Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 benefits funding from the National Lottery has delivered to charities in (a) local areas and (b) Southport.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The National Lottery has returned over £39 billion to good causes since 1994, funding projects in every constituency throughout the UK. The National Lottery awards grants to good causes delivered through a range of organisations, including charities, social enterprises and local grassroots groups.
Below is data from the key National Lottery distributors showing the total grants awarded to good causes, including charities, in Southport since 2009/10. A high proportion of charities are based in cities and towns, but deliver activity and services to a much wider area. This means figures often don’t reflect the spread of activity and the overall offer of services and projects funded by The National Lottery within a particular constituency.
Organisation | Total Grants Awarded to Good Causes in Southport since 2009/10 |
The National Lottery Community Fund | £5,008,940 |
The National Lottery Heritage Fund | £3,589,300 |
Sport England | £992,626 |
Arts Council England | £45,323 |
Total | £9,636,189 |
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase tourism in (a) coastal areas and (b) the UK.
Answered by Michael Ellis
VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, which it does through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. VisitBritain sit on the Coastal Tourism Leadership Forum (run by the National Coastal Tourism Academy), helping to shape the Coastal Visitor Economy Vision and Action Plan. DCMS are observers at the forum.
My colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also provide support and funding to coastal areas through the Coastal Communities Fund and the Coastal Revival Fund, much of which has a tourism focus. They have also set up Coastal Community Teams around the country to support the development of the coastal economy.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 adequacy of recent strategies put forth by technology companies in relation to online safety.
Answered by Margot James
While we have seen some success with voluntary measures to improve online safety, Government has been clear that tech companies need to take more consistent and effective action to tackle online harms.
A joint DCMS-Home Office White Paper will be published shortly, setting out clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep their users safe online.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage UK citizens to take holidays in UK seaside towns.
Answered by Michael Ellis
DCMS works hard to support the UK’s coastal destinations, engaging closely with the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) to stay abreast of current trends, opportunities and concerns.
Together with VisitEngland, the £40m Discover England Fund project supports several coastal products, developed to target international visitors but also benefit domestic tourism. Projects such as England’s Coast led by the NCTA, South West Coastal Path led by the South West Coast Path Association and England’s Seafood Coast, led by the English Tourism Riviera Company are some examples of DEF projects in coastal regions.
VisitBritain (VB) run coastal destinations groups which generally meet four times a year, discussing the challenges facing coastal destinations with the aim of sharing insights and best practice, developing joint policy positions to address those deemed most important.
VB sit on the Coastal Tourism Leadership Forum(run by the NCTA), helping to shape the Coastal Visitor Economy Vision and Action Plan. DCMS are observers at the forum.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 potential economic benefits to the North West of relocating Channel 4 to Merseyside.
Answered by Margot James
We have long been committed to Channel 4 moving out of London, and welcome Channel 4's agreement to move 300 staff out of London, rising over time. There are many creative locations across the UK, including in the North West, which could see a significant positive economic impact from Channel 4 relocating staff. The decision on new out of London locations will be taken by Channel 4, and Channel 4 has said it will take this decision in Q3 2018.