Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the theatre industry about skills and training opportunities in the performing arts technical skills sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the creative sectors continue to grow and build back better from the pandemic, the government understands the importance of ensuring that the creative industries do not suffer from skills shortages, including the performing arts technical skills sector. That is why the government has supported initiatives to boost training and employment opportunities in these sectors, such as the industry-led Creative Careers Programme.
Throughout the pandemic, DCMS Ministers and officials have had, and continue to have, regular meetings and discussions with representatives of the theatre sector on a range of issues. The Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay has had a number of meetings with theatres, both one-to-one and collectively. In February, the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure held a creative apprentices roundtable with industry to mark apprenticeships week - this was attended by apprentices from the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre. We continue to involve the theatre sector in ongoing policy work.
At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor announced a new £7 million pilot fund to test ‘flexi-job’ apprenticeships, which will better suit the working practices of the creative industries and enable more young people to enter the workforce. This builds on the DCMS-funded ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Pilot with Netflix and Warner Media, relaunched last Summer with apprentices working across multiple productions and employers.
DCMS supports the industry-led Creative Careers Programme, which has to date showcased creative career pathways to over 115,000 pupils at over 1,500 schools across England, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme through which over 8,000 creative industry placements are now available to young people across the country.
DCMS is also leading on the development of a Creative Industries Sector Vision, due to be published in summer 2022, which will set out our vision for the sector in 2030 and a long-term strategy focused on promoting growth within the sector. This includes considering the skills, workforce and talent pipeline challenges and opportunities for the sector.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of racism aimed at BAME people in grassroots football; and what steps she is taking to tackle racism in grassroots football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.
In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.
Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.
The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the participation of BAME young people in grassroots football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.
In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.
Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.
The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to ban the use of website cookies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The use of cookies and similar technologies is regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Currently, PECR prohibits the placement of cookies and similar technologies on a person’s computer, or other connected device, without the consent of the individual. There are currently two exceptions from gaining consent; for purposes that are essential to provide an online service at someone’s request (e.g. to remember what’s in their online basket, or to ensure security in online banking) and where this technology is needed to transmit a communication over a communications network.
Organisations must provide clear information about what data is being collected via cookies and how it will be used, but we recognise that privacy information displayed in cookie banners can sometimes be long and complex. That is why we have been exploring a range of measures through the public consultation 'Data: A New Direction' to tackle the issue. Proposals include limiting cookie pop-up banners in relation to non-intrusive cookies, so that consumers can engage meaningfully with more important choices about how their personal data is used. We are also exploring how we can facilitate innovative technologies, such as browser-based solutions, to help people manage their consent preferences on the internet.
The consultation closed on 19 November 2021 and the government’s response will be published in the spring. The consultation paper can be viewed here.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact on accessibility to swimming pools for low income families' access to swimming pools of the VAT charged on the hire of swimming pools.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
All generations and communities should be able to enjoy the physical and mental health, wellbeing, social and other benefits of being active; as well as having access to high quality facilities in which to do so.
Since May 2019 Sport England has invested £9,112,554 to support grassroots development in Swimming & Diving. Sport England continues to monitor participation levels throughout the country to ensure these investments are made where they are most needed.
The hiring of swimming pools, and swimming lessons, qualify for an exemption from VAT when certain conditions are met as outlined in VAT Notice 742 paragraph 5. The Government has no plans to change this.
Tax is reserved to the Chancellor of Exchequer and HM Treasury.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of Islamophobia in organised sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Recent reports of racism in cricket have highlighted that discrimination, including anti-Muslim hatred, is sadly too prevalent within sport. There can be no place for it. The Government expects sports bodies to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs.
Earlier this year UK Sport, Sport England and the other UK sports councils published reports into racism and racial inequalities in sport, including a report capturing people’s lived experiences of racism in sport. The sports councils have agreed some initial overarching commitments, and are working to develop their own action plans to further deliver on these commitments.
This is in addition to steps such as the forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance, which will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the communities they serve. Sports receiving the most funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
Getting faith groups more involved in sport and activity is also a key part of Sport England’s 10-year strategy “Uniting the Movement”, published earlier this year. Through this strategy Sport England have committed to providing opportunities to people and communities that have traditionally been left behind and helping to remove the barriers to activity.
The Government, and our sports councils, are committed to making sure sport is inclusive for everyone. Where action taken by sports does not go far enough, the government is prepared to step in.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of racism in professional cricket; and what steps she plans to take to tackle that matter.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
For a full answer please refer to the Urgent Question debated on Tuesday 9 November 2021.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will commit to allocating funding to youth centres in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) is designed to achieve levelling up across the country. The YIF will invest in safe spaces for young people in the areas of greatest need, giving them access to support from youth workers and enabling them to engage in beneficial activities. Plans for the fund are subject to the 2021 Spending Review, following the DCMS review of its offer to young people.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to protect jobs in the travel industry after the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
For example, the Government cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% last July, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.
We are committed to supporting tourism’s return to pre-pandemic levels ahead of independent forecasts, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June. The Government is regularly engaging with stakeholders, including via the Tourism Industry Council, to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support will be made available to the tourism industry after the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has provided over £35 billion in support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors over the course of the pandemic in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
For example, the Government cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% last July, with this significantly reduced rate remaining until the end of this month. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.
We are committed to supporting tourism’s return to pre-pandemic levels ahead of independent forecasts, as set out in the Government's Tourism Recovery Plan published in June. The Government is regularly engaging with stakeholders, including via the Tourism Industry Council, to monitor the pandemic’s impact and to support the sector’s recovery.