Stephanie Peacock MP: speeches

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Speeches

16 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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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.
16 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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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.
16 Jan 2025 · Responsible Gambling · Hansard source
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The Government are committed to reducing gambling-related harm and its impact. That is why we are introducing a range of reforms to ensure that people can gamble safely, including a stake limit for online slot games, financial vulnerability checks and tougher regulations on direct marketing. We are also aware of the concerns around the blurring of boundaries between gambling and video games, and we are paying close attention to novel and emerging gambling and gambling-like products.
16 Jan 2025 · Responsible Gambling · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that question. He is a huge champion for the horseracing industry. Of course, the Government and I recognise the significant contribution that racing makes to British sporting culture and the rural economy in particular. We are disappointed that talks have not been successful. The Government have heard racing’s concerns about the financial checks, and about the fact that there has not been an agreement. The Minister with responsibility for gambling and the Secretary of State continue to work on this issue.
16 Jan 2025 · Responsible Gambling · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important question. Of course, any life lost is an absolute tragedy. When I was the shadow gambling Minister, I visited the Gordon Moody residential treatment centre, which supports people with gambling-related harm. On that visit and at other meetings, I heard at first hand about the devastating impact that gambling can have. We are committed to working across Government on this issue, particularly with the Department of Health and Social Care, including by establishing a comprehensive support and treatment system, funded by the statutory levy, and by strengthening messages in order to raise awareness of the risks of harmful gambling.
16 Jan 2025 · Community Spaces · Hansard source
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I am pleased that my hon. Friend was able to meet the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North and Kimberley (Alex Norris), on Monday to discuss this issue, which falls under his remit. I know from my constituency the important role that community spaces play in supporting local groups; they bring a huge benefit locally. The Government encourage community groups seeking funding to use the tools available on the My Community website, which suggests funding sources. I hope this information will help the council to work out its next steps, alongside the feedback that it should have received on its unsuccessful application to the community ownership fund.
16 Jan 2025 · Community Spaces · Hansard source
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The Government are committed to creating thriving community spaces, including community centres, youth clubs and sports facilities, that offer vital resources for communities across the country. My Department is allocating over £85 million of funding in 2025-26 to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people. That includes launching the better youth spaces fund.
16 Jan 2025 · Community Spaces · Hansard source
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This issue falls within the remit of the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism. He will answer a question on this later, but the Government are working on it.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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I pay tribute to the Stevenage FC Foundation and the many other community organisations up and down the country for their important work. Local community club organisations use the power of sport to change lives through charitable and community activities, often through delivery across a range of areas, from health to wellbeing and employment. I have seen it in my own area of Barnsley, with Reds in the Community, which does brilliant work across my town.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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Grassroots sports clubs are the beating heart of communities up and down the country. The Government are acting to support grassroots sports through our ongoing investment in Sport England and the delivery of our £123 million multi-sport grassroots facilities programme.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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Biodiversity net gain is a legal requirement for all new developments and is not specific to sports facilities. The Government are working with Sport England, the Football Foundation and wider grassroots sport to help reduce the sector’s impact on the environment. That of course includes supporting these organisations in meeting their obligations regarding biodiversity net gain. I understand that the Football Foundation will meet officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which oversees the implementation of biodiversity net gain, to discuss this issue further.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that important question. Through our health missions, and the health mission board, we work really closely across Government. This is a pivotal issue. Sport plays a huge part in getting people more active. I know that from my own area: over 30% of people in Barnsley are inactive. Just yesterday, I met with the Richmond group of charities, which works on this sort of issue, and I continue to have both Government meetings and meetings with stakeholders. We really want to make progress in this area.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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Of course, Mr Speaker; we would not forget that. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that incredibly important point. National governing bodies are of course independent of Government, and it is for the RFU to answer for its approach. The DCMS notes that the chair of the RFU stood down recently. The Secretary of State and I meet regularly with rugby stakeholders, and will continue to do so.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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I think that was six questions rather than one. I will take no lectures from the hon. Gentleman on the state of the economy and the inheritance that we received. The Government are a huge champion of grassroots sport, and will continue to be one.
