Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that BT Openreach can gain access to buildings and install infrastructure for fibre optic connectivity.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Electronic Communications Code (the Code) is the legal framework underpinning rights to install and maintain digital communications infrastructure on public and private land. We are working closely with stakeholders to understand whether the current legislative framework supports the delivery of the gigabit-capable infrastructure, and intend to consult on whether further reforms to the Code are necessary to support the delivery of gigabit-capable connectivity.
We have also introduced the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill, which will make it easier for operators to install gigabit-capable broadband in blocks of flats and apartments in cases when the landowner does not respond to repeated requests for access.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department in taking to prevent developers entering into exclusivity arrangements with internet providers and locking residents in to a limited range of broadband services.
Answered by Matt Warman
Ofcom has powers to impose network access requirements on providers it deems to hold significant market power, requiring these providers to allow other operators to access their network. Ofcom regularly reviews market definitions and remedies, and is currently consulting on regulations to apply from April 2021.
Additionally, the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016 enable telecoms operators to request information about the physical infrastructure of other utilities, transport and communications providers, and provide the right to access that infrastructure on fair and reasonable terms and conditions. We are currently reviewing whether these Regulations can be improved to encourage more use of infrastructure sharing to deploy telecoms networks.
Taken together, these measures help increase the numbers of different services consumers can choose from.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
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 help ensure the economic viability of theatres that are unable to operate under social distancing measures.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This Government recognises how severely theatres, and the wider Arts sector, have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
In order to support the Arts sector through the pandemic, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.
This package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including theatres, and £20 million for individuals, including self-employed theatre practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.
The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the arts sectors extensively to ensure we fully understand the impacts of Covid-19 and remain well placed to respond as the landscape develops. On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures that are needed to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector, including theatres.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure the financial resilience of service delivery charities in the (a) delay and (b) mitigate phases of the response to covid-19.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Ministers and officials are in constant dialogue with partners in these sectors to build and maintain a complete and up to date understanding of the challenges. We are working urgently with colleagues across government to shape support available to mitigate risks in the coming weeks and months.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) EU and (b) non-EU nationals employed in the creative arts industries.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The department produces annual employment statistics for the creative industries, published as part of DCMS’s economic estimates. The numbers of EU and non-EU nationals employed in the creative industries in 2018 are given in the table below. Overall, employees in the creative industries are 85.8% UK, 7.4% EU and 6.8% non-EU nationals.
Creative Industries employment by subsector in 2018, 000s [1]
Sub-sector | UK | EU [2] | Non-EU |
1. Advertising and marketing | 168 | 15 | 12 |
2. Architecture | 96 | - | - |
3. Crafts | 9 | - | - |
4. Design and designer fashion | 143 | 11 | - |
5. Film, TV, video, radio and photography | 219 | 19 | 8 |
6. IT, software and computer services | 604 | 50 | 78 |
7. Publishing | 164 | 24 | 11 |
8. Museums, Galleries and Libraries | 80 | - | - |
9. Music, performing and visual arts | 268 | 17 | 12 |
Creative Industries | 1,750 | 150 | 139 |
Source: DCMS Economic Estimates, Employment 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dcms-sectors-economic-estimates-2018-employment
Notes
1. Estimates rounded to the nearest 1,000.
2. Does not include UK nationals
Notation
"-" Figure has been suppressed due to disclosiveness
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2019 to Question 666, on Third Sector, what recent progress his Department has made on establishing a regular forum for social enterprises to coordinate relations with the Government.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Civil Society Strategy sets out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. The Strategy recognised the demand from the social enterprise sector for a simpler relationship with the government and committed to establishing a regular forum for social enterprises to coordinate relations with the government. The forum will be launched later this year.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the pay differential is between the highest and lowest paid employees of the National Citizen Service Trust.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 January 2020, the upper band of NCS Trust salaries was between £140-145k and lower band is £15-20k.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of youth centres that have closed in (a) Lewisham Deptford, (b) Lewisham borough, (c) London and (d) the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data concerning the number of youth service centres that have closed in (a) Lewisham Deptford, (b) Lewisham borough, (c) London and (d) the UK in each year since 2010 is not held by my Department.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to allocate funding for local services, in line with local need. Individual local authorities would be best placed to advise on any changes there have been to the number of youth centres in their local area.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 22 October 2019 to Question 311, what progress her Department has made on the design of the Youth Investment Fund; and when the final details of that fund will be published.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The new £500m Youth Investment Fund will start in 2020/21 and run over five years. This investment will be a balance of capital and revenue funding. The capital funding will build 60 more youth centres, refurbish 360 existing centres, and 100 mobile centres for harder to reach areas across the country, which will deliver high quality services to young people.
The revenue funding will support the provision and coordination of high-quality youth services and positive activities for young people, building on the investment provided by the £7m Youth Accelerator Fund which launched on 30th January 2020.
The Youth Investment Fund is being designed in close consultation with young people, the organisations that work with them, and other departments. We will publish further details on the design of the Youth Investment Fund in due course.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2019 to Question 676, on Third Sector, what progress his Department has made on extending the use of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 through the joint programme between his Department and the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government remains committed to ensuring social outcomes can be delivered through the government's commercial activities. The roll-out of a comprehensive training and implementation plan for central government commercial staff is now underway. The Office for Civil Society in DCMS is also supporting Claire Dove, the Crown Representative for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors on engaging civil society sector bodies on supplier readiness plans.