Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which RT complies with the requirements of holding a broadcasting licence in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Broadcasting regulation compliance is a matter for Ofcom, all regulatory decisions made by Ofcom are fully independent of the Government. Ofcom has an ongoing duty to ensure that all UK licenced broadcasters adhere to requirements under broadcast licence rules.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there are new opportunities for British companies in the energy sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Department for International Trade (DIT) team in Iraq continues to assess the ongoing opportunities in the energy sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and help British companies access applicable opportunities.
Companies in the Oil & Gas sectors are making particular progress in the KRI and we would recommend that any prospective market entrant should seek advice from the DIT team in the country about how to mitigate risks. Companies should also bear in mind that, as per the Prime Minister’s announcement of 12th December 2020, the Government is phasing out direct support to the fossil fuels sector as the UK transitions toward a low-carbon economy.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there are new opportunities for British companies in (1) in the tourism sector, and (2) the film industry, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Our Departmental priority for the Kurdistan region of Iraq is to support the continuing reconstruction of its infrastructure and the protection of its cultural heritage. We work closely on this issue with the British Embassy, British Council and heritage experts from the UK and Iraq. If we are successful in protecting its cultural heritage, UK and Iraqi businesses in the tourism sector will be among the beneficiaries.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many MPs have contacted the House authorities about anonymous abuse or threats on Twitter in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Tom Brake
The Parliamentary Security Department regularly provides advice to Members and their staff on social media security, but we do not collate data on these interactions. For security and privacy reasons, the discussions held between Members and the House authorities relating to threats and abuse are not publicly available. Threats and abuse received by Members should always be reported to the police.
The Member is invited to contact the Director of Security for Parliament directly if he wishes to discuss this matter further.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many staff Parliament has employed to deal with social media companies in respect of abuse or threats directed at Members of Parliament in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Brake
Prior to June 2017 no staff were directly employed to deal with social media companies in respect of abuse or threats directed at Members of Parliament.
From June 2017 to May 2019, one member of staff was directly employed in this line of work.
From June 2019 to date, two members of staff have been directly employed in this line of work.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of Twitter's response to complaints by House authorities about abuse or threats directed at Members of Parliament.
Answered by Tom Brake
Parliament has established a reasonable relationship with the main social media companies, including Twitter. We continually monitor the effectiveness of our work as we regularly raise abusive content directly with the company on behalf of Members.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the statutory guidance for 2020 on (a) Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and (b) Health Education will include guidance on online abuse and threats on (i) Twitter and (ii) other social media.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants schools to equip their pupils with the knowledge needed to make the best use of the internet and technology in a safe, considered and respectful way.
Through the guidance for the new subjects of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, teachers will address online safety and appropriate behaviour in an age appropriate way.
This topic is threaded throughout the guidance which sets out, for example, that pupils should be taught about the rules and principles for keeping safe online, including how to recognise risks, harmful content and behaviours, and how and to whom to report issues. Pupils should also be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when key topics are being taught, including online behaviours.
The guidance also refers to some key publications about internet safety which can be used by teachers and others in teaching about this topic. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
This teaching will complement the existing computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that pupils face. This includes how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.
There are other curriculum subjects which include content relevant to teaching pupils how to use the internet appropriately and safely. For example, citizenship education covers media literacy, distinguishing fact from opinion and the role and responsibility of the media in informing and shaping public opinion.
The Department has also published non-statutory guidance, ‘Teaching Online Safety’ in schools. This outlines how schools can ensure their pupils understand how to stay safe and behave online, as part of these existing curriculum requirements and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice is included in the statutory guidance for 2020 on (a) Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and (b) Health Education to minimise social media harassment of young adults using Twitter.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants schools to equip their pupils with the knowledge needed to make the best use of the internet and technology in a safe, considered and respectful way.
Through the guidance for the new subjects of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, teachers will address online safety and appropriate behaviour in an age appropriate way.
This topic is threaded throughout the guidance which sets out, for example, that pupils should be taught about the rules and principles for keeping safe online, including how to recognise risks, harmful content and behaviours, and how and to whom to report issues. Pupils should also be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when key topics are being taught, including online behaviours.
The guidance also refers to some key publications about internet safety which can be used by teachers and others in teaching about this topic. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
This teaching will complement the existing computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that pupils face. This includes how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.
There are other curriculum subjects which include content relevant to teaching pupils how to use the internet appropriately and safely. For example, citizenship education covers media literacy, distinguishing fact from opinion and the role and responsibility of the media in informing and shaping public opinion.
The Department has also published non-statutory guidance, ‘Teaching Online Safety’ in schools. This outlines how schools can ensure their pupils understand how to stay safe and behave online, as part of these existing curriculum requirements and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the steps taken by Twitter in response to complaints made by the Parliamentary authorities on abuse or threats made to hon. Members on that social media platform.
Answered by Matt Warman
In 2017 the former Prime Minister commissioned the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Review of Intimidation in Public Life. Government is acting on the Committee’s recommendations, as set out in the Government’s response to the report, which was published in March 2018.
We are clear that we expect companies to do substantially more to keep their users safe and counter online abuse, particularly where this abuse is illegal. The Online Harms White Paper sets out our plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. We intend to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, to ensure companies have appropriate systems and processes in place to deal with harmful content on their services to keep their users safe. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen by an independent regulator, which will have a range of enforcement powers.
Government has also asked the Law Commission to conduct a second phase of its review of the legal framework around abusive and offensive communications online. This will make specific recommendations for legal reform and is due to report in early 2021.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many hon. Members have discussed with the House authorities abuse and threats that they have received on Twitter.
Answered by Tom Brake
Threats and abuse received by Members should always be reported to the police.
The Parliamentary Security Department uses best endeavours to review tweets sent publicly to Members, reporting matters of concern to the police and Twitter as appropriate. This opt-in service is only done with Members’ express permission.
The Parliamentary Security Department regularly provides advice to Members and their staff on social media security, but we do not collate data on these interactions. For security and privacy reasons, the discussions held between Members and the House authorities relating to threats and abuse are not publicly available.
The Member is invited to contact the Director of Security for Parliament directly if he wishes to discuss this matter further.