Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their commitment (1) to protecting, and (2) to accessing, green spaces includes the preservation of Victoria Tower Gardens as a fully open park.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s commitment to protecting access to all green spaces includes Victoria Tower Gardens. There will occasionally be work or programmed maintenance that will require the temporary closure or the limiting of access to these green spaces, but the Government is committed to ensuring this is kept to a minimum.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy concerning permission for new buildings, not connected with open spaces' or leisure purposes, to be built in Royal Parks.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Any decisions concerning permission for new buildings, not connected with open spaces or leisure purposes to be built in the Royal Parks will be made in line with relevant planning legislation and will be the subject of the usual consent procedures.
The Royal Parks are Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Regent’s Park and Kensington Gardens.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will maintain current levels of grant-in-aid to the Imperial War Museum Holocaust Exhibition after the construction of the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
As an Arm’s Length Body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Imperial War Museums receives annual Grant-in-Aid funding to carry out a number of objectives, including securing free access to their permanent collections, of which the Holocaust Gallery forms a part. Museums themselves determine how best to allocate Grant-in-Aid across their organisations in addition to self-generated funding. The Government has committed funding in the current Spending Review period. Future funding decisions will be made at the next comprehensive spending review.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 22 March (HL Deb, col 413), what assessment they have made of the independence of the Advertising Standards Authority in the light of its categorisation as a Complaints Handler Member of the Ombudsman Association rather than an Ombudsmen Member.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Broadcast and non-broadcast advertising are governed by a system of co-regulation and self-regulation respectively, overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority.
It is correct that the ASA is not technically an ombudsman and is instead categorised as a complaint handler member of the Ombudsman Association - a position which applies to a number of other regulatory bodies, for example the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Financial Conduct Authority.
This status obliges the ASA to operate in accordance with the Ombudsman Association’s Principle of Good Complaint Handling and to have regard to its Principles of Good Governance. These principles set standards of independence, openness and transparency, accountability, integrity, clarity of purpose, effectiveness, accessibility, flexibility, proportionality, efficiency and quality of outcomes.
Complaint handler member status does not imply any inadequacy in governance, complaints handling or other standards.