Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2019 to Question 74 on Government Departments: Data Protection, if she will place in the Library a copy of each Government department's contingency plan.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold contingency plans for departments centrally. DCMS has worked with government departments to assess data protection risks and support their mitigating activity. Departmental contingency plans are individually owned by departments, which are responsible for mitigating their own data risks.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies her department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics inform Health and Wellbeing policy across the Civil Service. DCMS measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole. The four personal wellbeing questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found here. Findings from the survey are used to inform our HR policies and support services. No new policies have been introduced in the last 12 months, but we have focused on improving the wellbeing support and services available to staff. This includes:
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 Answer of 14 September 2018 to Question 171304 on Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Health, what indicators his Department uses that are informed by wellbeing data and policies his Department has introduced that are based on that data.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Our Annual Report, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-18 (pages 12-51) outlines the wellbeing indicators that are used by DCMS in our policymaking and evaluation. We have introduced various policies to improve wellbeing across the UK. The Civil Society Strategy, published on 9 August 2018, sets out how government will work with and for civil society in the long-term to create a country that works for everyone. The Culture Investment Fund, announced on 12 October, has recently pledged £250 million of new funding for the culture and creative sector, with more than £90m provided to extend the Cultural Development Fund which uses investment in heritage, culture and creativity to drive regeneration and growth.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on levels of (a) bulimia and (b) anorexia nervosa of the portrayal of models in the fashion and beauty industry.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 effect on the free flow of commercially valuable data between the UK and EU of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Data flows are important to consumers and businesses, including start-ups, SMEs and large corporations, as the ability to collect, share and process personal data is crucial for the digital and wider economy. The free flow of personal data is an important underpinning feature of the UK’s and EU’s future relationship for both economic and security purposes. In no deal, it is in everyone’s interests that the exchange of personal data between EU Member States and the UK continues.
In no deal, given the degree of alignment between the UK and EU’s data protection regimes, the UK will transitionally recognise all EEA states, EU adequate third countries, EU and EEA institutions, and Gibraltar, as though they have been subject to an affirmative adequacy decision by the UK. This will allow personal data to continue to flow freely from the UK to the EU. The UK would keep all of these decisions under review.
UK and EU/EEA organisations should take steps immediately to mitigate the impact by implementing alternative transfer mechanisms to send personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK. Details of what alternative transfer mechanisms are available and how to make use of them are set out in guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office and on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions his Department has received representations from the UK Statistics Authority on his Department's presentation and use of statistics in each year since 2010.
Answered by Margot James
Details on the UK Statistics Authority’s interventions are published in the correspondence[1], publications[2], and issues log[3] sections of their website since 2010.
The Authority’s Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) also carry out regular assessments and systemic reviews, details of which can also be found on the Authority’s website[4].
In September 2018, the Authority published the first annual summary of its interventions for the financial year 2017/18[5]. The report for 2018/19 will be published in the autumn.
[1] https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence-list/
[2] https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publications-list/
[3] https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/reports-and-correspondence/issues-log/
[4] https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/osr/
[5] https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/annual-casework-review-20172018/
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019, to Question 261114 on Digital Technology: North Wales, what assessment he has made of the proportion of the Superfast Cymru programme funded by the EU.
Answered by Margot James
To date, £100,340,636 of European funding has been allocated to Superfast Cymru for the purpose of superfast broadband rollout.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 261114 on Digital Technology: North Wales, which public buildings in Denbighshire have (a) received fibre upgrades and (b) are in the process of receiving fibre upgrades.
Answered by Margot James
Due to the commercially sensitive information, it would be inappropriate to disclose the exact figures. However, officials at Building Digital UK are working closely with their Welsh counterparts, and have identified a large number of public sector sites within the North Wales Local Full Fibre Networks project that are suitable for gigabit capable upgrades. All sites are subject to survey and as such, the number of final sites is subject to change.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions the Government held with pensioner groups prior to his Department's decision to transfer responsibility for funding TV licences for people aged over 75 to the BBC.
Answered by Margot James
The Government agreed with the BBC at the 2015 funding settlement that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in 2020. The future of the concession was a decision for the BBC. Following a public consultation, including with pensioner groups, it has decided to maintain the concession for the poorest pensioners.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who will be affected by the BBC's decision to charge people aged over 75 for tv licences.
Answered by Margot James
The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee. It estimates that 4.5 million pensioner households are eligible for the existing over 75 licence fee concession. It estimates that 900,000 households will continue to receive a free TV licence from 2020/21, rising to 1.5 million households if all pensioners eligible take up Pension Credit.