Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to appoint a Principal Regulator for Exempt Charities using the community benefit society legal form; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
An appropriate body could not be found that was willing and able to take on the role of Principal Regulator for charitable community benefit societies. Therefore, there are currently no plans to appoint a Principal Regulator for these charities. However we will keep this position under review. The Charities Act 2006 does not require the appointment of a principal regulator and exempt charities are still bound by the general principles of charity law.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
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 9 July 2019 to Question 271326, for what reasons his Department does not offer a payroll deduction service to enable employees to join a credit union; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
I can confirm the department currently does not have the facility to allow staff to join a credit union through payroll deductions. Staff can still make arrangements to contribute to a credit union via direct debit.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department offers employees a payroll deduction service to enable staff to join a credit union; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not offer a payroll deduction facility to be used for joining a credit union service. There are currently no plans to introduce one.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the names and locations of the land and buildings owned by his Department that are (a) sitting empty and (b) in the process of being sold or disposed of; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
In 2017 the Office of Government Property published the Guide for the Disposal of Surplus Land, providing detailed guidance on how to plan for and execute land disposals.
This guide mandates that departmental land holdings must be registered on the e-PIMs central record system. Land holdings deemed surplus are recorded on the Register of Surplus Land for at least 40 days for other government departments to express an interest.
Homes England and Department for Education/LocatEd are given a higher allowance of 50 days to express an interest if the site could be developed for housing or a free school.
After the 50-day period surplus land holdings are recorded on the publicly accessible Government Property Finder on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials from his Department have been seconded from their primary role to make preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
As part of the department’s preparations for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal, over 110 officials have been seconded from their primary role to support EU Exit work. In addition, a significant number of officials have reprioritised their work to include EU Exit work whilst remaining in their primary roles.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which EU agencies his Department plans to seek continued membership of after the UK has left the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
During the Implementation Period, the terms of the UK’s participation in EU agencies and bodies will be as set out in Article 128 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Following our exit from the European Union, we are committed to maintaining a close and collaborative relationship with the EU. Our future partnership is a matter for the next phase of negotiations and we look forward to constructive discussions with the EU.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which regulatory functions imposed by legislation for which his Department has responsibility are currently undertaken by trade associations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The information requested is not held centrally, and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding the Scout Association received from the Government in each of the last seven years; and the purposes for which that funding was provided.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The Scout Association received £1,288,573 in FY 13/14 as part of the Department for Communities and Local Government-funded Youth United Foundation Social Inclusion Programme. This Programme was designed to increase young people’s access to voluntary youth activities in a number of targeted areas of deprivation across England.
In 2014, the Cabinet Office launched the £10 million Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund designed to create new uniformed youth group units. The grant was distributed by Youth United Foundation and included two funding rounds in FY 14/15 and FY 15/16. The Scout Association received the following funding during the lifetime of the fund:
Phase | Funding | Financial Year | Purpose |
Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund Round 1 | £1,379,637 | 2014/2015 | Creation of places for harder to reach young people. |
Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund Round 2 | £445,420 | 2015/2016 | Piloting innovative approaches to engage young people with physical or learning disabilities. |
The Scout Association also received £159,005 in FY 15/16 and £123,245 in FY 16/17 as part of the Department for Education’s Character Grant scheme. This funding was for a project entitled Character by Doing, a 12 month pilot project led by the Scout Association in partnership with the independent think-tank Demos and six schools to trial a schools-based model of Scouting in areas of deprivation.