Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to set up a gambling ombudsman independent of betting operators.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government welcomes the National Audit Office’s report on Gambling Regulation: Problem Gambling and Protecting Vulnerable People and is considering its recommendations carefully, including the recommendation to review whether arrangements for consumers when things go wrong are working effectively.
The government has also committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that children are not exposed to alcohol advertisements online.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Advertising in the UK is overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the industry’s independent regulator, which for online advertising enforces the Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) through a system of self-regulation. The CAP Code incorporates all relevant legislation and sets standards for accuracy and honesty to which advertisers must adhere, including specific conditions on advertising to children, causing offence and social responsibility. This system operates independently of government.
The Code recognises the social imperative of ensuring alcohol advertising is responsible, and requires that it not be targeted at people under 18 and should not imply, condone or encourage immoderate, irresponsible or anti-social drinking.
The government is reviewing how online advertising is regulated in the UK, looking at how well the current regime is equipped to tackle the challenges posed by developments in online advertising. Although this work will not directly address issues specific only to the advertising of alcohol, it will consider cross-cutting challenges - including exploring measures with potential to impact the wider sector. A call for evidence on online advertising was published last month.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have had with the British Board of Film Classification to discuss the implementation of a new age certification regime since 24 July 2019.
Answered by Matt Warman
Ministers and officials have had regular meetings and discussions with the British Board of Film Classification to discuss the implementation of a new age certification regime. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
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 that alcohol is marketed responsibly.
Answered by Margot James
Advertising in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, the industry’s independent regulator, who enforce the Advertising Codes through a system of self-regulation and co-regulation with Ofcom. The Codes apply to all media, including broadcast and online, and set standards for accuracy and honesty to which advertisers must adhere, including specific conditions on advertising to children, causing offence and social responsibility. The Codes include rules which require that alcohol advertising is socially responsible and is not targeted at under 18s. The Codes are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they remain effective.
Separately to this, the Portman Group provides a Code of Practice to the alcohol industry on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks, which seeks to ensure that non-paid for alcohol marketing in the UK is also socially responsible, and does not target young people.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps is he taking to protect children and young people from the potential adverse effects of alcohol marketing.
Answered by Margot James
Advertising in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, the industry’s independent regulator, who enforce the Advertising Codes through a system of self-regulation and co-regulation with Ofcom. The Codes apply to all media, including broadcast and online, and set standards for accuracy and honesty to which advertisers must adhere, including specific conditions on advertising to children, causing offence and social responsibility. The Codes include rules which require that alcohol advertising is socially responsible and is not targeted at under 18s. The Codes are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they remain effective.
Separately to this, the Portman Group provides a Code of Practice to the alcohol industry on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks, which seeks to ensure that non-paid for alcohol marketing in the UK is also socially responsible, and does not target young people.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
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 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen families.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Government is committed to building a shared society that works for everyone and it is important to build and strengthen the bonds of the family unit. DCMS is running a number of programmes that contribute to strengthening families. These include the Early Years Social Action Fund and Community Organisers Programme.
The £1 million Early Years Social Action Fund is a joint partnership between Nesta and the Office for Civil Society and will focus on supporting families in need.. The fund aims to help more children aged four and under, achieve their developmental milestones through social action. The fund is backing projects where social action will build the confidence and knowledge of parents and primary carers, to support their children to achieve their developmental milestones ahead of their fifth birthday.
Community Organisers act as local leaders, bringing people together to take action on the things they all care about. The original programme (2011-15) trained 6,500 individuals who built relationships and inspired local communities to deliver positive social change. Communities were supported to kick start over 2,000 community projects and our evaluation has shown us that 84% of the projects focused on connecting people together, including neighbours, residents, families and vulnerable people. In 2017 we launched the Community Organisers Expansion Programme which aims to further increase the number of Community Organisers trained to 10,000 by 2020.
DCMS also has responsibility for Libraries, which change lives for the better. They not only provide access to books and other literature but also help people to help themselves and improve their opportunities, bring people together, and provide practical support and guidance. As a locally accountable service, they are well-placed to respond to local needs and issues.
Libraries can have a critical role in helping people to realise their potential, and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Libraries provide vital support to families in developing children’s language and reading skills and confidence from early years onwards They also run numerous activities like book groups, code clubs, discussion groups and events for children and families. Libraries are places where communities and individuals can develop, share ideas and learn together, and libraries are actively looking at how they could offer more and different family learning opportunities. Alongside a report ( The Experiential Library: the future of family learning) The Society of Chief Librarians has created a toolkit to help libraries deliver family learning and is running events to help library services to share experiences to deliver this effectively.
In addition, Sport England is supporting families through its Families Fund, a new investment of up to £40m into projects which offer new opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to which legislation her Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Minsters. The Family Test was not designed to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and as such there is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of player protection measures for fixed odds betting terminals.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures was launched in October 2016, which included a look at the issue of B2 gaming machines (more commonly known as fixed odds betting terminals). Responses to the review’s call for evidence are currently being considered and a response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the cost of problem gambling to the Government.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
In December 2016, the Institute for Public Policy Research published a report on the cost to Government associated with problem gamblers (commissioned by GambleAware). The Report can be found at: http://www.ippr.org/publications/cards-on-the-table
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the findings of the Public Health England report entitled The Public Health Burden of Alcohol and the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Control Policies on the violation of self-regulation alcohol marketing codes in the UK; and what steps she plans to take in relation to vulnerable populations as a result.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Government is committed to working with industry to address concerns over irresponsible alcohol promotions, advertising and marketing, particularly to ensure vulnerable people are protected. Current industry codes are exceptionally robust, recognising the social imperative of ensuring alcohol advertising is responsible. The Advertising Standards Authority reviews its codes regularly to ensure they remain effective.