16 Jan 2025 · Grassroots Sports · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. A few years ago, I raised some eyebrows by having a photograph taken in this Chamber as part of the women’s parliamentary football team. That certainly gained a bit of attention for women’s football. As Minister for sport, I recently held a meeting with Karen Carney regarding the women’s football review implementation group. We are keen to promote women’s football and do everything that we can to encourage girls and women to get involved.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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I did not catch all of that intervention, but I said that half of charities would either stay the same or gain from the changes. I am happy to discuss that with the hon. Member after the debate, or write to him if I have misunderstood his point. [ Official Report, 13 January 2025; Vol. 760, c. 2WC.] (Correction) I have met representatives from the sector to specifically discuss the NI changes on more than one occasion. They have put forward many of the same arguments and questions that hon. Members have today, and I have shared those in turn with the Treasury. A number of specific causes and sectors have been raised during the debate, and I would like to address some of those in the time available. Individual Departments will continue to provide direct funding and support for specific causes and areas. As has been mentioned a number of times, most hospices are charitable, independent organisations. As announced by the Department of Health and Social Care, the sector is set to receive a £100 million boost, alongside a further £26 million for children and young people’s hospices. Clearly, that will help with financial pressures. That sits alongside some of the other actions taken by the Government, including an £880 million increase in the social care grant and an additional £233 million of funding on homelessness, to help prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and to prevent rough sleeping. The Home Office is working to agree decisions on its wider budget in support of the ambition to halve violence against women and girls, and it will communicate that as soon as possible. To answer the point made by the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), I have a cross-Government meeting on violence against women tomorrow morning.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) on securing this debate, and I thank Members from across the House for their contributions. As the Minister for Civil Society, I have seen at first hand the huge contribution that charities and voluntary groups make to our country; and as the MP for Barnsley South, by working directly with local groups, I have seen the impact that they have in my area. As part of the autumn Budget, the Government took a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services and restore economic stability. In an open letter to the voluntary sector on this issue, the Chancellor stated that raising the rate of employer national insurance contributions was one of the most difficult decisions in the Budget. I will address the specific point around the change to national insurance alongside some of the questions and issues raised in the debate, before discussing the wider support that the Government provide to the sector. The Government recognise the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the employment allowance, from £5,000 to £10,500. That means that more than half of employers, including charities with NI liabilities, will either gain or see no change next year. In addition, we are expanding the eligibility of the employment allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold to simplify and reform employer NI, so that all eligible employers now benefit. Almost all charities are eligible for the employment allowance, as outlined in the HMT guidance. The changes will mean that a small to medium-sized charity could employ up to four full-time workers on the national living wage and pay no employer NI, to give one example.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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I know the huge amount of work that children’s hospices do, and I have done a lot of work with Bluebell Wood children’s hospice in South Yorkshire. I will take away and reflect the right hon. Member’s points, and the relevant Department will write to him after the debate.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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I appreciate that point. The bottom line is that we have been very clear that we want economic stability, and the money does have to come from somewhere—it is tax, borrowing or cuts. That is a very clear choice. Members will appreciate that many of the issues raised in this debate fall outside of my Department, but I will reflect the points made from across the House to the relevant Departments after the debate. The Government will continue to support the sector in a number of other ways. Through the tax system, the Government also provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. The tax reliefs available to charities are a vital element in supporting charitable causes across the UK, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, community sports clubs and their donors in 2023-24.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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As the right hon. Gentleman makes clear, I am not personally responsible for the specific policy, but I will reflect his point to the Treasury. Employers, including charities, will still continue to benefit from employer NI reliefs, including for hiring those under 21 and apprentices under 25 where eligible. I am aware, however, of the concerns of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector about the impact that the changes will have on their organisations. I acknowledge that the last few years have been difficult for voluntary and community sector organisations, many of which have seen a rise in demand for their services while dealing with increased financial pressures. After the last 14 years, where the state at every level has been cut back, more demand has been placed on charities. Indeed, my local authority saw some of the worst cuts in the country, despite being one of the areas of greatest need, so I completely appreciate the role that charities have played during that time. The simple reality is that the situation cannot be reversed overnight. To grow our economy and our country, tough decisions have to be taken, and I appreciate that that is difficult.
