Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what payments were made to civil servants in her Department for relocation costs to government offices outside London in 2021.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS did not make any payments to Civil Servants to support relocation costs in 2021.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
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 18 October 2022 to Question 62850 on Public Opinion, in which locations the focus groups delivered by C M Monitor (Britain Thinks) took place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
BritainThinks have run focus groups for the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) since 2020 on a range of topics such as algorithmic transparency, AI governance and smart data. The focus groups are one of a range of methodologies used by the CDEI to inform a trustworthy approach to AI and data governance.
All focus groups to date have taken place online, initially due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have continued to deliver groups online to enable engagement with diverse groups of participants from all four nations of the UK.
To ensure these focus groups are representative across the entire population, we have also ensured a mix of demographics such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background and digital literacy. Participants with the lowest digital familiarity are typically interviewed via telephone.
For certain focus groups, we have also recruited participants with relevant experiences. For example, in focus groups held to inform the UK's public sector algorithmic transparency standard, developed by the CDEI alongside the Cabinet Office’s Central Digital and Data Office, we focused on recruiting participants with recent experience of scenarios where algorithms could be used to inform decision-making.
Further information about the CDEI’s approach to public engagement can be found here.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any social events took place between three or more people within her Departmental buildings between (a) 5 November 2020 and 1 December 2020 and (b) 16 December 2020 and 22 February 2021.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This information is not collected. At the time, staff were expected to work from home and undertake meetings remotely, wherever possible.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he or any of the Ministers in his Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Ministers will use a range of digital forms of communication for discussions in line with relevant guidance on information handling and security.
Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and significant content relating to government business from such discussions is passed back to officials.
The Cabinet Office has previously published guidance on how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. Ministers are also given advice on the security of electronic communications.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department operates a red amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The department does not operate such a system for categorising Freedom of Information requests. All FOI requests are treated exactly the same, regardless of who the request is from and their occupation.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to provide additional support to freelance workers in the media during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has taken and continues to take action to support media organisations, and all those who work in them, during this time.
For those who are self-employed, the Government has set up the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which has helped millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment. The scheme has helped many eligible freelance workers, including those in the media, receive up to £2,500 per month in grants, and our support for those who are self-employed is far more comprehensive, generous and longer lasting than almost any other country.
In addition, from 1 July employers have been able to bring back to work employees who have previously been furloughed for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim for their normal hours not worked.
The Government remains determined to do all it can to help sectors, including the Media, in their recovery and return to profitability. Only by helping the overall economy to stabilise and grow will we be able to ensure a safe and prosperous future for freelance workers.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the financial support from (a) his Department, (b) Arts Council England and (c) other public bodies will be made available to cultural and heritage organisations.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement entitled, £1.57 billion investment to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions, published on 5 July 2020, what his timescale is for publishing details of the applications process for (a) loan and (b) grants available through that package.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support (a) his Department, (b) Arts Council England and (c) other public bodies are making available to support cultural and heritage organisations in London during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We also recognise the crucial role that individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading. As a result of these grants and loans, organisations will be more able to resume cultural activity, albeit in a socially distanced way, which will increase employment opportunities for freelancers.
Alongside this, cultural and heritage organisations have been able to take advantage of the unprecedented support made available by the Government, including the Job Retention Scheme and a years' business rates holiday. Many will also benefit from VAT reductions announced this week. DCMS’ Arms Length Bodies Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund have also made emergency response packages available, totalling £55 million, for those organisations most in need. In March, Arts Council England (ACE) also announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the Government’s financial measures - this includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations, and £20 million for individuals, including self-employed practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.
In addition to the Government’s Self-employment Support Scheme and support available via these tailored support packages, the newly announced £120 million for investment in capital projects in the culture and heritage sectors will help to get projects back on track, generating a pipeline of work for the heritage sector and supporting many freelancers and self-employed workers, including skilled crafts people.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support is available from (a) the Government, (b) Arts Council England and (c) other public bodies for freelance and self-employed workers in the cultural and heritage sectors.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We also recognise the crucial role that individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading. As a result of these grants and loans, organisations will be more able to resume cultural activity, albeit in a socially distanced way, which will increase employment opportunities for freelancers.
Alongside this, cultural and heritage organisations have been able to take advantage of the unprecedented support made available by the Government, including the Job Retention Scheme and a years' business rates holiday. Many will also benefit from VAT reductions announced this week. DCMS’ Arms Length Bodies Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund have also made emergency response packages available, totalling £55 million, for those organisations most in need. In March, Arts Council England (ACE) also announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the Government’s financial measures - this includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations, and £20 million for individuals, including self-employed practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.
In addition to the Government’s Self-employment Support Scheme and support available via these tailored support packages, the newly announced £120 million for investment in capital projects in the culture and heritage sectors will help to get projects back on track, generating a pipeline of work for the heritage sector and supporting many freelancers and self-employed workers, including skilled crafts people.