Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 reopen the conference, events and exhibitions industry as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the safe reopening of that industry of the ability of conferences, exhibitions and events to use effective tracking and tracing as a result of the high proportion of pre-registered attendees at those events; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The events industry and its suppliers have been severely affected by the current situation. I fully understand their desire for a reopening date.
Meetings of up to 30 people indoors are now allowed in permitted venues if social distancing can be maintained and the venue can demonstrate that it has followed the Covid-19 guidance.
From 1 August, exhibition and conference centres are allowed to show small groups (of up to 30 people with social distancing requirements) around to view the facilities and plan future events and to enable government-backed pilots to take place. They should not be open fully to host events more widely.
From 1 October, it is expected that events of all types (such as trade shows, consumer shows, exhibitions and conferences) will be allowed at a capacity allowing for compliance with social distancing. As with all aspects of the Government’s response to COVID-19, our decisions have been and will continue to be based on scientific evidence and public health assessments.
We have worked closely with events stakeholders through both the Visitor Economy and Events & Entertainment Working Groups to develop Covid-19 Secure reopening guidance for the business events industry. We continue to meet with the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel to discuss the specific issues facing the industry.
Since 11 July, a range of outdoor events have been able to take place - including agricultural shows, literary fairs and car boot sales.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement entitled, £1.57 billion investment to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions, published on 5 July 2020, whether local authorities will be able to bid for that funding to help support the continued viability of municipal theatres; and if will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We want this package to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors, although there will be robust criteria about which individual organisations receive support. We are working closely with the DCMS ALBs to develop guidance indicating who can apply for the different elements of this funding, and we will publish detailed guidance as soon as possible in July.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to publish guidance on the opening of dance studios and other providers of activity for young and school-aged children; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has set out a clear roadmap through which we can begin to resume normal activities safely. The content and timing of future steps, however, will be dependent on the risk posed by the virus.
We recognise that organisations need time to plan and implement guidance. As such, DCMS remains in close contact with its sectors and, as part of that, has launched the Recreation and Leisure taskforce which will support plans for recovery across DCMS sectors. This will be informed by eight working groups, including an Entertainment and Events Working Group and a Sport Working Group that will bring together representatives from the sector as well as medical advisors to develop advice and guidance on reopenings.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what regulatory authority is responsible for regulating the information collected and stored on the World Check database operated by Thomson Reuters Accelus; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Organisations that process personal data in the UK must register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and comply with the Data Protection Act’s (DPA) eight data protection principles. These include requiring personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA. Failure to comply with the Act is an offence. Further information about these obligations can be found on the ICO’s website at:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/
The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent authority responsible for administering and enforcing information rights, and provides guidance and advice to organisations on the Data Protection Act. The ICO has a number of tools at its disposal to take action against those that breach the legislation. These powers include the ability to conduct audits, serve enforcement notices and impose civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000.
Further information about the Information Commissioner can be found on the ICO’s website at:
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what statutory requirements apply to the operation of the World Check database operated by Thomson Reuters Accelus; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Organisations that process personal data in the UK must register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and comply with the Data Protection Act’s (DPA) eight data protection principles. These include requiring personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA. Failure to comply with the Act is an offence. Further information about these obligations can be found on the ICO’s website at:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/
The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent authority responsible for administering and enforcing information rights, and provides guidance and advice to organisations on the Data Protection Act. The ICO has a number of tools at its disposal to take action against those that breach the legislation. These powers include the ability to conduct audits, serve enforcement notices and impose civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000.
Further information about the Information Commissioner can be found on the ICO’s website at:
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what provisions there are to enable UK citizens to check whether their names and data are held on the World Check database operated by Thomson Reuters Accelus; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) confers a number of rights on individuals in respect of the processing of their personal data by UK organisations. Subject to certain exemptions, section 7 of the DPA gives individuals the right to request a copy of information which an organisation holds about them. An individual can exercise this right, commonly known as ‘subject access’, by making a written subject access request to the organisation.
If an individual would like to find out what information Thomson Reuters holds about them in World-Check, they can email contact@world-check.com. Further information about individuals’ rights concerning the processing of their personal data by Thomson Reuters Accelus can be found on their website at:
https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/world-check-privacy-statement
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 likely effect of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive on the ability in future of Members of the House of Lords to continue to serve on the board of the BBC; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The BBC is not a relevant person under the Money Laundering Regulations and as such appointees to the BBC Board would not be affected.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussion his Department has had since May 2015 on limiting the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Evennett
On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:
The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.