Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to support the implementation of locally based development programmes in seaside towns.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My Department currently has no plans for development programmes in seaside towns, however we are developing the details for up to five Tourism Zones, as announced in the recently published Tourism Sector Deal.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether tourism zones will include (a) seaside towns and (b) capital funds to allow local authorities to support projects to improve (i) the public realm and (ii) cultural and heritage assets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The detail of Tourism Zones is still under development and further details will be available in due course.
The Coastal Communities Fund already provides opportunities for developing cultural and heritage assets. Blackpool City Council have received under £2m from the fund to transform the iconic Blackpool illuminations, create new experiences for visitors and boost the local economy.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Margot James
DCMS has 15 apprentices, which is equivalent to 1.3% of the department’s headcount.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Margot James
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), currently has six apprentices and this equates to 0.7% of employees. The department is reviewing its apprenticeship strategy in line with Civil Service ambition of 2.3% apprenticeship starts and aims to meet this commitment by the 2018/19 financial year. Apprenticeships represent an opportunity for DCMS to increase to social mobility, diversity and strengthen our skills base. We aim to do this by taking on Fast Track apprentices, filling appropriate vacancies with apprentices and supporting existing staff to take up apprenticeships to further their own development. We believe the department is making progress and will continue working to increase the number of apprentices.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 41 of the Government's industrial strategy green paper, published in January 2017, whether it remains her Department's policy that free basic digital skills training will be available for all adults.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Yes, the Government's continued commitment to this policy was outlined in the Digital Strategy launched last week on the 1st of March 2017.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will define what powers the Visit England Board will have over the strategic direction and decisions on the Discover England Fund.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The VisitEngland Board will be an advisory body, responsible for advising the executive and board of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) on how best to deliver and monitor English activity, including the Discover England fund. The strategic direction for the Discover England fund will be set out in an England Action Plan. This will be signed off by the Minister for Tourism and will be drafted with advice from the VisitEngland Boardas the Secretary of State's statutory advisory body on English Tourism, but ultimate accountability for delivery of the plan, and for decisions on the fund, will remain with the Chief Executive and Board of the BTA.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will define the future (a) role and (b) powers of the Visit England Board.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The VisitEngland Board will be an advisory body, responsible for advising the executive and board of the British Tourist Authority on how best to deliver and monitor English activity. The statutory duties and functions of the VisitEngland Board remain as set out in the Development of Tourism Act 1969 and it will remain a unfunded advisory non-departmental public body.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what powers and remit the successor to the departing Chief Executive of Visit England will have in addition to being a director of Visit Britain.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
This is a matter for the British Tourist Authority (BTA). The BTA is currently considering the detail of its future operating structure to enable it to deliver on the Government’s policy direction, and to generate a maximum return on investment for the funding allocated to it.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 52 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what mechanisms he plans to use to ringfence the £40 million Discover England Fund.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
To date all English funding has been ringfenced within the British Tourist Authority. This will continue.The £40m Discover England funding will be separately maintained and accounted for to ensure it is used in support of product development in English destinations, and in accordance with the process and criteria to be published shortly. The progress and spend of the fund will be monitored through regular reports.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government's proposed Deregulation Bill on tourism employment in England.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
At present, local authorities set term and holiday dates for about 30% of secondary schools and 70% of primary schools (around half of all registered pupils). The Deregulation Bill gives more schools the flexibility to make changes should they wish to, although the experience of the academies programme and voluntary aided (church) schools, suggests that only a small percentage of schools are likely to vary their term dates.
The Department for Education has produced an assessment of the impact of the changes. Whilst there will be greater flexibility, we expect that sensible conversations between the local authority and schools on coordination will take place. Variations to term dates could also help businesses and employers, for example, in areas of high-seasonal employment where employees may welcome the chance to holiday outside of peak tourist periods. For example, Bishop Bronescombe School in St Austell has a two-week half term in May/June to accommodate parents' seasonal employment patterns.
A separate assessment of the specific impact on tourism related jobs in seaside towns or seaside economies has not been carried out.