The Government is committed to strengthening young people’s participation in democratic processes and decision-making. Through the Be Seen and Heard chapter of Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, we set out our ambition to strengthen young people’s participation in decision-making at both national and local levels.

This Government has committed to lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections, ensuring young people have the information and support they need to participate fully in the democratic process, and establishing new Youth Councils across England. We will also test and learn from different approaches to involving young people in local funding decisions.

Over the summer, my Department has worked directly with young people and the youth sector to understand what support young people need to influence decisions at both national and local levels. Their views will inform the development of our youth empowerment programmes and help ensure that young people can participate meaningfully as more decisions are taken closer to local communities.

My Department is also supporting the UK Youth Parliament during 2026/27. This provides young people from across the UK with opportunities to represent their peers, campaign on the issues that matter to them, and make their voices heard by decision-makers, including through its annual sitting in the House of Commons.

Loneliness is not just an individual struggle; it is a national challenge that we must solve together. Through our cross-government Social Connection For All programme, we are supporting those most at risk of loneliness, including older people, so everyone has the social connections they need to thrive.

GDS continuously reviews published digital and technology guidance, in recognition of the fast-moving environment in which we operate in. As recently as May 2026, we provided updated guidance on be open and use open source, which is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ai-open-code-and-vulnerability-risk-in-the-public-sector

The Fixed Telecoms Modernisation Charter, published in March 2026, includes a commitment by communication providers and network operators to work together to ensure the safe migration of telecare users between networks. Engagement between the Department and industry is ongoing.

The Government recognises the importance of networks being as reliable as possible so that people can access the modern digital economy, communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take appropriate and proportionate measures to maintain the resilience of their networks. Power cuts can disrupt mobile services, but if the current mobile network is unavailable all emergency 999 calls automatically switch to other available networks.

Following a detailed review, Ofcom updated their regulatory guidance to operators in June 2026, confirming that mobile operators are expected to take robust measures to manage and mitigate against the risks of power outage. Government is also working closely with all of UK’s mobile operators and electricity network operators, so that industry implements measures to reduce the impact of power cuts on mobile services wherever possible.

The Government also welcomes new direct to device low earth orbit satellite services which are now available in the UK market, which can provide another means of connectivity when there is disruption to terrestrial networks.

The Government is committed to ensuring that digital services are accessible and inclusive to everyone, including disabled people.

GOV.UK guidance is owned and managed by government departments and organisations. They have a legal duty to consider everyone’s needs when designing and delivering information and services, and to meet the requirements of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations and the Government Service Standard.

The £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund funded over 80 projects across all nine regions of England, helping people get online safely and with confidence.

Funding was distributed broadly evenly across the regions, with each receiving between 10% - 13% of funded projects (approximately 17 - 23 projects as some projects span multiple regions). A number of these organisations focused on rural areas, such as Rural Media Charity, who supported older adults to improve confidence and access to online services in rural West Midlands communities.

The £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund funded over 80 projects across all nine regions of England, helping people get online safely and with confidence.

Funding was distributed broadly evenly across the regions, with each receiving between 10% - 13% of funded projects (approximately 17 - 23 projects as some projects span multiple regions). A number of these organisations focused on rural areas, such as Rural Media Charity, who supported older adults to improve confidence and access to online services in rural West Midlands communities.

The Government and Ofcom regularly engage on implementation of the Online Safety Act. The Act requires Ofcom to publish codes of practice, guidance and risk assessment resources that enable services of different sizes to understand what is expected of them under their duties. Ofcom has published material to help providers assess how the design and functionality of their services may affect risk and compliance

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety. Operational decisions about whether to provide any additional case-specific compliance support or advisory mechanisms to service providers are matters for Ofcom.

The UK and EU committed to cultural exchange at the UK-EU Summit in May 2025. The government is dedicated to improving touring conditions for creative professionals across the UK, including Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire.

DCMS Ministers and officials, UK Ambassadors and FCDO officials regularly engage with the European Commission and EU Member States to support cross-border touring. This has yielded practical improvements, including visa-free short stays in Croatia since 21 February 2025. More broadly, most EU Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for at least 30 days, with many others offering up to 90 days, including the UK’s biggest touring markets (e.g. France, Germany, Spain).

We continue to pursue these solutions through high-level channels – including my co-chairing of the UK-European Commission High-Level Meeting on Culture with Commissioner Glenn Micallef on 24 March 2026 – and we look forward to further progressing this meaningful dialogue at the next UK-EU Summit once a date is confirmed.

