Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.
Answered by Margot James
The UK Government currently does not plan to pay the Settled Status Fee for its non-UK EU citizen employees. The fee is set at an affordable rate (£65), less than the cost of an UK passport.
Outsourced workers are not employees of the Department and therefore this would be a decision for their employers.
DCMS staff declare their national identity voluntarily so this may not be a true representation of the workforce as a whole. Therefore it wouldn’t be appropriate to use this information to determine the cost to the department of paying these fees.
We value the significant contribution made by EU citizens working in the DCMS and we want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the department. We are committed to supporting our EU citizen employees across the department.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which statutes govern the use by hon. Members of the personal data of their constituents.
Answered by Margot James
The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to the processing of personal data undertaken by elected representatives and political parties. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations are also relevant because they regulate the use of telephone calls, emails and texts for direct marketing purposes, including political campaigning.
The Information Commissioner's Office has published guidance for political parties and elected representatives on the steps they should take to comply with the law, this can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/political/
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will assess the potential effect of the loss of the 35 theatres on the Theatres Trust at-risk register on (a) the local night-time economy (b) local employment and (c) the regeneration of local areas; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
We recognise that the arts and culture can bring huge benefits to local communities, and this is why Arts Council England is investing over £100 million of public money into 190 theatres and touring companies over four years. Investment such as this has a positive impact on the lives of participants, it stimulates growth in the creative industries and attracts visitors.
Our historic £200 billion four year local authority funding settlement has also provided councils with the certainty to plan ahead and provide the services that their residents want. It is for Local Authorities to decide how they invest but we are clear that investing in arts and culture is one of the best decisions local authorities can make, and, despite difficult decisions that have had to be made, many local authorities have continued to invest in arts and culture, developing innovative partnerships to support these sectors.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many non-UK EU nationals started employment in her Department since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Matt Hancock
We do not record the number of non-UK EU nationals who started employment in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, since 23 June 2016.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department made of the charity, Life's safeguarding policies and procedures before awarding it a grant from the Tampon Tax Fund.
Answered by Rob Wilson
We will shortly agree the specifics of each of the 70 projects that successfully applied to the Tampon Tax Fund this year, to ensure that taxpayers' money is put to the best use. We will only make grants where we are 100% certain that they align with the aims of the fund.
All applications into the fund were assessed by officials against three criteria: evidence for the need of the project: the organisation’s ability to deliver; and the sustainability/impact of the project, and were then vetted by officials before they were signed off.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department made of the charity, Life's patient information literature before awarding it a grant from the Tampon Tax Fund.
Answered by Rob Wilson
We will shortly agree the specifics of each of the 70 projects that successfully applied to the Tampon Tax Fund this year, to ensure that taxpayers' money is put to the best use. We will only make grants where we are 100% certain that they align with the aims of the fund.
All applications into the fund were assessed by officials against three criteria: evidence for the need of the project: the organisation’s ability to deliver; and the sustainability/impact of the project, and were then vetted by officials before they were signed off.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding Sport England provided for the development of shooting huts within the North York Moors National Park Authority in each year since 2010-11.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sport England has provided no funding for the development of shooting huts within the North York Moors National Park Authority.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme on businesses planning to make an application ahead of the original closure date of March 2016; what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on securing the funding required to re-open and extend that scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Broadband ConnectVoucherSchemewas hugelysuccessful, and has benefitted 55,000 small and medium businesses across the UK. BDUK issued regular updates to encourage firms to act quickly given the increasingly high demand for vouchers. All broadband connectionsvouchersissued to SMEs before theschemeclosed on 12 October that comply with thescheme’s terms and conditions will be funded. All further funding is subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.