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Written Question
Sports: Sponsorship
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on developing a sponsorship code of conduct that all sporting bodies must adhere to when accepting sponsorship form the gambling industry.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has been working with representatives from the sports sector, including sports governing bodies, to agree a new code of conduct for socially responsible gambling sponsorship. We hope to make further announcements once the code is finalised and agreed early next year.


Written Question
Football: World Cup
Thursday 1st December 2022

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of FIFA on the process for awarding world cup tournaments.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Sport operates independently of the government, therefore direct representations to FIFA on their processes for awarding future events would be a matter for Home Nation football governing bodies to raise.

The Government has frank conversations at an international level with counterparts around the world on issues such as human rights, and we will continue to have those conversations.


Written Question
Swedish Psychological Defence Agency
Monday 7th November 2022

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

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 assessment of the implications for her policies on countering foreign malign information, influence, disinformation and other misleading information of the establishment of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency.

Answered by Paul Scully

Disinformation is one of a range of tools used by hostile actors from foreign states to attempt to achieve their wider objectives. DCMS leads the operational and policy response for countering disinformation across HMG. This includes responding to acute information incidents, such as Russian information operations during the war in Ukraine, disinformation relating to COVID-19, and electoral events.

The Government has amended the National Security Bill which strengthens our legislative response to state-linked disinformation aimed at the UK. The new Foreign Interference Offence brought forward in the National Security Bill will be named as a priority offence in the Online Safety Bill, forcing companies to proactively take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-linked online interference.

The UK, along with our G7 and NATO partners, is working hard to protect our democracies against disinformation. We work together with our allies on gaining a better understanding of the threat of mis and disinformation, and collaborating on our collective response.


Written Question
British Boxing Board of Control
Wednesday 29th June 2022

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has provided to the British Boxing Board of Control in each year since 2017.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

My Department has not provided funding to the British Boxing Board of Control, which has been overseeing British professional boxing independently of the government since 1929.


Written Question
Music: EU Countries
Thursday 24th March 2022

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress the Government has made on supporting touring musicians to continue to work in Europe.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. We want musicians and performers to be able to tour abroad easily.

We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States, to provide clarity on what creative workers need to do. We have confirmed that, in many areas, arrangements are much more workable than has at times been reported. For example, the vast majority of Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative performers, including most of the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. This also includes Spain, who in November 2021, following engagement by the UK Government and the sector, introduced 90 day visa and work permit free touring for artists. We continue to work with the few remaining EU Member States that do not allow visa and permit free touring, such as Greece and Portugal, to encourage them to make touring easier.

We have also confirmed that portable musical instruments, carried or in a vehicle, can be transported cost-free and should not require ATA Carnets, and that small ‘splitter vans’ are not subject to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement limits around cabotage and cross trade for the creative sectors. We have also launched an Export Support Service (ESS), where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can get answers to practical questions online and by telephone.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 14th March 2022

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the enquiry of 24 January 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney regarding Mr. Williams.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

A reply was issued on 10 March 2022.


Written Question
Mobile Phones: Emergencies
Tuesday 24th March 2020

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

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 potential for the Government to issue SMS communications to all mobile telephones in the UK at a time of national emergency.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Government is in regular contact with the major fixed and mobile operators, technology providers and Ofcom regarding the current situation. Discussions relating to measures and options to mitigate and inform on the impacts of Covid-19 are ongoing with industry stakeholders and relevant parties.


Written Question
Television Licences: Older People
Thursday 4th July 2019

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

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 potential effect of the withdrawal of free TV licences for over-75s on the (a) well-being and (b) isolation of elderly people.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is a matter for the BBC. Parliament transferred responsibility in passing the Digital Economy Act in 2017. On the specific issues of the well-being and isolation of the elderly, My Department work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Government is taking steps to address loneliness. These include appointing a minister to lead work on tackling loneliness; publishing the world’s first government strategy on loneliness; and securing £20 million of new grant-funding for projects run by charities and community groups to bring people together.


Written Question
Gaming Machines: Reviews
Thursday 29th June 2017

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to make an announcement on its review of fixed odds betting terminals.

Answered by Tracey Crouch

A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures was launched in October 2016, which included a look at the Fix Odds Betting terminals. Purdah interrupted the final stages of our consideration of the evidence received and the subsequent internal, cross government process of approval and sign off. I'm afraid, therefore, that we are back at the start of the process and that as a consequence of it taking at least 12 weeks I would not expect any further announcement until October at the earliest.


Written Question
BBC: Royal Charters
Thursday 11th February 2016

Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the outcome of the consultation on the BBC Charter Renewal process.

Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot

I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 22672, submitted to Parliament on 19 January.