Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with football governing bodies on the potential merits of reducing the gender pay gap between male and female footballers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We have been clear that we are right behind growing women and girls sports in every aspect - from grassroots all the way up to the elite level. Over the last few years, the game has grown significantly and at a rapid pace and the success of the Lionesses has highlighted that. However, we need processes and structures in place that protect the interests of the game and the people working in it.
The independent Review of Women’s Football which launched in September will support the continued growth and development of the women’s game to ensure it has a strong and sustainable future. I look forward to seeing the Review’s final report in Summer 2023.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has received representations on unauthorised text messages causing charges for consumers.
Answered by Matt Warman
DCMS regularly engages with industry, regulators and other government departments on the issue of nuisance communications, including unsolicited marketing communications.
Services which charge consumers for receiving text messages (premium SMS) are regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA). In 2019, the PSA took enforcement action against companies for misleading and charging consumers for services without their consent, and introduced new rules to require a two-stage approval process before taking out a new subscription service. The PSA also extended these requirements to one-off purchases in their 2021 Code of Practice.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), organisations must not send unauthorised marketing text messages to individuals without their prior consent, and consumers must be able to opt-out of future messaging, free of charge except for the cost of the initial transmission of refusal.
If consumers are concerned about receiving unauthorised marketing texts, they can report these to the Information Commissioner’s Office. In relation to SMS charging, we would encourage people to contact the PSA to seek advice.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) direct employees, (b) contractors and (c) agency workers who work in her Department and relevant agencies and public bodies receive a wage below that of the (i) UK Real Living Wage outside of Greater London and (ii) London Living Wage inside of Greater London, as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage. In April 2022, the National Living Wage increased to £9.50 per hour. By 2024, the government has committed that the National Living Wage will reach 66% of median UK earnings.
No DCMS Civil Servants are paid below the UK Real Living Wage.
No DCMS Civil Servants contracted to a London office are paid below the London Living Wage.
There are 33 Public Bodies sponsored by DCMS, who are required to adhere to Civil Service pay guidance, of these four have a relatively small number of staff - between 4 and 149, who are paid below the UK Real Living Wage/London Living Wage. They are however paid the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether organisations that have received funding from the Tampon Tax Fund will continue to receive Government funding after the end of the fund.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor announced on 1st January 2021 that the ‘Tampon Tax’ would end. This was due to exiting the EU and the UK no longer being bound by the EU VAT Directive to charge 5% tax on all sanitary products. The final competition round for funding took place in 2021 with all successful applicants announced on gov.uk on Tuesday 16th November.
As is set out in organisations’ grant agreements (and originally within guidance to applicants) funding is delivered for projects over a set period of time, and projects are designed on this basis. Applicants were asked to outline the long-term sustainability of project activities, demonstrating that the impact of the project will last beyond Tampon Tax funding. Furthermore, applicants were asked to explain how they would use up to 10% of their grant funding to improve the sustainability of their organisations.The 26 live Tampon Tax Fund grants will end by 31st March 2023.
As VAT on sanitary products ceased on the 1st January 2021, there will be no further funds to distribute.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the UK negotiating team rejected an offer from the EU to enable visa-free travel for musicians across the UK and EU.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I refer the honourable member to the Secretary of State’s answer to Written Question 135862 on 14th January.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 effect of the removal of visa free travel on British musicians within the EU.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Government recognises the importance of touring for UK musicians and other cultural and creative practitioners, and their support staff.
Leaving the EU has always meant that there would be changes to how touring artists operate in the EU. DCMS has engaged with the sector extensively throughout negotiations and since the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to understand the diverse circumstances of companies, organisations and individual practitioners and how they may need to adapt as they plan activity across the European Union.
Going forward we will continue to work closely with the sector, including with representative organisations, to ensure businesses and individuals have the advice and guidance they need to meet new requirements. Touring artists should always check individual member state requirements as these differ across different countries. In some cases, visas and work permits may not be required.
We know that while leaving the EU will bring changes and new processes to touring and working in the EU, it will also bring new opportunities. In all circumstances, we expect UK musicians’ work to continue to be an export that is as highly valued in the European Union as it is across the world.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what long-term financial support his Department is offering to dementia charities during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
There are generous long-term financial measures available for the whole charity sector which include more than £1.3 billion a year in respect of Gift Aid on donations. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the government has made available short and longer-term support packages to all charities and businesses, including deferring their VAT bills, paying no business rates for their shops next year, and furloughing staff where possible. The Department for Health and Social Care provided financial support to the Race Equality Foundation and Alzheimer’s Society to provide additional services to people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is part of a UK-wide £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in April.
The Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support has been made available specifically for charities, social enterprises and the voluntary during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has, and will continue to ensure charities and other civil society organisations, including those at risk of financial hardship, can continue their vital work during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to increase the £750 million covid-19 support package for frontline charities announced in April 2020.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The £750 million package offered unprecedented support to allow charities and social enterprises to continue their vital work in our national effort to fight coronavirus. This funding will continue to support this work over the winter.
We are not able to replace every pound of funding charities would have received this year, and many organisations will need to assess what measures they need to take. Information on the wider measures government has made available and details on how to access the support can be found on gov.uk. The Charity Commission has also published guidance on gov.uk, which sets out how charities can get support for their staff, advice on use of reserves, and other potential issues.
We will continue to work with the charity and social enterprise sectors to assess emerging needs and how we can best support them during the COVID-19 pandemic and through recovery.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to support the live music industry during the next six months of covid-19 social restrictions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We appreciate the important role that the music industry plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to the sector.
The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme come to end. From November, the Jobs Support Scheme will provide further support to returning workers, while the extended Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will aid the self-employed who are currently actively trading but are facing reduced demand.
We are also offering businesses who face a drop in demand for their services and possible cash flow issues generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans. We will give all businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years. This will reduce their average monthly repayments on the loan by almost half. We also intend to allow CBILS lenders to extend the term of a loan up to ten years, providing additional flexibility for UK-based SMEs who may otherwise be unable to repay their loans.
In addition, the Secretary of State announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the cultural sector which will benefit the live music sector by providing support to music venues and many other cultural organisations to stay open and continue operating.
£3.36 million was shared among 136 venues across England who applied for the Emergency Grassroot Music Venues Fund, as part of this support package. This funding aimed to support those grassroots venues to survive the imminent risk of collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
We continue to engage with the sector to discuss the on-going challenges facing the industry.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the timescales for permitting the return of live arts performances (a) with and (b) without social distancing restrictions as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Secretary of State and DCMS are committed to supporting the cultural sector to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, and ensure appropriate support and guidance is provided.
To that end, DCMS has established the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Entertainment and Events working group which will be focusing on ensuring that COVID-19 secure guidelines are developed in line with the phasing ambitions and public health directions, building on the existing guidance and providing intelligence and sector-specific expert input.
The Secretary of State recently announced a five stage roadmap that the Government will work through to get the performing arts sectors back up and running. The first two stages of the plan - rehearsals and training adhering to social distancing, and performances for broadcast only - are already underway in some places, and further decisions on the remainder of the stages will be made in line with expert medical advice and the latest public health guidance.