7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source
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I have taken a number of interventions, so in the interests of time, I will make some progress. The biggest individual reliefs provided are gift aid, at £1.6 billion, and business rates relief, at nearly £2.4 billion. My Department also supports the voluntary and community sector, particularly through the delivery of direct grant funding—delivering, among other things, the £26 million voluntary, community and social enterprise energy efficiency scheme, which helps organisations with capital energy efficiency measures. That is still under way, as is the social enterprise boost fund, which delivers grants and peer support for emerging social enterprises, and the Know Your Neighbourhood fund, which is focused on increasing volunteering and tackling loneliness. Alongside that, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport sponsors the National Lottery Community Fund, which is the largest non-Government funder of voluntary and community organisations across the UK. During 2023-24, the National Lottery Community Fund made grant awards totalling over £900 million, 84% of which were under £10,000, with the majority supporting grassroots organisations. My Department is also focused on developing other sources of funding support for the sector. That includes establishing a stronger, more ambitious partnership with the impact economy, such as by unlocking the multimillion-pound potential of the dormant assets scheme. This includes making charitable giving as easy and compelling as possible, building on the estimated £13.9 billion that the UK public donated to charity last year. My officials are also working to deliver the VCSE contract readiness programme to help to improve the capability of VCSE organisations when bidding for public contracts. As we have heard from Members across the House, the voluntary and community sector plays an important role across all areas of public life, up and down the country. As the Minister for Civil Society, I have seen at first hand the work that charities and social enterprises do. Since being appointed, I have held a number of visits, meetings and roundtables with charities and voluntary organisations across the UK—from Leeds to Stoke, from Huntingdon to Brent. I am committed to continuing that engagement with charities and voluntary groups up and down the country, especially as we continue to develop a framework for the new civil society covenant, which will reset the relationship between civil society and Government. We have heard a number of examples today of the brilliant work that charities and volunteers do. I thank them for their work and I thank hon. Members for their contributions today.
18 Dec 2024 · BBC: Funding · Hansard source
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I will happily ask the Secretary of State to write to the hon. Lady. However, in talking about mutualisation, which the Secretary of State made some comments about some years ago, I think it is about having a greater role for the public in BBC accountability and the public feeling more ownership of it. But we will happily write to the hon. Lady with more detail, as I do not want to speak on the Secretary of State’s behalf.
18 Dec 2024 · BBC: Funding · Hansard source
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Of course, we spoke about this issue in the debate last night. There is the complaints procedure through BBC First, and complaints can be escalated to the executive complaints unit and then to Ofcom. But I appreciate that some people have simply decided not to buy a TV licence, and we want to explore the issue of trust and confidence in the BBC as part of the charter renewal process and the review. There will be a public consultation, in which his and my constituents, and the constituents of Members across the House, can take part. We are not in the business of reform for reform’s sake. We will think in the broadest sense about the options for the BBC’s funding and structure, and nothing is off the table, as the Secretary of State said in evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee last week. It is clear that there are limits to the amount of money that the BBC can raise from commercial sources, particularly given its obligations as a public service broadcaster. We firmly believe that the unique obligations placed on the BBC demand continued and sustainable public funding in support of its vital work. In the meantime, we must ensure that the BBC is properly and fairly supported for the remainder of this charter. That is why we have announced that we are increasing the annual cost of a TV licence from April 2025 by £5, in line with consumer prices index inflation, which is less than half as much as last year’s increase. For the BBC, that will provide additional and proportionate funding that will allow it to continue to deliver world-class educational and engaging programming. We always take decisions on funding to provide certainty and stability for the BBC while ensuring that those decisions deliver the best outcomes for licence fee payers. The Government have already noted the ongoing concerns about the impact of TV licensing enforcement action on vulnerable households. I am acutely aware of the financial difficulties faced by some households, and we are committed to supporting them to spread the cost of a TV licence. We recently announced an expansion of the simple payment plan to all unlicensed households facing financial hardship to help more people pay in flexible instalments, rather than them having to find a greater amount of money up front. We will also look at enforcement issues as part of the longer-term funding work we take forward at charter review. The provision of trustworthy local and national news is vital for democracy and to hold elected representatives to account, especially at a time when misinformation and disinformation are spreading at rapid speeds. Local journalism, in particular, also helps to foster community in areas like mine in Barnsley. By reporting on stories that matter to local people, the BBC helps people to feel connected to the place they call home. In the past few days alone in my area, the BBC has reported on a new sculpture that will be placed on a roundabout in Goldthorpe, a local Christmas tree that had to be taken down due to dangers related to wind and vandalism, and a new specialist care home being built in Barnsley. Those kinds of varied local stories matter to local people, and they enrich their understanding of the issues affecting their neighbourhoods. I know Members from across the House will have similar stories to share. Ultimately, the BBC has a huge role to play in telling our country’s story, creating great jobs and opportunities and driving growth in the creative economy. We are determined to get the forthcoming charter review right to future-proof the BBC and to ensure that we can all continue to enjoy and benefit from it for decades to come. The right hon. Member for Maldon has made an important contribution, not just today, but through his years of public service, and I thank him for that.
