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, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2020 to Question 116638 on Government Departments: Procurement, what steps he is taking to (a) identify and (b) tackle potential (i) conflicts of interest and (ii) bias in his Department's procurement process.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The department takes all possible steps to identify and tackle conflict of interest and potential bias, including the embedment of fair and open tender processes, overseen by multiple officials from different areas of the department. Other measures include regular review of our policies, ensuring they are relevant to current contexts and adhere to central government guidelines.
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 covid-19 procurement contracts were awarded by his Department retrospectively after work had already been carried out.
Answered by John Whittingdale
No COVID-19 contracts were awarded by the Department retrospectively after work had already been carried out.
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 estimate he has made of the number of people using fixed-odds betting terminals in Liverpool Walton constituency in each year since 2010.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Neither the Department, nor the Gambling Commission, hold information on participation rates on fixed-odds betting terminals or the effect on gambling addiction rates in individual constituencies.
On 31 October the government published proposals for changes on gaming machines and social responsibility measures. We were clear that we see a case for action on fixed-odds betting terminals, and the consultation outlined a range of options including cutting the maximum stake from £100 to between £50 and £2. The consultation closed on 23 January and the Government will publish its response in due course.
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 he has made of the effect of fixed-odds betting terminals on gambling addiction rates in Liverpool Walton constituency.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Neither the Department, nor the Gambling Commission, hold information on participation rates on fixed-odds betting terminals or the effect on gambling addiction rates in individual constituencies.
On 31 October the government published proposals for changes on gaming machines and social responsibility measures. We were clear that we see a case for action on fixed-odds betting terminals, and the consultation outlined a range of options including cutting the maximum stake from £100 to between £50 and £2. The consultation closed on 23 January and the Government will publish its response in due course.
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 grants her Department has allocated to arts projects in Liverpool Walton constituency in each of the last three years.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Through Arts Council England, Government has invested over £3.5m into the Liverpool Walton constituency over the past 3 years. The table below outlines this funding in detail.
| 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2017/2018 |
Grant in Aid | £ 1,008,871 | £ 973,935 | £ 983,307 |
Lottery | £ 227,162 | £ 167,940 | £ 139,760 |
Total | £ 1,236,033 | £ 1,141,875 | £ 1,123,067 |