has already confirmed that the games will include £6 million of investment in existing sporting venues, as well as 3,000 trained volunteers and a cultural programme.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Grassroots Rugby League · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr. Vickers. I am pleased to be responding to this debate and I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Ossett and Denby Dale (Jade Botterill), who represents the seat just up the road from mine. It is her first debate and I think it is a fantastic one. She was incredibly generous to say she would welcome interventions, but I wonder whether she will still be doing that on her third and fourth debate. This is a good natured debate on a great topic, so I congratulate her. I also join my hon. Friend in welcoming the news that Australia will be returning to England this autumn for the first Ashes tour since 2003. One match will be played at Everton’s new Bramley Moore Dock stadium, which I plan on visiting. This Government are supportive of rugby league and the role that clubs play, from the elite level to local communities. That is reflected in this half-hour debate as we saw the number of Members from across the House who are here to show their support. It is great to see how rugby league’s fiercest rivals have recently put aside differences to join forces in tackling inequalities. My hon. Friend spoke about her area of Wakefield and I understand that the clubs are collaborating with Prosper Wakefield District, a newly appointed charity partner, to tackle various social issues including the Wakefield children’s bed appeal. It is incredible to see the team spirit in the community foundations of the Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity and the Featherstone Rovers as they unite to address issues such as health inequality, youth engagement and community safety. That is supported by the RFL Community Trust and brings important social value. My hon. Friend rightly paid tribute to the amazing work and fundraising on motor neurone disease—an issue and cause that is really close to my heart. She also rightly spoke about Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, and I echo those comments. This year, rugby league celebrates its 130th anniversary. Rugby league clubs make a huge contribution to their communities and week in, week out, local people come together to support their clubs, their children’s teams and young players. They are places where thousands of people play sport and get active every week. My hon. Friend spoke passionately about the particular impact of that on post-industrial towns. I represent one myself, in Barnsley South, where we have a couple of grassroots teams, the Dearne Valley Bulldogs and the Dodworth Miners. We see grassroots teams all across the north of England, and that is reflected in the attendance at today’s debate. We know that community sport, and especially sports such as rugby league, can play a major role in building confidence and teamwork, supporting life skills for future generations and improving community cohesion. Through our arm’s length body Sport England, we provide direct financial support to rugby league, supporting it to thrive and grow. In 2022, Sport England announced long-term funding support of £11.9 million for the Rugby Football League up to 2027. The social value generated by community sport and physical activity is vast—in excess of £100 billion a year. Indeed, the RFL recognised in its facilities strategy last year that social isolation, mental and physical health issues and antisocial behaviour pose a challenge for future generations, but can be sustainably addressed through sport. My hon. Friend spoke very passionately about that; we see it across a number of sports, but the points she made about rugby league in particular were really important. We know, and can evidence, that being active saves on half a billion GP visits. It also prevents 3 million cases of serious conditions each year, including 1.3 million cases of depression and half a million cases of back pain, and leads to a reduction in diabetes. However, we also know that the benefits of sport go much wider than health. For example, sport contributes directly to 10,000 fewer crime incidents a year. A 2019 report highlighted that every pound spent on sport by rugby league community clubs generates a social return of over £4. The social impact of rugby league on players and volunteers is estimated to be more than £185 million, and although a couple of those figures are a few years old, they underscore the vital role that sports such as rugby league can play in driving positive public health and societal outcomes across communities. The Government are committed to supporting sports such as rugby league. We do this primarily through the work of Sport England, but I have heard the points that my hon. Friend has made about promoting sport in schools. I was pleased to meet the leading governing bodies with the schools Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell). She is incredibly passionate, and we work closely together to try to improve sport in schools. I look forward to continuing that work with my hon. Friend the Member for Ossett and Denby Dale, who also acknowledged that in the past week, the Government confirmed that they will invest £100 million in grassroots sports facilities via the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme. Central to that programme is its multi-sport offer: 40% of projects will offer regular and sustained multi-sport use. That is vital investment that will help support rugby league clubs to develop their facilities across our towns and cities, and it also shows the importance