Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to protect spending on public libraries.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.
His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support combating gambling addictions in the community at large, particularly among younger people.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. It is particularly important to take steps to protect those, particularly young people, who are at risk of experiencing gambling harm.
In April the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a White Paper following our review of the Gambling Act 2005. The White Paper outlined a series of measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and to ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new, frictionless financial risk checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to customer-led tools, and tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing. These measures will be complemented by strengthened messaging about the risks associated with gambling. The White Paper also contained a commitment to introduce a new statutory levy paid by operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment. In July 2023 the Gambling Commission also published a vulnerability statement, outlining its approach to identifying, supporting, and protecting consumers who are in vulnerable situations.
We are working with the Gambling Commission and others to bring the measures from the White Paper into force as quickly as possible, and have already published consultations on a number of important proposals so that we can finalise details ahead of their implementation.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote volunteering in support of public services.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government is committed to enabling people to volunteer in all manner of ways, including in support of public services. Volunteers play important roles alongside staff as magistrates, in schools, and in the NHS, for instance. Each public service area is responsible for its own volunteer management and for developing its strategic involvement of volunteers.
The Government is currently taking several steps to promote volunteering in support of public services. For example, the Department for Education continues to support the recruitment of school governors. The ‘Inspiring Governance’ programme recruits volunteers from business to become school governors and to serve on the local governing bodies of academy trusts. Since the programme began in 2016, it has placed 6,782 volunteers in governance roles. The Government has also invested over £1 million to support the recruitment of magistrates from a diverse range of backgrounds. A revised recruitment process has been introduced making use of best practice to ensure that it is fairer, more inclusive, and more accessible. These changes have been supported by a new marketing campaign designed to raise the profile of the magistracy, particularly among under-represented groups of society.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the cost to local authorities for providing indoor leisure facilities during the winter of 2022–23.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor leisure facilities. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support indoor and outdoor facilities.
The Government also recognises the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes, including on providers of indoor leisure facilities. In September the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, under which businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including leisure facilities) will be offered support.
After an initial 6 months of the scheme, the government will provide ongoing focused support for vulnerable industries. There will be a review in 3 months' time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.
The Government invested £100 million in the National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority leisure centres and facilities throughout the country after the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of commissioning by Channel 4.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government consulted extensively on a change of ownership of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of interested parties – including from Channel 4 itself – has informed the Government’s assessment and wider policy-making.
Following this consultation, the Secretary of State has come to a decision that, although Channel 4 as a business is currently performing well, public ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape. The Secretary of State is now consulting with Cabinet colleagues on that decision.
Her Majesty’s Government will set out its plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly. The Government will also publish a rationale for its decision regarding Channel 4’s ownership model.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in order to guard against misleading health information being made available online.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government takes the issue of health misinformation and disinformation very seriously. That is why we stood up the Counter Disinformation Unit on 5 March 2020 to bring together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope, and reach of misinformation and disinformation.
The Counter Disinformation Unit works closely with social media platforms to help them identify and take action to remove incorrect claims, in line with the platforms’ terms and conditions, and to ensure the promotion of authoritative sources of information.
The upcoming Online Safety Bill will have robust and proportionate measures to deal with misinformation and disinformation which could cause significant physical or psychological harm to an individual, such as falsehoods about COVID-19.
We have also developed the SHARE checklist which aims to increase audience resilience by educating and empowering those who see, inadvertently share, and are affected by false and misleading information.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to either (1) restrict, or (2) ban, gambling advertising on social media.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising online, including through affiliates, must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Gambling Commission may take enforcement action against them if they do not. The CAP consulted earlier this year on proposals to strengthen the codes and further limit the presence of gambling adverts for the protection of children and vulnerable people. Changes to safeguard vulnerable adults were announced this summer, and the full outcome is to be announced before the end of the year.
Following work with the Gambling Commission, the industry has also committed to make better use of advertising technology to target adverts away from children on social media. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising now requires operators to ensure paid-for advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media and to age-gate operator YouTube channels and content.
As part of our wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act 2005, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise, including on social media. A White Paper will be published in due course. The Government is also looking more broadly at how online advertising is regulated through the Online Advertising Programme, which will be launching a public consultation this year. Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for individuals, businesses and society as a whole.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impacts of the loss of the subtitling service on Channel 4 on those with hearing loss.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that television content is accessible for all UK audiences. All public service broadcasters, including Channel 4, are required to ensure adequate provision of access services, including subtitling for their broadcast channels. Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is closely monitoring the situation regarding the loss of the subtitling service on Channel 4, including the actions being taken by them to restore normal service as quickly as possible and to keep viewers informed.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recognise the success of the England football team in the 2020 European Championships, both in (1) sporting terms, and (2) presenting a positive image of the country.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The England team enjoyed a magnificent run in Euro 2020 and I once again pass on my huge congratulations to the team for their work on and off the pitch.
We continue to work closely with the FA on ensuring their players get the appropriate recognition, and recognise that they are already focused on qualification for the Qatar World Cup next year.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to encourage engagement with the Data Sharing Code of Practice, published by the Information Commissioner's Office on 17 December 2020.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent data protection regulator and has a statutory duty under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) to produce a code of practice that provides practical guidance on data sharing. The ICO is engaging with organisations to help them understand the code and promote the benefits of sharing data. Alongside the code, the ICO has launched a data sharing information hub on its website, where organisations can find clear guidance and practical tools for organisations and businesses on how to share data fairly, lawfully and transparently, while protecting people’s personal information.
The Government is committed to working with the ICO to promote responsible data sharing which can have benefits for the economy and the delivery of public services. The National Data Strategy recognised that better use of data can help organisations of every kind succeed – across the public, private and third sectors. Data can be a driver of scientific and technological innovation, and central to the delivery of a whole range of vital public services and societal goals, from tackling climate change to supporting the National Health Service.