Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Twycross on 22 July (HL Deb col 136–40), what consideration they are giving to the legal opinion by Tom Cross KC on 16 July that the Secretary of State is required to undertake a fuller investigation of the proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by Redbird Capital, having particular regard to evidence of the latter's links to China; and whether they will issue a response to that opinion.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Secretary of State takes her quasi-judicial responsibilities under the Enterprise Act 2002 very seriously. She will take all relevant information available into consideration when determining whether any of the public interest tests or conditions for foreign state influence are met in any proposed purchase of the Telegraph Media Group. DCMS will keep Parliament updated on decisions relating to the transaction.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue, under Schedule 6B of the Enterprise Act 2002, a foreign state intervention notice in relation to the sale of the Telegraph Media Group to RedBird Capital Partners.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Secretary of State takes her quasi-judicial responsibilities under the Enterprise Act 2002 very seriously. She will take all relevant information available into consideration when determining whether any of the public interest tests or conditions for foreign state influence are met in any proposed purchase of the Telegraph Media Group. DCMS will keep Parliament updated on decisions relating to the transaction.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the registration scheme for short-term lets will include appropriate (a) checks and (b) enforcement to ensure that holiday lets are both (i) legal and (ii) safe.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
During the Short Term Lets registration process, providers of short-term lets will be reminded of their legal responsibilities and required to confirm that their properties comply with legal requirements and meet safety standards. Details of the scheme, including enforcement, are still being determined and will be announced in due course. Public testing on the register is due to start later in 2025 and a full version of the scheme is due to arrive in 2026.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations to promote staycations.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
While tourism in Wales, Scotland and Ireland is devolved to the respective Governments and tourism bodies, VisitBritain retains responsibility for marketing Great Britain on the international stage. Its GREAT-funded international marketing campaign launched at the beginning of this year. ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ uses the hook of Britain’s rich film and television history to encourage more international visitors to explore across Great Britain. Staycations are by definition the responsibility of the devolved Administrations.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the National Visitor Economy Strategy will include provisions to support areas with a majority of domestic tourism.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are in the process of developing a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy with the Visitor Economy Advisory Council and are happy to hear representations on what it should include, but we want to grow the tourism industry beyond London and champion visits to the British countryside and coastal areas to a worldwide and domestic audience.
Asked by: Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the child protection benefits of streaming services partnering with the British Board of Film Classification to ensure that content is appropriately age-rated.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has not made an assessment of the child protection benefits of streaming services partnering with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Ofcom, as the independent regulator, now has a new duty introduced through the Media Act 2024 to assess audience protection measures used by video-on-demand (VoD) services, such as age ratings, to ensure they are adequate to protect audiences from harm. The Government will in due course be designating mainstream VoD services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then consult on a new standards code for these services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. This could include the use of age ratings, if Ofcom considers it appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term future of digital terrestrial television, in particular the national resilience value of a commercially viable broadcast network.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.
The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications.
The Government’s project looking into the future of TV distribution is considering a range of relevant factors, including the future resilience requirements for broadcast networks.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of digital terrestrial television to critical national infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.
The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications.
The Government’s project looking into the future of TV distribution is considering a range of relevant factors, including the future resilience requirements for broadcast networks.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the financial impact on vulnerable groups of the costs of moving from terrestrial television broadcasts to internet protocol television.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has an ongoing project on the future of TV distribution that is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will include assessing the advantages of hybrid television distribution models, as well as other options such as IPTV transition.
As part of this project, the Government published independent research led by Exeter University last year that included data on the use of different distribution methods by a range of different demographic groups, which included rural communities. A wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure through the Stakeholder Forum.
This includes a number of groups representing rural and UK-wide audiences, such as the Rural Services Network.
With regards to vulnerable groups, the Government has now published qualitative research that was commissioned to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among groups who are currently unconnected. This research included groups who could be vulnerable. Affordability is a factor that is in scope of the Stakeholder Forum, which includes members with specific expertise on this issue; such as the Digital Poverty Alliance.
The future of DTT is secured in legislation until at least 2034. Before any decision is made in relation to the availability of services beyond this point, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on digital terrestrial television as their primary means of watching television. The government stakeholder forum will conclude later this year and then the government will make a decision.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to make a decision about the long-term future of digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has an ongoing project on the future of TV distribution that is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will include assessing the advantages of hybrid television distribution models, as well as other options such as IPTV transition.
As part of this project, the Government published independent research led by Exeter University last year that included data on the use of different distribution methods by a range of different demographic groups, which included rural communities. A wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure through the Stakeholder Forum.
This includes a number of groups representing rural and UK-wide audiences, such as the Rural Services Network.
With regards to vulnerable groups, the Government has now published qualitative research that was commissioned to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among groups who are currently unconnected. This research included groups who could be vulnerable. Affordability is a factor that is in scope of the Stakeholder Forum, which includes members with specific expertise on this issue; such as the Digital Poverty Alliance.
The future of DTT is secured in legislation until at least 2034. Before any decision is made in relation to the availability of services beyond this point, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on digital terrestrial television as their primary means of watching television. The government stakeholder forum will conclude later this year and then the government will make a decision.