Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 help ensure the safety of children online.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Protecting children online is at the heart of the Online Safety Bill, which the government published in draft in May 2021 for pre-legislative scrutiny. Sites in scope of the Bill which are likely to be accessed by children will need to deliver appropriate safety measures to protect children from inappropriate or harmful content online. If sites fail in their duties under the Bill, they will be subject to tough enforcement action including fines of up to 10% of global qualifying annual turnover.
The government is clear that tech companies should use their ingenuity now to improve child online safety. We have taken a number of steps to help companies and users improve online safety, including the publication of a One Stop Shop for child online safety, the Online Media Literacy Strategy, and Safety by Design guidance.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 clarity of the advice in The visitor economy - Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) on coach party travel after June 21 2021; and whether he has plans to issue revised guidance.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government's ‘Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance pages, including the visitor economy guidance, outline what is currently permitted at Step 3 of the Roadmap and how businesses can operate safely under current restrictions.
The Prime Minister’s reopening Roadmap sets out the forward look for Step 4. The roadmap also sets out how ongoing reviews (for example, the Social Distancing Review) will inform how businesses will operate in Step 4. It is expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July, though the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced. The Government will continue to monitor the data and the move to Step 4 will be confirmed one week in advance, at which point, the ‘Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance for businesses across the economy - including the visitor economy guidance - will be updated.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to introduce transparency reports for recognised news publisher websites in respect of harm occurring on their comments boards.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. The government does not intervene in editorial or moderation decisions made by news publishers. DCMS does not hold data on comments sections of news publisher websites.
Anyone concerned by material published on a news website’s comment section can complain directly to the publisher or to the relevant independent self regulator. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A number of smaller publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
There are no plans to introduce transparency reporting requirements for news publishers; websites.
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with newspaper proprietors, editors, or staff on the moderation of recognised news publisher websites.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. The government does not intervene in editorial or moderation decisions made by news publishers. DCMS does not hold data on comments sections of news publisher websites.
Anyone concerned by material published on a news website’s comment section can complain directly to the publisher or to the relevant independent self regulator. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A number of smaller publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
There are no plans to introduce transparency reporting requirements for news publishers; websites.
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data his Department holds on the volume of harmful comments appearing in comments sections of recognised news publisher websites.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. The government does not intervene in editorial or moderation decisions made by news publishers. DCMS does not hold data on comments sections of news publisher websites.
Anyone concerned by material published on a news website’s comment section can complain directly to the publisher or to the relevant independent self regulator. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A number of smaller publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
There are no plans to introduce transparency reporting requirements for news publishers; websites.
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 effectiveness of moderator systems of comments sections on recognised news publisher websites.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. The government does not intervene in editorial or moderation decisions made by news publishers. DCMS does not hold data on comments sections of news publisher websites.
Anyone concerned by material published on a news website’s comment section can complain directly to the publisher or to the relevant independent self regulator. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A number of smaller publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
There are no plans to introduce transparency reporting requirements for news publishers; websites.
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 prevalence of online harms occurring in the comments sections of recognised news publisher websites.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. The government does not intervene in editorial or moderation decisions made by news publishers. DCMS does not hold data on comments sections of news publisher websites.
Anyone concerned by material published on a news website’s comment section can complain directly to the publisher or to the relevant independent self regulator. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A number of smaller publishers have joined The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
There are no plans to introduce transparency reporting requirements for news publishers; websites.
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 when it will be safe for community music rehearsals to resume as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
It is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions, so that we can see the impact of the steps we are taking before moving to the next step. From 17 May, non-professional performing arts activities are permitted indoors and outdoors, within the legal gathering limits. Activities should be organised to allow for social distancing to be maintained.
Outdoors, people can take part in non-professional performing arts activities in a group of up to 30 people. Activities can take place with multiple permitted groups, provided the groups are kept separate throughout the activity, and the event is organised in line with the organised events guidance for local authorities
Indoors, people can take part in non-professional performing arts activities in a group of up to 6 people, or as a group of 2 households/bubbles. Activities can take place with multiple permitted groups, provided the groups are kept separate throughout the activity, and the event is organised in line with the organised events guidance for local authorities. However, non-professional singing indoors should only take place in a single group of up to 6 people.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) implications for his policies of the findings of the recent survey by #WeMakeEvents of businesses and individuals in the live event supply chain and (b) potential merits of making sector-specific fiscal support available to the live entertainment industry in response to the effects of the covid-19 outbreak on that industry.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises the severe impact the pandemic has had on supply chain businesses for the live events sector.
Supply chain organisations were eligible for the first two rounds of the Culture Recovery Fund and are recognised as a critical part of the sector. Across the first two rounds of funding, the Culture Recovery Fund has helped 311 organisations in the live music supply chain to date with approximately £47million awarded. A further £300M will be available to continue supporting the broad cultural sector throughout 2021.
The Government will spend over £33 billion supporting those in self-employment during this crisis, among the most generous anywhere in the world. The Government has also provided economic wide support packages which the sector has been able to access including extensions to the furlough scheme, SEISS, and additional business support.