Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in (i) broadcast and print media, (ii) theatres, (iii) graphic design, (iv) tourism and (v) sport and leisure.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While DCMS does not have any estimates on the number of vacancies, the Department has published Experimental Official Statistics for skills shortages (%) in DCMS sectors and sub-sectors. These are for the year 2019, using data from the Employer Skills Survey, carried out by the Department for Education that covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The ESS is a biennial survey, which was delayed by a further year during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with 2022-23 data expected to be published later this year (also currently scheduled to include Scotland).
Skills shortage vacancies are defined as vacancies unfilled because applicants did not have the necessary skills. Two measures for skills shortages are published:
Percentage of vacancies that are unfilled due to skills shortages
Percentage of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy
The “Percentage of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy” estimates are impacted by the fact that some businesses will not have had a vacancy. Therefore the “% of businesses with at least one vacancy” figure was also published to help provide context.
Sector/subsector | % of vacancies unfilled due to skills shortages | % of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy | % of businesses with at least one vacancy |
Audio Visual (i - Broadcast Media) | 19.2 | 2.1 | 12.0 |
Publishing (excluding translation & interpretation activities) (i - Print Media) | 10.9 | 3.2 | 11.4 |
Arts (ii) | 10.1 | 2.3 | 12.7 |
Design and designer fashion (iii) | 36.8 | 2.9 | 11.4 |
Tourism Industries (iv) | 21.2 | 6.0 | 21.9 |
Sport (v) | 30.1 | 4.4 | 17.2 |
Table 1 - Skills shortages in selected sectors. Estimates are not available directly measuring the areas requested. The sectors presented here have been provided as the closest to the requested sectors, for which DCMS have skills shortages data.
Source: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department will announce its policy on the future of School Games funding.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport and physical activity provide important physical and mental health benefits and also help to develop vital social connections and leadership skills that will set young people up for life.
The Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people can be physically active and to increase the chances for children to take part in competitive sport. The School Games form a key part of this.
In the academic year 2018/2019, 2.4 million opportunities were provided across inter- and intra-school level through the School Games across the country.
The Government confirmed that the School Games Organisers will continue for the 2022/23 academic year and is considering the position beyond that point.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to fund the School Games scheme after 31 August 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport and physical activity provide important physical and mental health benefits and also help to develop vital social connections and leadership skills that will set young people up for life.
The Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people can be physically active and to increase the chances for children to take part in competitive sport. The School Games form a key part of this.
In the academic year 2018/2019, 2.4 million opportunities were provided across inter- and intra-school level through the School Games across the country.
The Government confirmed that the School Games Organisers will continue for the 2022/23 academic year and is considering the position beyond that point.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of clubs in the Vanarama National League and National League North and South which are unable to fulfill their fixtures; and whether he has had discussions with the National League on supporting those clubs.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has already facilitated a unique promotional deal with the National Lottery who provided a £10 million cash injection to the Vanarama National League and National League North and South in October 2020. Further support is available to clubs in these three divisions through the Sports Winter Survival Package: this will allow them to both survive and finish their seasons if they choose to do so. Sport England, as administrators of the Sport Winter Survival Package, are working with any club that wishes to access support through the scheme. I discussed the support package with the National League on 29 January 2021.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to put in place additional support for indoor tennis centres; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. On 22 October 2020, the Government also announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. We have no plans to provide additional bespoke support for indoor tennis centres.
In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has provided £220 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic. On 26 January Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support he plans to provide for (a) community amateur sports clubs and (b) venues which are not eligible for the covid-19 lockdown grants announced in January 2021 on the basis that they do not pay business rates or have a rateable value.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. The £300m Sports Winter Survival Package also aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England over the winter period. On 22 October 2020, the Government also announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres.
In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has provided £220 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic. On 26 January Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the grant his Department provided to the Football Association to distribute to National League clubs was intended to replace gate receipts lost as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association, the National Lottery provided £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National League. This initiative is in addition to the ongoing support the National Lottery provides to good causes through the National Lottery Distribution Fund. Funding has been allocated to clubs by the National League using an approach based broadly on past attendance. The National League will keep allocations under review and may amend them if any club suffers acute financial hardship.
The department does not hold records on the average attendance or gate receipts of National League clubs.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria his Department used to determine the amount of money given to the Football Association to be distributed to clubs in the National League; and on what basis the National League will distribute that money.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association, the National Lottery provided £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National League. This initiative is in addition to the ongoing support the National Lottery provides to good causes through the National Lottery Distribution Fund. Funding has been allocated to clubs by the National League using an approach based broadly on past attendance. The National League will keep allocations under review and may amend them if any club suffers acute financial hardship.
The department does not hold records on the average attendance or gate receipts of National League clubs.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) average attendance and (b) annual gate receipts of each club in the (i) National League, (ii) National League North and (iii) National League South was in the (A) 2018-19 and (B) 2019-20 season; and how much the Government's monthly grant in October 2020 was for each of those clubs.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association, the National Lottery provided £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National League. This initiative is in addition to the ongoing support the National Lottery provides to good causes through the National Lottery Distribution Fund. Funding has been allocated to clubs by the National League using an approach based broadly on past attendance. The National League will keep allocations under review and may amend them if any club suffers acute financial hardship.
The department does not hold records on the average attendance or gate receipts of National League clubs.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the levels of crowd violence at horse racing meetings in 2018.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Incidents of crowd violence are rare across the 60 British racecourses and 1500 fixtures that attract some six million racegoers per year. However, the Racecourse Association and its members are working to encourage responsible behaviour in respect of alcohol consumption, and are reviewing their processes for crowd control and security. Racecourses reserve the right to deny entry to or remove racegoers whose behaviour falls short of the standards of conduct required under the terms and conditions of entry. The British Horseracing Authority will consider factors such as crowd control and behaviour when reviewing its licensing procedures for racecourses.