Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many former officials from his Department have subsequently been employed at Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in each of the last five years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
This information is not collected or held. However, officials are subject to the Business Appointment Rules.
As DCMS does not collect this data we cannot confirm whether any former officials have subsequently been employed at Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in the last five years.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department’s human resources team has ever prevented former civil servants or special advisors from taking up a position at Camelot UK Lotteries Limited.
Answered by John Whittingdale
DCMS has not prevented former civil servants or special advisors from taking up a position at Camelot UK Lotteries Limited.
Upon leaving the civil service, all civil servants are subject to the Business Appointment Rules (BARs). BARs restrictions apply for two years after the last day of paid Civil Service employment for members of the Senior Civil Service and equivalents, including special advisers of equivalent standing. For those below the Senior Civil Service and equivalents, including special advisers of equivalent standing, the Rules continue to apply for one year after leaving the Civil Service, unless, exceptionally, the role has been designated as one where a longer period of up to two years will apply.
The aim of the Rules is to avoid any reasonable concerns that:
a. a civil servant might be influenced in carrying out his or her official duties by the hope or expectation of future employment with a particular firm or organisation, or in a specific sector; or
b. on leaving the Civil Service, a former civil servant might improperly exploit privileged access to contacts in Government or sensitive information; or
c. a particular firm or organisation might gain an improper advantage by employing someone who, in the course of their official duties, has had access to:
i. information relating to unannounced or proposed developments in Government policy, knowledge of which may affect the prospective employer or any competitors; or
ii. commercially valuable or sensitive information about any competitors
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times officials in his Department have received hospitality from Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government departments publish quarterly details of occasions where Ministers and officials are in receipt of hospitality. This is published on the Gov.uk website and covers the last 10 years.
At the following link it is possible to apply filters to search for the documents specifically relating to DCMS and Transparency and Freedom of Information Releases over this period: [https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?content_store_document_type%5B%5D=transparency&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-digital-culture-media-sport&order=updated-newest]
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times Ministers in his Department have received hospitality from Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government departments publish quarterly details of occasions where Ministers and officials are in receipt of hospitality. This is published on the Gov.uk website and covers the last 10 years.
At the following link it is possible to apply filters to search for the documents specifically relating to DCMS and Transparency and Freedom of Information Releases over this period: [https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?content_store_document_type%5B%5D=transparency&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-digital-culture-media-sport&order=updated-newest]
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) interest rate and (b) terms will be for loans awarded under the Sport Winter Survival Package.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The loan terms are still being finalised, but we expect these to be on generous terms with initial repayment holidays. Further details will be set out when Sport England opens the scheme for applications shortly.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what additional funding his Department has received from the Treasury to fund the Sport Winter Survival Package.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The £300m Sport Winter Survival Package announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will be fully funded by the Treasury.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the Sport Winter Survival Package will be provided as (a) grants and (b) loans.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The mix of loans and grants will be driven by need and the ability to repay. The allocations announced on Tuesday 19 November 2020 were preliminary allocations made on a needs based assessment process, and reflect the submissions made from the individual sports. According to these initial allocations, we expect about £250m of the £300m funding to be loans, with the rest being grants. The funding process will be overseen by an independent decision-making board and supported by Sport England: the proportion of grants to loans will only be finalised once that decision-making process is complete.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-based freelance journalists will be able to operate across European borders after the transition period.
Answered by John Whittingdale
On 1 September 2020, the Government launched a comprehensive communications campaign to help the UK prepare for the end of the transition period. This includes guidance on customs and mobility procedures important to workers and freelancers. My department will continue to engage with the press sector on the specific issues they may face.
We are seeking a reciprocal agreement with the EU that could allow UK citizens to undertake some business activities in the EU without a work permit, on a short-term basis. At the moment, we are unable to comment on the detail of these arrangements as discussions are ongoing.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many pieces of disinformation the Counter Disinformation Unit has reported to SnapChat since 1 March 2020; and how many of those disinformation posts have subsequently been removed by SnapChat.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been vitally important that the public has accurate information and DCMS is leading work across Government to tackle disinformation.
The Counter Disinformation Unit brings together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities. The Unit’s primary function is to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and impact of disinformation and misinformation regarding Covid-19 and to work with partners to ensure appropriate action is taken. It would not be appropriate for the Unit to provide a running commentary on the amount of misinformation/disinformation seen to date.
Throughout the pandemic, we have been working closely with social media platforms to quickly identify and help them respond to potentially harmful content on their platforms, including removing harmful content in line with their terms and conditions, and promoting authoritative sources of information.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many pieces of disinformation the Counter Disinformation Unit has reported to WhatsApp since 1 March 2020; and how many of those disinformation posts have subsequently been removed by WhatsApp.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been vitally important that the public has accurate information and DCMS is leading work across Government to tackle disinformation.
The Counter Disinformation Unit brings together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities. The Unit’s primary function is to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and impact of disinformation and misinformation regarding Covid-19 and to work with partners to ensure appropriate action is taken. It would not be appropriate for the Unit to provide a running commentary on the amount of misinformation/disinformation seen to date.
Throughout the pandemic, we have been working closely with social media platforms to quickly identify and help them respond to potentially harmful content on their platforms, including removing harmful content in line with their terms and conditions, and promoting authoritative sources of information.