of working alongside local areas, taking a place-based and community-driven approach. We do not underestimate the challenges faced by grassroots sport, including rugby league clubs. They include increased financial pressures with ever more responsibilities, population behaviour shifting away from traditional sport offers, or the challenge of securing volunteers—I take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those volunteers who give up their time. Sport England supports clubs to address those challenges with advice and guidance through its Buddle programme, which provides free resources to grassroots sports clubs to help them maximise their role at a local level. It also provides financial support through the £160 million movement fund, which provides both grants and crowd- funding support to grassroots clubs. The Rugby Football League itself is doing brilliant work to tackle inequalities throughout its sport, clearly showing the value of that sport. Examples include its Awakening Rugby League in the City programme, which will create a pathway for talented athletes who may never have considered playing rugby league, giving them an opportunity to experience the game for the first time in a supported environment. Through the Inspiring Futures programme, delivered by the charitable foundations of the seven super league clubs and supported by the RFL, the sport is able to reach more children and young people, supporting them to grow and develop and helping steer them away from violence and crime. More broadly, the RFL have also been working with its social care partner to relaunch its On the Same Team campaign, helping to tackle prejudice within society. That campaign offers simple and inspiring education that helps young people to understand the impact of their words and behaviours on other people, and how we can thrive when we are on the same team. In 2022, England was proud to host the rugby league world cup. It made history as the biggest rugby league tournament ever, and as the first time that the men, women and wheelchair tournaments played simultaneously and that equal participation fees were paid. That was a major step forward, and one that the sport should be incredibly proud of. The subsequent social impact programme has done incredible work to tackle inequalities in the communities that need it most, many of which are located in the host towns and cities such as Leeds, Hull and Huddersfield—many of the Members for those towns and cities are present in the Chamber today. That is testament to the power of major sporting events to deliver transformation in communities and facilities across the country. Following the world cup, we saw a boost to women and girls’ participation in the game, with 33% more females playing the sport just a year later in 2023. The RFL also launched the RugBees programme, aimed at breaking down gender stereotypes and encouraging more young girls into the sport. The scheme is open to girls aged between seven and 11, and is designed to help them develop confidence in areas such as catching, passing and kicking. It is the first rugby league programme to be developed specifically for primary school-aged girls. Following England’s historic victory in wheelchair rugby league, that sport has also seen significant growth, leading to an expansion of the wheelchair super league to eight teams in 2025 and the renewal of the Tryz rugby league sessions run by Access Sport in partnership with the Rugby Football League. As things stand, not enough people are active or participating in sport—I know that from my own area. We want to do everything we can to get people more active and more involved, enabling them to access the sports they love. As such, this debate has been a great opportunity to outline the Government’s commitment to supporting grassroots rugby league and sport more generally. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ossett and Denby Dale for giving us the chance to discuss this important topic in her first debate. Question put and agreed to.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really important point. It is fantastic to hear about the £50,000 community fund. There are lots of ways in which community groups can get involved, whether it be decorating their villages or towns or organising a street party. As I say, we will work with local councils to support local communities to do that.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes a number of valid and important points. In my statement, I talked a little bit about how councils and local councillors can get involved. We are keen that street parties can take place, and we hope that local councils can be as flexible as possible when it comes to rules and regulations. We are also launching our new initiative, “Tip Top Towns”, to encourage people to decorate their local areas, whether that is with bunting or letterbox toppers. I should also say that grants are available for local communities for things like street parties and decorations; if they want to access those grants, they can make an application to the National Lottery Community Fund. I will also take the right hon. Gentleman up on his suggestion that I write that letter.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend rightly makes the point that we pay tribute to all those who served from the Commonwealth. As part of a stakeholder roundtable, I met the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We are working in my Department and across Government with the Ministry of Defence, which we meet regularly, and we continue to work together.