Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the National Physical Activity Task Force has met; when those meetings took place; and how many (a) people and (b) women attended each of those meetings.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Physical Activity Taskforce (NPAT) was launched in September 2023 as part of the government sport strategy Get Active, to bring together government departments, the sport sector and independent experts to deliver coordinated and innovative policy that will help encourage people to get active.
The NPAT meets quarterly and has held two productive meetings since its launch. The inaugural meeting took place on 27 September 2023, the second on 12 December 2023 with the third scheduled for March 2024.
Each meeting includes standing representatives ex officio, as well as rotating members to ensure diverse representation from across the sport and physical activity landscape. Independent experts are invited on an ad-hoc basis to present key data sets relating to specific meeting topics.
The number of attendees and gender ratio varies at each meeting. The NPAT terms of reference, minutes, and names of attendees are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department produced a ministerial response under the write round process to the Department for Education's review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Secretary of State for Education has been clear she is very concerned about reports of inappropriate materials being used to teach relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The Government has brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance as a result, including conducting a public consultation as soon as possible.
The statutory guidance clearly states that the guidance will be reviewed every three years from first teaching (September 2020) and so the decision to review the guidance does not require collective agreement. The Secretary of State for Education will seek collective agreement to the consultation documents through a write-round process, before publishing the consultation in the autumn. This process is not yet underway.
As part of the review, an expert panel has been established to advise the Secretary of State on what topics should and should not be taught in school and the introduction of age limits. This will provide clear guidance for teachers about when certain topics can be addressed.
In tandem with this work, the Oak National Academy is producing a suite of materials to support teachers to create age-appropriate lesson plans and ensure that they have access to appropriate materials.
The Government is determined to make sure RSHE teaching leaves children equipped to make informed decisions about their health, wellbeing and relationships, in a sensitive way that reflects their stage of development.
The Government expects new statutory guidance to be released in the coming months. It will then be subject to public consultation to conclude by the end of the year, coming into statutory force as soon as possible after that.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of her Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
Answered by John Whittingdale
As part of the National Disability Strategy (NDS), DCMS had four specific actions, three of which are progressing as planned and one of which, following the recent machinery of government changes, is now the responsibility of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Firstly, we are continuing to develop the Arts Access Card Scheme, which will make it easier for disabled people to enjoy arts and cultural venues across the UK. The pilot of the scheme is scheduled to launch in spring 2024.
Secondly, we are progressing our ambition for the UK to be the most accessible tourism destination in Europe by engaging with stakeholders, including VisitEngland, VisitBritain and the Tourism Industry Council Working Group, and we are also aiming to host a series of ministerial roundtables to discuss the barriers disabled people face as tourists.
Thirdly, we are continuing to address the inequalities faced by disabled people in sport and physical activity. As such, Sport England has provided £1 million of specialist disability investment as part of its ongoing ‘recover and reinvent’ work, 47 grants through the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund to projects benefiting autistic people and £40 million in the 2 financial years to March 2023 through the Tackling Inequalities Fund and Together Fund (reaching 1,900 projects directly supporting disabled people).
The action in the NDS for DCMS to explore how to improve the accessibility of private sector websites now falls under the auspices of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, by what date he plans decisions about the extension of School Games Organiser contracts to be announced.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Physical education (PE) and school sport plays an important role in supporting children and young people to be physically active, particularly during the current COVID-19 restrictions. The Department is working with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care on how to support better PE, sport and physical activity provision for all children and young people. This is part of our continuing work to deliver our joint school sport and activity action plan, published in 2019.
I can confirm that the School Games Organisers are now fully funded for the 2021/22 financial year. Funding beyond that point will be subject to future Government Spending Review decisions.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what risk assessment has been undertaken to permit 10,000 attendees at outdoor events in May 2021 while weddings are capped to attendees of 30 people in the same time period.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 22 February, the Prime Minister published the Government’s “COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021”. The roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with education. Across the four steps, the roadmap sets out the sequencing and indicative timing for easing restrictions, including those in the wedding sector. In the 'COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021', the Government has set out how it will continue to protect and support citizens across the UK and has provided a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. This includes a staged return of weddings and civil partnerships.
We understand the unique significance that marriages and civil partnerships hold in people’s lives, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes restrictions on wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, as well as other forms of social contact. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are highly social events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.
When large events resume – subject to capacity caps – in Step 3, these events will need to be organised by a business, charity or similar organisation; comply with COVID-Secure guidance, with reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission; and a full risk assessment must be completed. Event organisers must ensure that those attending do not mix beyond what is permitted by the social contact limits (unless another exemption exists, such as for work purposes, or supervised activities for children).
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to hold discussions with British motorsport organisations on their commitments to women’s rights in advance of the 2021 Saudi Arabian grand prix.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Participation in international sports events is a matter for the relevant international sports federations, and the national representatives to these federations.
Our sport strategy “Sporting Future” sets out our commitment to increasing the participation of women in all aspects of sport and physical activity, whether taking part, working or volunteering. Sport England provides support to organisations, including the National Governing Bodies, on how to increase the participation of women.
