Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 on extending financial support to self-employed workers in the sport and recreation sector during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
It is vital that the sport and physical activity sector is supported to come through this difficult period and it has a crucial role in supporting the nation back into activity once the pandemic has abated.
The Government has announced a comprehensive package of measures to support businesses and the self-employed. This includes the Self-employment Income Support Scheme which allows those that are self-employed to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
The Government is having regular discussions with sector and industry bodies to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity and to discuss what additional support might be needed.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government plans to take to support children reliant on youth services as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Answered by John Whittingdale
This department recognises the unprecedented impacts the pandemic has had on the youth sector, and on the vital services it provides for young people. DCMS is engaging regularly with key youth organisations and other government departments to understand options for addressing this and the path for reopening services as lockdown measures are eased and when the science allows.
Organisations working with young people are also eligible for a number of Government and Arm Length Bodies funds, in addition to the wider HM Treasury support packages.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth services have closed as a result of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government does not hold data on the number of youth services that have closed as a result of covid-19.
This department recognises the unprecedented impacts the pandemic has had on the youth sector, and on the vital services it provides for young people. DCMS is engaging regularly with key youth organisations and other government departments to understand options for addressing this and the path for reopening services as lockdown measures are eased and when the science allows.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the provision of youth services as covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Answered by John Whittingdale
This department recognises the unprecedented impacts the pandemic has had on the youth sector, and on the vital services it provides for young people.
DCMS is in ongoing discussions at both Ministerial and official level with colleagues from other government departments including the Home Office, MHCLG, and the Department for Education, as well a variety of youth organisations at local and national level.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the closure of the BBC Red Button Teletext service on people's access to information on sport.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Responsibility for assessing the potential effect of the closure of the BBC Red Button service on people’s access to information on sport is for the BBC, which is editorially and operationally independent of the Government. The Government welcomes the BBC's decision to pause the closure of the Red Button service, ahead of its review of the impact of the closure on the most vulnerable including the elderly, and deaf and blind licence fee payers.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to review the (a) TV licence fee and (b) BBC Charter; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government has no plans to review the BBC Charter ahead of the next Charter Review, which is due to take place ahead of 2027.
The government has committed to maintain the licence fee funding model for the BBC until 2027 for the duration of this 11 year Charter period.
The Prime Minister has indicated that the Government will consider the licence fee funding model in the long term.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has allocated to Powerchair Football in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone is able to access sport and physical activity, including those with a disability.
Sport England have contributed £70,425 of National Lottery investment in Wheelchair football activities the last 5 years (from 2015/16). Further detail on Sport England funding breakdowns can be found here: https://www.sportengland.org/funding/what-have-we-funded/
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 increase funding for hockey at grassroots level across the UK.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
DCMS arm’s length body, Sport England’s core market investment into England Hockey for 2017/21 is £9.83 million. £7m is targeted on interventions including developing a more flexible format, protecting key facilities and improving governance and the use of data in driving up participation. £2.83 m is for developing talent at grassroots level.
Additionally, in the last 10 years, Sport England have invested £4.8m in Hockey facilities, clubs and projects (3.8m Lottery, £1m Exchequer)
Future funding will depend on the strength of incoming bids and to what extent they meet the aims of the Government sport strategy, Sporting Future.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department has allocated from the public purse to wheelchair rugby in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
At the grassroots level, Sport England has invested a total of £3,387,319 Lottery and Exchequer funding to support Wheelchair Rugby since 2014/15.
For the 2013-17 Rio Paralympic cycle, UK Sport invested £3,037,607 into Wheelchair Rugby, and £57,000 into the 2015 BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge. In the current 2017-21 Tokyo cycle, UK Sport awarded £50,000 for the GB Wheelchair Rugby team to compete at the 2018 World Championships in Australia, £500,000 from UK Sport's Aspiration Fund, and £50,000 to support their International Relations strategy.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to visit (a) museums and (b) art galleries in the East Midlands.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We want to ensure that East Midlands museums and galleries continue to thrive and engage with diverse audiences. To that end, museums and galleries in the region receive public funding from a variety of sources, including Arts Council England, National Heritage Lottery Fund, local authorities and others, as well as benefiting from a range of tax reliefs and grants. For instance, three regional museums and galleries in Derby and Nottingham were awarded funding from the £4 million DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund this year, and we look forward to seeing their projects take shape. East Midlands museums and galleries have continued to find innovative ways to use their buildings and objects to best effect and improve their audiences’ engagement and experience.