Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the power conferred on Ofcom to regulation offensive communications sent in the UK on (a) the internet and (b) social media platforms.
Answered by Matt Hancock
We are aware of concerns about offensive content on social media. Where this is the case Government expects social media providers to have robust process in place and act promptly when abuse is reported. The UK has strict laws governing such content, which apply equally online and offline.
Ofcom does not regulate offensive communications on either the internet or social media platforms. The Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to set standards to ensure that generally accepted standards are applied to the content of television and radio programmes.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Nintendo about incidences of trespass or disrespecting of cemeteries or religious sites caused by players of Pokémon Go.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Many people in the UK enjoy playing Pokemon Go and most act responsibly whilst doing so. It is important that all players abide by the law and respect their surroundings. During the summer Pokemon Go’s developers in the US, Niantic, added some new warnings to the game’s loading screen, for example reminding players not to trespass and not to enter dangerous areas. Owners or managers of specific sites who are concerned about players visiting a nearby PokeStop or Gym are able to use Niantic’s report system to request that the stop is removed from the game.
Meanwhile, we are in touch with representatives of Niantic to discuss features of Pokemon Go and the advice they provide to consumers in the UK.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many works of art from public collections were loaned to institutions in Redcar and Cleveland in each year since 2010.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Department does not hold information about loans made from public collections. The national museums and galleries have responsibility for their specific loan arrangements and information about their loans is not held centrally.
All Government funded museums and galleries are encouraged to loan works from their collections to institutions across the UK.Sponsored National Museums actively support and partner regional museums, which includes touring and large scale loans. In 2014/15 the national museums and galleries loaned items to 1,629 venues, including regional museums and historic houses.
A new tax relief for museums and galleries will be introduced from 1 April 2017 to encourage them to develop creative new exhibitions and display their collections across the country. The relief will be available on qualifying costs for temporary and touring exhibitions.
An independent report by Lord Heseltine, published in June, makes recommendations to further develop the Tees Valley area. The report called Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited has strong arts and cultural content and says the area hosts public art of national significance. The report also highlights the strengths of museums and galleries in the region, which include the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MiMA), the MOD funded Museum of the Royal Navy’s HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool, the "Head of Steam" Railway Museum in Darlington and the Science Museum Group’s Locomotion branch at Shildon near Darlington.
MiMa is a Tate Plus partner and has strong links with Tate Modern. It receives funding from Arts Council England as a Visual Arts Gallery. The Government is also funding £500k towards the development of a new Captain Cook exhibition resource at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that the amount of original radio and television content on the BBC does not decrease following the review of the BBC Charter.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Charter Review consultation document, published on 16 July, invited views on the BBC's approach to content production and the quota systems in place. This issue will be considered as part of the Charter Review process.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that national galleries and museums remain free at the point of use.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Free access to all national museums and galleries was a commitment made in the 2015 Conservative Party Manifesto and remains government policy.
Management agreements between DCMS and all national museums and galleries highlight as a priority that “free entry to the permanent collections of the national museums will continue to be available and public access will be protected.”