Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the email correspondence of 1 November 2023 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay responded to this correspondence on 14 March 2024. The Department apologises for the delay in responding.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 13 January 2023 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central on an update on the letter from the Minister of 3 November 2021.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I can confirm that we have received the correspondence of 13 January 2023 and will respond within 20 working days, as per the Cabinet Office guidelines.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
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 help support a globally competitive semiconductor manufacturing sector in the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
On behalf of the government, DCMS has been reviewing its approach to the UK’s global semiconductor sector and intends to set out its support for the sector in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy. This will build on existing HMG support for innovation and infrastructure such as the Driving the Electronic Revolution challenge and the National Epitaxy Facility, amongst others.
Domestically, the government is exploring how we can further support the UK semiconductor industry, protecting and growing existing UK capabilities, and seizing new opportunities - including in semiconductor design, compound chips, and academic research in related fields. We are also collaborating closely with international partners to capitalise and strengthen the UK’s competitive advantage and improve long term resilience within the global semiconductor ecosystem, recognising that the challenges facing the sector cannot be solved by the UK alone.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of building a semiconductor fabrication facility to meet demand for semiconductors within UK industries.
Answered by Paul Scully
On behalf of the government, DCMS has been reviewing the UK semiconductor sector, and intends to set out more detail in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy; this has been developed by engaging with industry experts, representative bodies and the wider global community.
The Government recognises that the UK’s approach to the semiconductor sector should look to support and build on our existing strengths domestically, and is considering efficient interventions. The Government is in the process of commissioning a feasibility study that will explore the potential of developing or upgrading infrastructure across the UK’s semiconductor ecosystem, in order to better support innovation and growth.
Due to the inherently global nature of semiconductor supply chains it will remain vital that the UK works closely with our international partners in order to guarantee and safeguard the security of our chip supply, this is a central pillar of the government’s approach to the sector.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of whether changes to gambling regulations are required in response to the Report of the Independent Review of the Regulation of BetIndex Limited.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The independent review led by Malcolm Sheeran QC has been an important input into our ongoing Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the bid for a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund from MSP, Bridle Way, Liverpool, was rejected.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We are confident the independent delivery bodies will have scrutinised all organisations against the strict criteria set for this fund, but cannot comment on the detail of individual applications.
We know that some applicants will be disappointed with the outcome and both the Arts Council and DCMS will continue to do all we can to support creativity and culture in England. Arts Council have published resources on their website both for organisations and individuals which include alternative sources of support.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the appeals process is for businesses that have been turned down for a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund; and whether there will be further rounds during which businesses that have been unsuccessful can reapply.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Following the first and second rounds of funding, over £1.2 billion has been allocated across recovery, capital and repayable finance from the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites. We are confident the independent delivery bodies will have scrutinised all organisations against the strict criteria set for this fund. An organisation that applied for a CRF grant and would like to make a complaint about the service it has received from the relevant delivery body or the way the delivery body has handled its application can contact the delivery body directly, as detailed in the applicant guidance.
An additional £300 million investment is being made available to continue to support the cultural sectors in 2021/22 to bridge to a position of sustainability as audiences and visitors begin to return. Further details on this funding will be published in due course. We will keep support for the sector under constant review and will continue work to determine the appropriate and most effective response for the sector within the public health context.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings he has had with representatives of the fashion industry on trade between businesses based in the UK and based in (a) the EU and (b) Northern Ireland since the end of the transition period.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government regularly engages with the fashion industry.
The fashion sector is represented in the DCMS-led working group, composed of creative and cultural sector representatives and other government departments, to look at issues regarding movement in the EU. The sector was also represented at the Brexit Business Taskforce (BBT) Meeting on 12th February, chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which focused on the creative industries.
The Secretary of State met with the British Fashion Council recently to discuss the impact of Covid and Brexit.