Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people (a) have been (i) fined, (ii) arrested and (iii) imprisoned for non payment of their television licence in each of the last three years and (b) are subject to legal action for non payment of their television licence.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The maximum penalty for non-payment of the TV licence fee is a fine. A person cannot receive a custodial sentence for TV licence evasion but can be committed to prison for wilfully refusing to pay the fine or culpably neglecting to pay. Imprisonment is only pursued as a matter of last resort.
In 2019, 122,603 people were proceeded against for non-payment of the licence fee. Of these, 113,002 people were fined. The number of people admitted to prison for failing to pay fines in respect of the non-payment of a TV licence in England and Wales in 2019 was two or fewer (the actual number has not been released in order to protect against personal identification).
In 2020, 53,301 people were proceeded against, and 49,948 were fined. In 2021, 49,126 people were proceeded against, and 44,364 were fined. In 2020 and 2021, there were no admissions into prison associated with failing to pay a fine in respect of the non-payment of a TV licence in England and Wales.
We do not hold data on the number of people arrested for non-payment of a fine which relates to non-payment of their television licence.
The information on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes is published online in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, available here.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help support public swimming pools transition to renewable energy.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. We are committed to supporting these facilities to transition to renewable energy sources.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. The scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, as set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021.
Leisure centres are eligible for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. For example last year, during Phase 3a, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council was awarded £1,728,500 to decarbonise the swimming pool at Todmorden Sports Centre.
The next application window to the scheme, Phase 3b, is planned to open in September, with the guidance published beforehand.
Sport England are also able to provide guidance on sustainable design formats for leisure centres. The recent redevelopment of St Sidwell's Point Leisure Centre in Exeter provides one such example.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with representatives of Southampton University on releasing the correspondence between Jawaharlal Nehru and Lady Mountbatten for open public access.
Answered by Matt Warman
The correspondence between Lady Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru is held in a private collection. The papers are not owned by the University of Southampton nor are they public records. We have, therefore, had no discussions with the University on releasing the correspondence for open public access.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
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 potential merits of the proposal by culture industry organisations for a Smart Fund to ensure creators and performers are paid for their work.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government agrees that creators should be fairly remunerated. The Government is taking forward work to achieve this, including a programme considering the remuneration issues related to music streaming.
DCMS Ministers and officials have been engaging with the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) on their proposals for a Smart Fund. It is encouraging to see proposals from the sector to support creators and fair remuneration. However introducing statutory levies of this nature can present significant challenges, including the risk that costs would be passed to consumers. This is of particular concern in the context of wider cost of living challenges. We encourage DACS to work with the tech industry to explore options for industry-led solutions.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of using the tax system to incentivise low carbon or carbon neutral TV and film production.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government believes the creative industries, including TV and film production, have a great opportunity to lead the way in transitioning to a low carbon economy, and welcomes the work delivered by a number of schemes in this area, including BAFTA’s ‘albert’ sustainability initiative.
The Government will continue to facilitate discussions on sustainable production within the industry domestically and internationally, as it did when the UK held the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory last year, with the theme ‘sustainability’.
The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review and regularly receives proposals for changes to tax reliefs. When considering changes, HM Treasury must ensure they provide support to businesses across the economy in a fair way and represent good value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of provisions in the Online Safety Bill on efforts to tackle online fraud.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Online Safety Bill will deliver vital protections for users from online fraud, including romance scams and scams ads.
Through the Bill, all companies in scope of the framework will need to take action to tackle fraud where it takes place through user-generated content or via search results. This will increase people’s protection from the devastating impact of scams posted on social media.
Additionally, the largest social media platforms and search engines will have to prevent fraudulent adverts appearing on their services. This will make it harder for fraudsters to advertise scams online, and protect people from this crime.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure football stadia are accessible for disabled supporters.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to be at the forefront of equality and we recognise the need for everyone to be able to access live sport. We are clear that all sports grounds should be inclusive and accessible to all spectators.
We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act of 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues.
With the support of Level Playing Field, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) developed the Accessible Stadia document and Accessible Stadia Supplementary Guidance as a benchmark of good practice for new and existing sports grounds. It offers practical, clear solutions that will help deliver high-quality grounds with facilities and services that are accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all. Level Playing Field are currently leading an update of this guidance to reflect the latest developments in practice and design.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to support the Information Commissioner’s Office to tackle the backlog of Freedom of Information complaints.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Freedom of Information Act is regulated and enforced independently of the government by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The ICO responds to all Freedom of Information complaints with an email acknowledging receipt, which sets out current expected timescales for a response. All complaints are triaged: investigations into relatively simple cases usually commence within 30 days of receipt, while more complex cases may take longer for an ICO officer to investigate.
The ICO currently receives Grant In Aid funding from the government for its statutory responsibilities in relation to the Freedom of Information Act.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK regulation on global tech companies.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We want to make the UK the safest place to go online and the best place in the world to set up a digital company. To achieve this aim we need a step change in our regulatory approach.
From establishing the new pro-competition regime for digital markets to our world leading work on online harms this will drive competition, keep people safe and promote our democracy online.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that broadband remains affordable to people in receipt of (a) universal credit and (b) other low-income benefits.
Answered by Matt Warman
The government has worked closely with industry throughout the pandemic and agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support vulnerable consumers during the Covid-19 period. Providers committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported. This is in addition to lifting all fixed broadband data caps and providing new and generous landline and mobile offers, such as free or low cost mobile data boosts.
There are already social tariffs available which offer low cost landline and broadband services for those on certain means-tested benefits. However, in line with Ofcom’s recommendation in their Affordability Report published in December 2020, the government encourages those providers who do not currently offer social tariff packages to do so and we will monitor the situation closely.