Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will meet with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to discuss the proposal of establishing a Freelancer Commissioner.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) is committed to engaging with and supporting freelancers, particularly in the creative industries. As part of the Sector Vision, published in June 2023, HM Government and industry have agreed to work together to address the recommendations of the Good Work Review, published in February by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, and co-funded by DCMS, which highlight specific areas where we can improve job quality and working practices for freelancers.
DCMS officials regularly engage with publishing organisations and individuals to understand the challenges and opportunities facing the sector to inform policy-making. For example, a roundtable discussion is being held with industry representatives on 14 September 2023 to review the impact of AI across the publishing landscape, which the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society will join and contribute to, as part of DCMS's sector engagement on AI.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings her Department has had with (a) authors, (b) scriptwriters and (c) playwright organisations in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Arts Council England, as national development agency for creativity and culture, engages with a range of organisations on a broad range of artforms, including in the theatre and literature sectors.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have, in the last 12 months, attended roundtable meetings convened by Arts Council England where author organisations have been in attendance.
Additionally, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Minister for Arts and Heritage, delivered a speech for the Northern Writers’ Awards on Tuesday 22 June, an event supported by the organisation New Writing North. Lord Parkinson also attended and provided a speech at the London Book Fair on 18 April. He attended a reading and literacy themed roundtable run as part of Baroness Sanderson of Welton’s independent review for public libraries which was attended by a representative of the Society of Authors, and has had meetings and engagements with a range of poets, playwrights and authors in the course of his ministerial engagement.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to assess the impact of the statutory gambling operator levy on the land-based gambling industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The government’s recent white paper set out a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. This includes a statutory levy on operators that will help fund research, education and treatment for those struggling with gambling addiction.
We will shortly consult on the details of how the levy will be designed, including proposals on the total amount to be raised by the levy and how it will be constructed, ensuring that a rate is fair and proportionate for different gambling sectors, including the land-based gambling industry. This approach will account for the varying association of different sectors with harm and their financial position.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps her Department is taking to protect freedom of expression.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities of any functioning democracy. The Department is taking a number of steps to protect freedom of expression and democratic values online. This includes our Online Safety Bill, work on open societies with the G7, and our work on press freedom and sustainability.
The Government introduced the Online Safety Bill on 17 March 2021. This legislation will usher in a new era of accountability for tech companies, and uphold free expression and pluralism online.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting new types of amusement machine through the Gambling Act review to enable that industry to innovate and add to its low-stake, low prize offer.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
As part of its broad scope, our Gambling Act Review call for evidence included questions on the rules governing land based gambling and the need to ensure an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
We are carefully considering all the evidence submitted and a white paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she will take in the forthcoming gambling White Paper to support the land-based amusements sector.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
As part of its broad scope, our Gambling Act Review call for evidence included questions on the rules governing land based gambling and the need to ensure an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
We are carefully considering all the evidence submitted and a white paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to undertake regular reviews of the gambling sector to ensure that policy, regulation, stakes and prizes are kept up to date.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
As part of its broad scope, our Gambling Act Review call for evidence included questions on the rules governing land based gambling and the need to ensure an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
We are carefully considering all the evidence submitted and a white paper setting out our next steps and proposals for reform will be published in due course.