18 Dec 2024 · BBC: Funding · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I echo the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), in wishing a merry Christmas to everyone present, and congratulate the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) on securing this important debate. He and I have had a lot of opportunities to debate the BBC together this week. Let me start by responding to some of the points that the shadow Minister and others made. First, the right hon. Member for Maldon pointed out that it is a good time to have this debate. He opened by talking about the importance of public service broadcasting today. We spent many hours debating the Media Act 2024, which is legislation that goes to the heart of these issues and now falls to this Government to implement. The shadow Minister and the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) pointed out how many people access the BBC—over 90% every month—but also the fact that there are lots of important and challenging issues about BBC funding and the charter review. It has been a good debate, and Members have rightly shared their own experiences and memories of the BBC. My hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) spoke about the shared experience we have as a country, and how the BBC brings us together. A week today we will all be watching the King’s speech and, of course, “Gavin and Stacey”—or at least I will be. Members from all parties, and in particular my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley), spoke about their passion and support for the World Service. The right hon. Member for Maldon serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, to which I was pleased to give evidence. I am pleased that three Select Committees are taking such an interest in the topic. There are a lot of questions and challenges, but it is important that we put on the record our support for the World Service. The shadow Minister asked questions about engagement with the BBC; the Secretary of State and I have met with the BBC and will continue to do so. The shadow Minister also asked questions about local radio. It is important to state that the BBC is operationally independent, but when I was in the shadow Minister’s place I made my views very clear, as did the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Julia Lopez), who was the Minister at the time. I will speak more broadly about the BBC before addressing some of the wider funding issues. For over 100 years the BBC has been a cherished British asset, making a vital contribution to our national life. It supports our democracy, brings our communities together and helps to shape and define our nation by telling the stories of people in all parts of the UK. The BBC has an almost unique role as a source of trusted news, both in the UK and to millions of people across the globe, as well as being a provider of cutting-edge programming and educational content for the nation’s children. It is so often the first to invest in the skills, the physical assets and the creativity to boost the creative industries in all corners of the country. The media environment has of course changed over the BBC’s long history. Even since the start of the current charter period in 2017, when the Government were bringing iPlayer into the scope of the licence fee, the market has significantly evolved—a point that has been discussed. The right hon. Member for Maldon knows all that very well, not least because he served as Secretary of State for DCMS during the previous charter review. The world is changing and, as the right hon. Member for Maldon outlined in his speech, for the first time half of 16 to 24-year-olds now do not watch broadcast TV on a weekly basis. We are seeing audiences increasingly turn to on-demand content, and more than two thirds of households subscribe to streaming services, compared with about a third at the start of the charter period. The shadow Minister asked about some of the challenges that go to the heart of this debate. As an institution, the BBC has often needed to adapt, renew and grapple with an ever-increasing pace of change. That is something that the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) spoke about in his contribution. Next year, the Government will formally launch charter review with the need for adaptation in mind. We intend to use charter review to think through the operation of the BBC and how it thrives for not just the next 10 years, but well into the latter half of this century. We know that any reform to the BBC, particularly when it comes to funding, could have a major impact on the whole sector. We will consider that carefully as part of the charter review. We want to have a national conversation to make sure that the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country, wherever they come from and whatever their background. That will include the opportunity for stakeholders and audiences across the country to respond to the charter review public consultation before the new charter comes into effect in 2028. Our thinking will also be informed by my Department’s wider work. We are undertaking a project on the future of TV distribution to analyse how people receive their television now and through the next decade. That will help us to ensure the continuity of a sustainable TV ecosystem and the best outcome for audiences. As we address vital questions about the future form of the BBC head on, we must also ensure that there is a sustainable funding model that is fair to those who pay for it. These are undoubtedly complex issues, on which people hold strong opinions, but this Government want to have an open and honest discussion about them in the public’s best interests. We are fully committed to retaining the licence fee for the rest of this charter period, but we cannot ignore the fact that challenges to this funding model in its current form are increasing, as has been highlighted in the debate. The media market is more competitive than ever, with the emergence of streamers and social media platforms operating on a global scale. That has meant less money for the BBC to invest in our creative industries, in talent and skills, and in telling our stories. It has also resulted in cuts to BBC services, which the hon. Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) spoke about. The Secretary of State has announced that we will take forward work on BBC funding as part of the charter review process to bring together the linked issues of what the BBC does, its future role and how it is funded. The Government are keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee. The right hon. Member for Maldon referred to his chairing of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. More recently, the Committee’s 2021 report on the future of public service broadcasting found that there are a range of options for funding the BBC, but none are perfect.