The UK has consistently called for women in Saudi Arabia to be able to participate fully in society. We welcome positive developments, including reforms to the guardianship system. The World Bank's "Women, Business, and the Law 2020" report recognises Saudi Arabia's efforts to advance women's economic participation within the Kingdom. However, women's rights still fall short of international standards. We will continue to raise the issue with Saudi Arabia, and work to promote and support further progress.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will encourage UK motorsport organisations to make their participation in the Saudi Arabian grand prix contingent on the release of (a) Loujain al-Hathloul and other women human rights defenders and (b) Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Prince Turki bin Abdullah and other political detainees.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Participation in international sports events is a matter for the relevant international sports federations, and the national representatives to these federations. These bodies operate independently of government, and enshrine this political freedom in their rules and regulations.
The UK and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding bilateral relationship, based on a number of pillars including trade; investment; defence; security; energy; and shared concerns about regional issues. No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights. We have expressed significant concerns about reports of continuing arrests and arbitrary detentions in Saudi Arabia. The UK signed a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September, which noted our human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia and called for the release of all political detainees, including the women’s rights defenders. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, most recently raised the women's rights defenders' cases with the Saudi Ambassador to the UK on 16 November. We continue to raise concerns and are monitoring the situation closely.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made with the Gambling Commission on regulating the grey market in gambling.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Jurisdictions in which there are not clear rules about the legality of gambling, particularly online gambling, are often referred to as grey markets. There is no grey market in Great Britain, where operators are forbidden by law from providing gambling facilities to British consumers unless they are licensed by the Gambling Commission and abide by strict requirements intended to keep gambling fair and crime free and to protect children and vulnerable people. Any operator offering facilities to gamble without the appropriate licence from the Gambling Commission is committing an offence under the Gambling Act 2005.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with stakeholders and details of ministerial meetings are available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905167/DCMS_Ministerial_meetings__1st_January_to_31st_March_2020.csv/preview
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what provisions are in place to reimburse communities which have had to self-fund superfast broadband schemes as a consequence of having been promised but not received connection by Openreach.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government does not have any powers to impose penalties on network providers like Openreach, should they decide against connecting premises to superfast broadband for commercial reasons.
If, however, a provider like Openreach has been contracted to rollout superfast broadband under the Government’s Superfast Broadband programme, there will be a contract between that provider and the Local Authority responsible for running the programme in the local area. Normally, a decision not to connect a property, which was originally in scope for the programme, is one that would be taken jointly by the Local Authority in consultation with the provider. If, however, a provider arbitrarily decided not to connect a property, this would represent a breach of that contract and the Local Authority would be able to take action under that contract. In the most serious circumstances, this could result in termination.
The Government does not provide retrospective funding for communities that are self-funding superfast broadband in their local area. However, many communities are utilising the government’s £67 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to contribute towards the cost of their project.
In addition, the Government continues to take action to improve the connectivity of those without access to superfast broadband. Our Superfast Broadband programme is continuing to connect premises to superfast broadband, following the target of 95% coverage being hit by the end of 2017, and expects to hit 97% coverage by March 2020. In addition, the Government has introduced the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). This will give everyone in the UK the right to request decent broadband providing download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second from a designated provider up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.
Government is also funding the rollout of next generation gigabit broadband in less commercial areas of the country, including through the £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, as well as the Gigabit Voucher Scheme. On 30 September, the Government announced a further £5 billion of new funding to subsidise the rollout of gigabit capable broadband to premises in the least commercial 20% of the country, including those areas that currently do not have access to superfast broadband.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what penalties are enforced by Government on Openreach when it fails to adequately connect communities to superfast broadband.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government does not have any powers to impose penalties on network providers like Openreach, should they decide against connecting premises to superfast broadband for commercial reasons.
If, however, a provider like Openreach has been contracted to rollout superfast broadband under the Government’s Superfast Broadband programme, there will be a contract between that provider and the Local Authority responsible for running the programme in the local area. Normally, a decision not to connect a property, which was originally in scope for the programme, is one that would be taken jointly by the Local Authority in consultation with the provider. If, however, a provider arbitrarily decided not to connect a property, this would represent a breach of that contract and the Local Authority would be able to take action under that contract. In the most serious circumstances, this could result in termination.
The Government does not provide retrospective funding for communities that are self-funding superfast broadband in their local area. However, many communities are utilising the government’s £67 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to contribute towards the cost of their project.
In addition, the Government continues to take action to improve the connectivity of those without access to superfast broadband. Our Superfast Broadband programme is continuing to connect premises to superfast broadband, following the target of 95% coverage being hit by the end of 2017, and expects to hit 97% coverage by March 2020. In addition, the Government has introduced the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). This will give everyone in the UK the right to request decent broadband providing download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second from a designated provider up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.
Government is also funding the rollout of next generation gigabit broadband in less commercial areas of the country, including through the £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, as well as the Gigabit Voucher Scheme. On 30 September, the Government announced a further £5 billion of new funding to subsidise the rollout of gigabit capable broadband to premises in the least commercial 20% of the country, including those areas that currently do not have access to superfast broadband.