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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
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 - Shadow Secretary of State 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.
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.