Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had his Italian counterpart on First Trenitalia's operation and part-ownership of the West Coast Partnership rail franchise.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No such discussions have taken place.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
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 potential merits of ensuring the digital terrestrial broadcast of international sporting events; and if she will make it her policy to continue digital terrestrial television beyond 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the social value to (a) the elderly, (b) rural communities and (c) vulnerable people of free to air broadcast (i) TV and (ii) radio services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of free to air TV and radio services. Millions of households across the UK rely on these services, particularly vulnerable people, the elderly and rural communities. We also recognise the crucial role that free-to-air television and radio services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
More detailed data on the usage of free-to-air radio and TV is available from a variety of sources. For example, Ofcom produces its Media Nations report which reviews key trends in the media sector and sets out how audiences are served across the UK. The most recent report was published in August 2023 and can be found here. Ofcom also publishes the results of a number of annual surveys addressing these issues, as well as an interactive data set in the form of its annual Communications Market Report. Many of these publications include relevant analysis broken down by age group and/or geographic area.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport also commissions and publishes its own research on a range of topics, including in relation to radio and TV. For example, the Digital Radio and Audio Review (published October 2021) looked at the landscape for radio over the coming years, and noted that traditional radio, including FM services, was valued by many listeners – particularly those who were older or vulnerable.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including digital terrestrial television (DTT), satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact on the cost of living of digital terrestrial television ending in 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it her policy to support a no change position on spectrum allocation at this year’s World Radiocommunications Conference.
Answered by John Whittingdale
In preparing for the forthcoming ITU World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC), the government has worked extensively with Ofcom and with spectrum users to ensure the UK promotes the best interests of the UK. The WRC works on consensus, so compromise is expected in order to reach a conclusion all parties can sign up to. However, we will strongly resist any positions we believe undermine the UK’s objectives and will exercise our right to manage our domestic spectrum allocation where appropriate.
We will work with international partners, especially within the European regional group, to ensure protection for the continuation of the Digital Terrestrial Television (Freeview) platform and where the UK has the maximum flexibility to make long-term changes to domestic use of this spectrum band without needing to have regard to the spectrum priorities of neighbouring countries. We will only support changes to the Radio Regulations that are consistent with this.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of FTE civil servants in her Department at pay band SCS2 are women.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are 15.1 full time equivalent female civil servants at SCS pay band 2 in DfT, which is 37.2% of all FTE at SCS pay band 2.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of civil servants on temporary contracts in the Department for Transport are women.
Answered by Jesse Norman
51% of workers on temporary contracts engaged by the core Department for Transport are female.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on Scottish viewers of the expiry of digital terrestrial television licenses in 2034.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK, including in Scotland, rely on DTT. This is particularly true of rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including DTT, satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the (a) total and (b) average credit balance that has been accrued to energy companies as a result of overpayment via direct debit by domestic customers in the period since 1 September 2022.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government does not hold this information.
Ofgem have rules designed to limit the accrual of excessive customer credit, and conducted a Market Compliance Review of these rules in summer 2022. Following their review, Ofgem report that almost a million customers had their direct debits assessed, and £117,580 of adjustments and repayments have been made by suppliers as of 2 February 2023.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/direct-debit-market-compliance-review-progress-update
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2023 to Question 187277 on Buses: Carbon Emissions, what discussions Ministers from his Department held with their counterparts in the Scottish Government between 12 February and 31 December 2020 on the rollout of zero-emission buses.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We can only provide this information at disproportionate cost.