The government announced in June that we would be closely following the Australian model for the scope of the social media ban. This means capturing user to user platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction, and which allow users to post material alongside algorithms. The department is currently working through the details and the final scope criteria will be set out in the regulations that will be laid in Parliament.

The Government’s arm’s length body for grassroots sport, Sport England, has a process for recognising activities. The objective of the recognition process is to identify sports that Sport England may wish to work with and the national bodies that govern them. The process is run jointly with the other three Home Country Sports Councils and UK Sport.

Recognition of a sport is subject to application and the most recent application for chess was made by the English Chess Federation (ECF) in 2008. When considering if activities can be recognised as sports, the Sports Councils refer to the definition of sport contained in the Council of Europe’s European Sports Charter (revised 2021). This states that;

“Sport means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.”

The ECF’s application was turned down at this time as Chess did not meet the Council of Europe’s definition. Any future application for the recognition of Chess would have to meet this definition.

The Government recognises the importance of satellite connectivity, including in rural areas, and is assessing the available technical evidence on EPFD limits and their potential implications for spectrum use, broadband connectivity and competition between providers.

The Department regularly engages with Ofcom on international spectrum matters, including EPFD studies being undertaken in ITU-R Working Party 4A and preparations for WRC-27. These discussions will help inform the UK's position in international negotiations on satellite spectrum.

The UK’s approach to discussions on all spectrum matters, including equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits is evidence-based and informed by broader strategic objectives, including economic growth, innovation, connectivity, resilience and national security.

The Government recognises the importance of satellite connectivity, including in rural areas, and is assessing the available technical evidence on EPFD limits and their potential implications for spectrum use, broadband connectivity and competition between providers.

The Department regularly engages with Ofcom on international spectrum matters, including EPFD studies being undertaken in ITU-R Working Party 4A and preparations for WRC-27. These discussions will help inform the UK's position in international negotiations on satellite spectrum.

The UK’s approach to discussions on all spectrum matters, including equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits is evidence-based and informed by broader strategic objectives, including economic growth, innovation, connectivity, resilience and national security.

The Government recognises the importance of satellite connectivity, including in rural areas, and is assessing the available technical evidence on EPFD limits and their potential implications for spectrum use, broadband connectivity and competition between providers.

The Department regularly engages with Ofcom on international spectrum matters, including EPFD studies being undertaken in ITU-R Working Party 4A and preparations for WRC-27. These discussions will help inform the UK's position in international negotiations on satellite spectrum.

The UK’s approach to discussions on all spectrum matters, including equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits is evidence-based and informed by broader strategic objectives, including economic growth, innovation, connectivity, resilience and national security.

The Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament on 8 September made clear that the government would look at both device-level and app-level measures to protect children from nude imagery. The government will continue to look across the whole technology ecosystem to ensure protections for children are as strong as possible, while also balancing the privacy, security and technical feasibility of measures.

We acknowledge growing concerns across the creative industries regarding the impact of generative AI on entry level roles, weakening established routes into the creative sector. Government supports responsible AI adoption across the creative industries, and will take seriously the risks of displacement. Working alongside DWP and DBIST, we are monitoring workforce trends closely to build a robust evidence base and will continue engaging across subsectors to identify risks and mitigations to help define a sustainable vision for the labour market.

DCMS works with VisitBritain to promote visits to Britain worldwide, including from Canada, with a focus on ensuring the benefits of tourism are felt across all regions and nations.

VisitBritain works with the Canadian travel trade through campaigns, trade events and familiarisation trips to promote Britain’s nations and regions. Over the past two years, this has resulted in approximately 45 new bookable itineraries with 15 Canadian partners, increasing the range of regional tourism products available to Canadian visitors.

In September 2025, VisitBritain promoted its ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign at the Toronto International Film Festival, using film and TV locations to inspire visits to Britain. VisitBritain found that 87% of Canadian visitors considering a UK trip were interested in visiting a film or TV location.

In 2026, VisitBritain is building on this work through initiatives connecting Canadian buyers with regional suppliers, including a Manchester Spotlight in November and a familiarisation trip covering Liverpool, Chester, Wrexham, Conwy and Manchester.

Government announced in June that we would ban social media companies from offering their services to under 16s. The department is currently working through the details and the final scope criteria will be set out in the regulations that will be laid in Parliament.