Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase the use of subtitles on television.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of subtitling and supports television being accessible to all. As the independent broadcast regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding broadcasters to account for the delivery of television access services which includes the provision of subtitling. Statutory targets are set by Ofcom which include five and ten year targets for licensed television services. Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services sets out these obligations and provides guidance and best practice on subtitling for broadcasters.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of BT on ensuring that vulnerable users will not be disadvantaged by the move to Digital Voice.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst the move to digital voice is industry led, DCMS and Ofcom regularly engage with BT to ensure vulnerable groups are supported throughout the upgrade process. Ofcom’s guidance on providing access to emergency services during a power outage includes requirements that providers engage in effective communications to ensure all customers understand the risk associated with the migration. Additionally, Ofcom has also published more general guidance on how providers can treat vulnerable customers fairly.
BT recently announced it would pause its provider-led migration of customers until new resilient technologies, such as longer-lasting battery back-up units and 4G-capable handsets, become available. Whilst this announcement does not affect the 2025 date by which Openreach intends to close the PSTN, BT has said the delay will allow it more time to proactively engage related industries - such as telecare and burglar alarm providers - to ensure their most vulnerable customers continue to get the services they need.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to stop the spoofing of UK telephone numbers by foreign companies to make nuisance calls.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The DCMS works closely with the independent regulator, Ofcom who is responsible for consumer protection, as well as the telecoms industry and the Home Office to address telephone-enabled fraud and nuisance calls.
In February 2022, Ofcom published a consultation which proposed a range of changes to address the specific issue of spoofing. This included proposals to strengthen guidance for operators on the detection and blocking of spoofed numbers by improving accuracy in Calling Line Identification (CLI) data, as well as reviewing practices in the reselling of allocated and assigned numbers. We will consider next steps following the publication of Ofcom’s response.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timeframe is for the completion of the Fan-led review of football governance.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are currently working through the structure of the review with the Chair, including the timeline for publication of the report, and will provide updates shortly. Given the seriousness of these issues, we will be looking to move at pace on this.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when indoor personal training sessions can resume as part of the Government's Covid Roadmap.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are crucial for our mental and physical health. That’s why we have continued to make sure that people can exercise throughout the national restrictions and why we have ensured that grassroots and children’s sport is front of the queue when easing those restrictions.
On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. One to one coaching and personal training can continue outdoors under the same rules as during national restrictions. As part of step 2, the majority of indoor leisure facilities will be able to open for individual use including one to one coaching and personal training. As part of step 3, we expect exercise classes to be able to resume.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department has issued to ice/inline skating rinks for their safe reopening in areas subject to tier 3 covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Prime Minister said on 23 November national restrictions ended on Wednesday 2 December, and gyms and sport facilities are reopening across all tiers. Outdoor skating rinks can stay open across all tiers and indoor skating rinks can open in Tiers 1 and 2.
Under Tier 3, Ice Rinks are able to open for disability sport, sports as part of the curriculum in education and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s (including those who were under 18 on 31 August 2020). Elite and professional athletes may continue to use facilities including ice rinks to train and to compete Behind Closed Doors.
Government has published overarching guidance for grassroots sport but does not publish guidance for individual sports. It is for the National Governing Body of the sport to consider the steps that would need to be taken, and the conditions that would need to be met, for their activity to resume. The National Governing Body should also publish relevant guidance.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 support youth charities and associated services for young people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and on the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.
This funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people. This is in addition to sports and arts youth groups receiving funding as part of Sport England’s (£27m) and the Art Council’s (£50m) covid-19 emergency funding packages.
The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30m of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the Royal British Legion on enabling the safe attendance of Remembrance Sunday events during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided advice for those planning to hold local services for Remembrance Sunday across the country.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport continues to work closely with The Royal British Legion to prepare safe plans for this year’s National Remembrance Sunday Service, delivered on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of enabling the safe reopening of fun fairs during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has held a number of meetings with representatives of the outdoor events industry to discuss guidance and next steps to reopening the sector. DCMS officials have met regularly with the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, most recently on 8 October, and have also spoken to representatives of the Amusement Device Safety Council.
Outdoor events organised by businesses, charitable organisations, and public bodies are currently permitted provided event organisers follow all relevant Covid-19 Secure guidance, organisers and attendees adhere to all legal requirements - including only allowing groups of up to 6 people and following any additional local interventions - and that the event does not pose a risk to public health.
Guidance developed by the Events Industry Forum in collaboration with DCMS outlines the Covid-secure measures that a Local Authority should assess have been put in place by event organisers.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department is providing to professional Rugby Union teams who are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government’s multi-billion-pound package of business support has enabled many of our sports clubs to survive, but we know that the decision not to reopen stadia to spectators on 1 October will have economic consequences for sports and clubs across the country who relied on those fans for income, including professional rugby union teams.
We have asked for detailed financial returns to see what support they need, and we will work at pace with them to understand the issues that organisations in the most challenging circumstances are facing and what support they may require.
I met with the CEO of Premiership Rugby on 1 October to discuss this very issue and we will continue to engage directly with both the RFU and with Premiership Rugby as part of this process.