Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement; and whether they will take steps to ensure that UK mountain professionals benefit from Mutual Recognition Agreements.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on the recognition of professional qualification covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.
Arrangements are implemented on a profession-by-profession basis and depend upon reciprocal cooperation from both the UK and EU Member States. The framework enables UK and EU professional bodies or authorities to make recommendations on MRAs to the Partnership Council. Once an arrangement has been adopted, a professional qualified in the UK (e.g. an engineer) will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their qualifications within an EU Member State.
The Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector to hear their priorities for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Officials are currently engaging with the tourism trade bodies, including the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) to gather feedback on priority regulators and qualifications for the tourism sector.
The government will provide help and guidance to UK regulatory authorities and professional bodies to help them benefit from these provisions as well as other recognition paths. Where visas apply, our agreement with the EU contains measures that will help ensure processes are as prompt and smooth as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the impact of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on (1) UK professional international mountain leaders, generally, and (2) those leading mountain tours across several EU member states.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on the recognition of professional qualification covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.
Arrangements are implemented on a profession-by-profession basis and depend upon reciprocal cooperation from both the UK and EU Member States. The framework enables UK and EU professional bodies or authorities to make recommendations on MRAs to the Partnership Council. Once an arrangement has been adopted, a professional qualified in the UK (e.g. an engineer) will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their qualifications within an EU Member State.
The Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector to hear their priorities for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Officials are currently engaging with the tourism trade bodies, including the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) to gather feedback on priority regulators and qualifications for the tourism sector.
The government will provide help and guidance to UK regulatory authorities and professional bodies to help them benefit from these provisions as well as other recognition paths. Where visas apply, our agreement with the EU contains measures that will help ensure processes are as prompt and smooth as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the regulation of cold calling, taking into account (1) the Consumer Rights Act 2015, (2) the powers of the Office of Information Commissioner, (3) the role of the Financial Conduct Authority, and (4) any other legislation.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Government recognises that, for many, nuisance calls are at best a source of irritation, but for the most vulnerable they can be particularly stressful and damaging. We have been clear that there is no place for nuisance calls in our society and have taken a number of proactive actions in an attempt to resolve the problem.
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) governs unsolicited live or automated direct marketing calls, unsolicited direct marketing emails and SMS text messages. The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent regulator for data protection. DCMS is the sponsoring government department of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). As part of fulfilling its sponsorship role, DCMS continues to work with the ICO to ensure the UK implements its high standards of data protection effectively.
The introduction of the GDPR provided strict guidelines which strengthened the definition of consent for direct marketing. Further to this, we reviewed PECR in January 2019 where we introduced a ban on cold calling relating to pensions. The ban prohibited the selling of pension services by pension providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted.
In addition, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 created a private right of redress for consumers who have entered into a contract as a result of misleading actions or aggressive practices as defined in the Regulations. Under these provisions, the consumer has the right to take civil action in the courts to have the contract unwind (so they are put back in the position they were in before the contract was made) and to receive a refund and to seek compensation for damages for any additional losses or harm suffered as a result of the trader’s actions”.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over its role in enforcing any judgment it makes; what consideration they have given to moving the ASA onto a statutory basis; and what research they have undertaken on the impact of the ASA on consumers, particularly in cases where complaints are upheld.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Advertising in the UK is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which enforces the Advertising Codes through a system of self-regulation and co-regulation with Ofcom. This regulatory system is independent of government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising.
The Advertising Codes incorporate all relevant legislation and set standards for accuracy and honesty to which advertisers must adhere, including specific conditions on advertising to children, causing offence and social responsibility. The Codes are regularly reviewed and updated by the industry to ensure they remain effective, and proposed changes to the Codes are routinely subject to public consultation.
UK broadcasters are required by a condition of their broadcast licences to enforce ASA rulings, and any who refuse to comply with these rulings risk being referred to Ofcom, which can impose fines and even withdraw broadcast licences. In non-broadcast media, the ASA has a range of sanctions it can take in cases of non-compliance, and as a last resort can refer advertisers to Trading Standards, where there has been a breach of consumer law.
That said, we recognise that online advertising presents a number of unique challenges, which is why we announced a review earlier this year, which will consider this system in the round.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of the National Fund in each of the last 30 years.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The total value of the National Fund (registered charity number 1046814) in each of the last 30 years is outlined in the table. This information is drawn from the annual return and accounts made by the charity to the Charity Commission.
Further information about this charity can be found on the Commission’s Register of Charities – http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1046814&subid=0
Year | Value |
31st March 1989 | £69,300,504 |
31st March 1990 | £72,653,490 |
31st March 1991 | £77,709,537 |
31st March 1992 | £82,498,878 |
31st March 1993 | £100,763,662 |
31st March 1994 | £121,911,103 |
31st March 1995 | £115,238,395 |
31st March 1996 | £137,805,861 |
5th April 1997 | £150,190,619 |
5th April 1998 | £198,319,294 |
5th April 1999 | £211,483,433 |
5th April 2000 | £229,684,098 |
5th April 2001 | £195,273,150 |
5th April 2002 | £190,712,791 |
5th April 2003 | £148,667,171 |
5th April 2004 | £183,275,344 |
5th April 2005 | £199,826,830 |
5th April 2006 | £253,825,296 |
5th April 2007 | £270,696,472 |
5th April 2008 | £280,633,063 |
5th April 2009 | £245,436,574 |
5th April 2010 | £319,296,696 |
5th April 2011 | £339,804,923 |
5th April 2012 | £352,367,480 |
5th April 2013 | £382,135,431 |
5th April 2014 | £403,289,053 |
5th April 2015 | £444,060,381 |
5th April 2016 | £422,092,507 |
5th April 2017 | £474,933,604 |
5th April 2018 | £498,762,757 |
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the members of their Digital Economy Advisory Group; what are the dates of the Group's planned meetings; and whether they have considered appointing a consumer representative to the Advisory Group.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We published the membership, terms of reference and frequency of meetings for the Digital Economy Council and Digital Economy Advisory Group on the Gov.UK website, link found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/digital-economy-council-and-digital-economy-advisory-group. The attached PDF file contains the information shown on the Gov.uk’s webpage.
Agenda and minutes are not published to encourage a frank exchange of views during these meetings.
These groups are only one of many routes to engage with us on digital policy. For example, we are committed to working with the public, industry, charities and academia as we develop and implement the Digital Charter.