Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofcom’s delivery of its statutory duties on media literacy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government supports Ofcom’s three-year Media Literacy Strategy as a solid foundation for delivering its updated media literacy duties. The Strategy sets out a credible programme focused on strengthening the evidence base, engaging platforms to improve user support and design, and commissioning targeted interventions. We welcome its emphasis on harmful online activity affecting women and girls, and its commitment to supporting teachers through continuing professional development.
Ofcom is required to publish annual progress reports against its strategy.
The government works closely with Ofcom to ensure it has the powers and resources needed to fulfil its duties effectively.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legislation governing the livestreaming of violent content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) requires services to safeguard children and reduce the risk that they are used to facilitate illegal activity. Ofcom, the regulator, sets out the steps in its codes of practice that providers can take to fulfil these duties. It has issued the first versions of the codes and is updating these iteratively. Ofcom has recently consulted on additional measures for livestreaming. The Act establishes that the Secretary of State must review the functioning of the Act within 2-5 years of the regime taking effect.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press notice entitled New online safety priorities for Ofcom and launch of study into effects of social media on children, published on 20 November 2024, what progress has been made on research into the impact of social media use on children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department is developing the evidence base around children’s online safety, including social media use, to continually inform our policy response.
As part of this, DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research on the impact of smartphones and social media on children. This six-month study considered methods to gather causal evidence of any impact and reviewed existing research. It was led by expert researchers from UK universities. We will publish the feasibility study report in due course.
We are considering next steps, based on the study’s findings. They will inform any future research involving young people, parents and carers.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on media literacy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers have regular meetings with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, including media literacy. The government is committed to a coordinated, cross-government approach to media literacy policy and delivery.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with Valuation Office Agency on its policy not to review the council tax bandings of multiple properties in one request.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Council Tax legislation only allows for a formal challenge of multiple properties in exceptional and very specific circumstances, as set in the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009.
If the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) finds or is alerted to information that suggests that the Council Tax List may be wrong, it will investigate and make corrections if necessary. Once a decision has been made to alter a property’s Council Tax band, the VOA have a duty to consider whether that decision should be applied to other similar properties in the locality and will take appropriate action as necessary.
The VOA is unable to disclose the outcome of any subsequent reviews of neighbouring properties, due to its strict duty to taxpayer confidentiality under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Northumbrian Water on sewage from storm overflows in the Ouseburn.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders, including water companies, on many issues related to the water sector including sewage pollution.
This Government has put in place the building blocks to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.
The Water (Special Measures) Act introduced independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. This matches the pre-existing duty for storm overflows and create an unprecedented level of transparency. This will meet the Government commitment to ensure monitoring of every outlet.
The Independent Water Commission has examined how to strengthen the regulation and delivery of water services to better support long-term water security, sustainable growth, and environmental protection. The Former Secretary of State provided an Oral Statement to Parliament in response to the final report.
As Part of Price Review 24, which runs from 2025-2030, Northumbrian Water will be investing £1.1 billion to reduce the use of storm overflows by delivering on 159 spill reduction schemes. Northumbrian Water across 2025-2030 will undertake multiple site specific investigations in respect of the effects of intermittent discharges in respect of Environment Act objectives.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour from (a) illegally modified and (b) off-road bikes in the Northumbria Police area.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including off-road and illegally modified e-bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.
The Government has recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially more quickly. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.
These combined measures will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and will send a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to roll out gigabit connectivity to remaining properties in Newcastle upon Tyne North constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 96% of premises in the Newcastle upon Tyne North constituency can already access a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>=1,000 Mbps).
We have created a pro-competition regulatory environment for the rollout of gigabit broadband. We expect further premises in the hon. Member’s constituency to be connected via broadband suppliers’ commercial rollout.
Any premises which do not receive a gigabit-capable connection through suppliers’ commercial rollout will be considered for inclusion within Project Gigabit, in line with the government’s commitment to achieving nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question 519 on Schools: Buildings, what progress her Department has made on the system-built block assessment; and whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools where safety issues have been raised.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department follows Health and Safety Executive guidance on building safety issues, and monitors reports from Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for any bulletins on safety that may impact the school estate.
Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis. There are no areas within schools open to pupils where there is a known immediate safety issue.
The department is working with the sector to establish a research study of several system-built frame types to establish how these buildings will age.
Following the National Audit Office’s recommendation in their June 2023 report on Condition of School Buildings, the department is consulting external academic and other experts on the proposed research into system-built blocks through a workshop in late March 2024.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children learning in the 15% of the school estate with the greatest repair need.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The first ever review of the condition of the school estate was the Property Data Survey, which was carried out between 2012 and 2014, and covered 85% of the school estate. This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of CDC during 2017 to 2019. Thanks to the department’s evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need. This is the first UK government in history to allocate capital funding based on a national assessment of condition need.
The department’s plan to ensure schools are well maintained is working. CDC2, the successor programme to CDC, is underway and is due to complete in 2026. Early indications of the department’s CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, shows that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.
CDC uses floor area of buildings rather than pupil numbers as a consistent approach to assessing buildings. Key findings from the CDC1 programme can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.