17 Dec 2024 · Draft Local Digital Television Programme Services (Amendment) Order 2024 · Hansard source
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I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Local Digital Television Programme Services (Amendment) Order 2024. It is a pleasure to open the debate under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I am pleased to speak to the order, which was laid before the House in draft on 5 November. In just over 10 years since the first service launched, local television continues to provide local content, including news and current affairs, to audiences across the UK, and in so doing to complement our national public service broadcasters. From Sheffield Live and Leeds TV, both of which broadcast in areas neighbouring my Barnsley constituency, to London Live, which broadcasts just a few miles up the road in Kensington, and NVTV in Belfast, there are now 34 local TV services broadcasting across the UK. I was pleased to meet members of the Local TV Network and Comux last month and hear more about their services and the work they do. Both organisations also sit on the Future of TV Distribution stakeholder forum, which I am pleased to chair. These services bring social and economic benefits to the areas they serve through the making and showing of programmes that reflect the interests of their local communities, but more than that, in a television sector that is all too often centred around London and the south-east, local TV provides a training ground for those looking to embark on a career in the sector. One service, KMTV, has developed a partnership with the University of Kent to train journalism students, while another, Notts TV, has seen former trainees build on that experience and go on to work in the national media. There are 11 services based in the north of England, five based in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. All 34 of those services are carried on the local TV multiplex, which enables them to be broadcast on digital terrestrial television, also known as Freeview. The multiplex is operated by Comux UK, which is co-owned by the local TV services themselves. The multiplex plays a central role in the local TV ecosystem by providing subsidised carriages for all the local services. The local TV sector has not been without its challenges. Some services have struggled to maintain consistent audience numbers and to develop stable revenues from advertising. Last year, the TV advertising market in the UK experienced its biggest decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis. Although all commercially funded broadcasters have been affected, local TV services have been particularly impacted as they have smaller audiences than their national counterparts. The previous Government made a commitment to extend the local TV multiplex until 2034 and to consult on the options for the renewal or relicensing of the licences for the 34 local TV services. That consultation ran from June to September last year and received responses from existing licence holders, media and telecoms companies, and members of the public. In the consultation, the then Government outlined their preferred approach of a light touch renewal process for the multiplex licence, led by Ofcom, and the conditional renewal of the licences for all 34 local TV services, subject to Ofcom’s assessment of their performance to date and their plans for the next licence period. Respondents to the consultation were broadly supportive of this approach. Some respondents, particularly current licence holders, raised concerns about the burden this approach may have on licensees. They also emphasised the importance of the renewal process being completed swiftly in order to provide certainty to both the sector and its commercial partners. My Department has taken those responses into account in the drafting of this order, and worked closely with the independent regulator, Ofcom, which will administer the renewals process, to refine its provisions. A previous version of this order was laid in draft before Parliament on 7 May 2024, but was withdrawn due to the general election. The subsequent delay to the order coming into force meant that Ofcom would not have had the time necessary to conclude the renewals process and, in the event that any of the licences were not renewed, to conduct a competitive relicensing process. The updated order therefore includes additional powers for Ofcom to extend local TV licences, with the consent of current licence holders, by a period of 12 months. The extension will ensure that Ofcom is able to complete the renewals process at least 12 months before the extended licences would otherwise expire. The order has been considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which raised no concerns. The Government believe that the approach set out at consultation and provided for by the order gives the sector the best chance for long-term success and sustainability by balancing the certainty and stability of a streamlined renewals process with a proportionate degree of regulatory oversight, which will be provided by Ofcom. The Government recognise the importance of local media, including local TV. Our vision is of a thriving sector that continues to play an invaluable role by reporting on the issues that matter to communities, and keeping communities informed about local issues and decision making that affects them. The renewal of local TV licences is an important step on that journey, and I commend the draft order to the Committee.

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