Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
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 has provided to the culture and arts sector in (a) Tameside, (b) Stockport and (c) Greater Manchester during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
To support the sustainability of the culture and arts sector during the covid-19 outbreak, 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 includes £20 million of financial support for individuals and £140 million of support for organisations, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. To date over 9000 individuals and organisations across the country have been successful in applying for this support. Over £9 million of ACE emergency response funds were awarded to 53 ACE National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) in the North of England, and over £14 million has been awarded in the region in the first two rounds of ACE’s emergency response funds for individuals and non-NPO organisations.
On 5 July, DCMS also announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to create a tailored support package for the events industry to support that sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are aware that COVID-19 has significantly impacted multiple aspects of the events industry. My officials continue to gather intelligence from the sector and I regularly engage with events stakeholders to monitor the situation through the Visitor Economy Working Group, the Events Industry Board, and the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group.
Government support for the events sector is set out in the International Business Events Action Plan, which was published in June 2019. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the sector’s recovery from COVID-19.
Businesses and workers in the events industry can access the Government’s comprehensive economic support package, including the recently extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Bounce Back Loans scheme.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) Downing Street and (b) other government buildings in Whitehall display county flags to commemorate annual county days.
Answered by Michael Ellis
There is no specific government policy regarding the flying of flags and no guidance is issued to government departments to display county flags to commemorate annual county days.
However, current planning regulations allow local and county flags to be flown by individuals without planning permission, and as such government buildings may choose to display the relevant county flag on the respective county days. Unfortunately, as flag flying is now deregulated, DCMS does not hold records on the flying of flags by other government departments, other than on the designated days for flying the Union Flag.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, following the data breach of one of the accrediting bodies for Cyber Essentials in June 2017, what measures the Government has put in place to avoid this happening again.
Answered by Matt Hancock
This was not a breach of any Government data, but a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform used by an external third party, which led to system logs from companies, including assessors of and applicants to the Cyber Essentials scheme, being exposed. There is no evidence to suggest data was extracted. Cyber Essentials is an excellent scheme and an important part of our national response to cyber threats.
The National Cyber Security Centre has ensured the relevant third parties have taken appropriate action in response. The scheme’s Accreditation Bodies are required to take appropriate security measures through contractual obligations relating to the storage of data, including using the latest version of anti-virus software. Following the incident, an independent security audit was conducted on the Pervade software, which resulted in the implementation of a number of minor recommendations. The software is regularly penetration tested.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October to Question 106042, on gambling: video games, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current legislation in protecting people against loot boxes within computer games.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Consumers of virtual items within video games are protected by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. This includes a requirement on businesses not to subject anyone to misleading or aggressive marketing practices, or, for example, direct exhortation to buy products, such as games content, including in-game purchases such as loot boxes. The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are properly protected and that children’s vulnerability and inexperience is not exploited by aggressive commercial practices.
The government’s Internet Safety Strategy sets out how the government will work with online platforms, game publishers and game developers, and with agencies such as the VSC Rating Board, to continue to improve online safety in games.
We recognise the risks that come from increasing convergence between gambling and video games. The Gambling Commission is keeping this matter under review and will continue to monitor developments in the market.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what cross-departmental initiatives her Department undertakes to tackle cyberbullying and to protect young people from abuse online.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government's Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper sets out our expectation for social media and technology companies to protect young users from online harms. Measures include a social media Code of Practice, to address conduct that is bullying or insulting to users, or other behaviour that is likely to intimidate or humiliate.
The Strategy also outlines the crucial role that education plays in raising the level of users' safety online. DCMS and DfE will ensure new compulsory subjects in England, Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Personal, Social, Health, Economic education (if taken forward), address the challenges experienced by young people online. Parents, carers and teachers should be empowered to engage with young people on online issues and we are consulting on support Government can offer.
Since September 2016 the Department for Education has provided £1.6 million to four anti-bullying organisations to support schools over two years. The Government Equalities Office has also funded anti-cyberbullying and online safety resources available to schools through the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 109965, if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter sent to registered consultancies of the Government's Cyber Essentials scheme whose data was exposed owing to a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform.
Answered by Matt Hancock
I refer the Hon member to my answer to PQ 108123. The email was sent by IASME - not by the Government. IASME own the content of that communication. It was reported in the media that the email contained the following information:
"We would like to make you aware that, due to a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform we use for Cyber Essentials assessments, the email address you used to apply for an assessment and your company name may have been released to a third party..."
"We would like to make it clear that the security of the assessment platform has not been compromised. Your account, the answers you provided in the assessment and the report you received are secure. No information other than your email address and your company name was accessible to the third party."
"An unknown person accessed a list of email addresses in a log file generated by the Pervade assessment platform and your email address, company name and the IP address of the Certification Body was on that list. No other information was accessed. The other information on the assessment portal itself was not affected in any way and no-one has accessed the system, your account, the answers you provided or the report you received. This log file became accessible through a configuration error on the part of one of the Pervade systems engineers. Pervade have taken immediate steps to address the error and have resolved the issue."
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter sent to registered consultancies of the Government's Cyber Essentials scheme whose data was exposed owing to a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform.
Answered by Matt Hancock
I refer the Hon member to my answer to PQ 108123.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2017 to Question 108122, on cybercrime, how many registered consultancies of the Government's Cyber Essentials scheme had data exposed.
Answered by Matt Hancock
I refer the Hon member to my answer to PQ 108123.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any Government departments were compromised by the data breach at Equifax; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Matt Hancock
No Government departments have been compromised by the data breach at Equifax Inc., a US-registered company.
The Government has a contract with TDX Group Ltd, a subsidiary of Equifax Ltd. Equifax Ltd is a separate legal entity registered in the UK. The systems and platforms used in the UK by Equifax Ltd are entirely separated from those impacted by the cyber security incident in the US and were not affected.