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman paid a heartfelt tribute to his parents. The commemorations I have announced today acknowledge the value of lasting peace and how it can sometimes be difficult to achieve. In response to his suggestion, our “Letters to Loved Ones” encourages people to look into their own family history and to explore what life was like, and the Royal British Legion is leading on remembrance resources that will allow people to hear testimony direct from veterans.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about war graves at sea, and I would be very happy to meet him or write to him. I will certainly reach out to colleagues in the MOD to talk further about that issue.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words. It is a huge privilege to make this statement on behalf of the Government, and I am proud to be announcing our activity on VE and VJ Days. It is hugely important to our whole United Kingdom, as he rightly says. We are working closely with the devolved nations, and I will certainly reach out to him when I am in Northern Ireland.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I am absolutely delighted to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the West Bromwich Royal Naval Association club and the Oldbury Royal British Legion. I know from my experience in my own constituency of Barnsley just how important organisations such as those are at moments like this, and all year round, in supporting veterans.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. Once again, I met the Royal British Legion this week to talk about how veterans can take part. The Royal British Legion has put a call out to all second world war veterans, who can express an interest. There will be activity, not just in London but in our devolved nations and across the country, and we want to ensure that we support veterans to get involved in whatever way they want .

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point on behalf of his constituents. I am very happy to meet him to discuss the events taking place in his constituency and the ways in which the Government can potentially support them.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady has rightly outlined the huge contribution that people across Northern Ireland made, and as I outlined in my statement, a number of commemorations are taking place across Northern Ireland. I am due to visit Northern Ireland in April; perhaps I can reach out to the hon. Lady to take her up on her kind invitation. While I am not in a position to commit financial support today, I would be delighted to visit if the diary allows.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I am sure the whole House will want to join me in thanking and paying tribute to Eric. As I said in my statement, veterans are at the heart of the celebrations. We are working closely with the Royal British Legion to ensure that they are central to the plans, so they can get involved and we can hear their stories.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  Of course, the whole House thanks the hon. Gentleman for his service as a veteran. He has outlined the importance of VE Day and VJ Day to his constituency of Huntingdon. His specific question about funding is of course one for the MOD, but I will write to the Department to relay his question.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has outlined the huge impact that the war had. I said in my statement that my generation would be the last to grow up with family members and friends who fought or contributed; I remember on my first day at school, or certainly not long after I joined school, my first teacher talking about her experience during an air raid. That was really important to me growing up—it was part of my childhood that people talked about the second world war. That is not the case for today’s generation, which is why we have launched our “Letters to Loved Ones” initiative. That initiative encourages people to explore their family history—to look for letters and artefacts so that they can understand what life was like during wartime. We are encouraging people to share those letters and artefacts on our website, so that we can all learn from them.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman rightly outlines Scotland’s huge contribution. I am visiting Edinburgh next week, and I look forward to meeting my counterpart there. He is absolutely right that supporting our veterans today is incredibly important, and we work across Government on that. We are joined in the Gallery by Lord Coaker; we speak very regularly. This falls to not just DCMS and the MOD, but Departments across Government.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words, and he makes an important point about taking lessons forward. That is something I will take away. He has asked about the BBC; as I mentioned in my statement, the BBC is working with us to deliver the concert on 8 May. Although it will be a commercial decision that I do not want to anticipate, I understand that there will be old films. I also mentioned the augmented reality experience, which will bring to life four well known VE Day photographs so that people can see them in colour and listen to an audio history that will go with them.

• 13 Mar 2025 · Victory in Europe and Japan: 80th Anniversaries · Hansard source

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  I am really pleased that the hon. Gentleman was able to outline the important contribution that the Parliament choir will make. He is absolutely right to speak about how it is Parliament’s opportunity to both celebrate and commemorate. My hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism reminds me that we are watched over by the plaques for Members of Parliament who lost their lives during war.