Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to keep industry stakeholders informed of the progress of the working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has established expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.
The Government convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is planning to take to keep Parliament informed of the progress of the expert working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has committed to establishing expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.
The Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.
The Government has also committed to set up a Parliamentary working group for members to engage with and feed views into this process.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for updating her Department's website with information on the (a) 12-month State Pension arrears payment and (b) State Pension Claims Form.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Work to publish new guidance is well underway and we aim to have it published as soon as we can, subject to competing priorities.
With regards to the paper claim form changes, we are working to understand the value of updating given how few paper claims we now receive for State Pension.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for distributing interim payments for people affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children withdrawn from mainstream education due to allergy-related safety concerns in schools in the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold this data.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she had made of the potential impact of the planning process for building film studios on economic growth.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to supporting the growth of the creative industries, including film production.
As part of its forthcoming industrial strategy, the government will publish a creative industries sector plan which will include actions to support the film and TV sector.
While capacity and need would be material planning considerations in assessing any specific application, and each case is assessed on its own merits, the government is supportive of the development of appropriate new studio space.
We have not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of the planning process for building film studios on economic growth.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will introduce a medal in recognition of severely injured emergency service personnel.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Any official award is a gift from the Government, on behalf of His Majesty The King to recognise individuals within the service. The creation of a new award requires cross Government consensus and approval from the Committee on The Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (“HD Committee”), before advice is put to HM The King to make his final decision.
The Home Office will continue to consider proposals for new awards for members of the emergency services. It is only right that we recognise the sacrifices made by the emergency services, and it is important to make sure this is done in a proportionate and effective manner.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the (a) long-term growth, (b) international competitiveness and (c) financial sustainability of the film production sector in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to supporting the growth and sustainability of the film sector. We provide globally competitive tax measures to incentivise production. We are investing in infrastructure through continued funding via the British Film Commission (BFC) which has doubled the amount of studio space since 2020, and we are providing a 40% business rates relief for eligible film studios until 2034. We are supporting our independent domestic sector through our 53% independent film tax relief and committing a further £7m this year to the UK Global Screen Fund to promote and distribute UK independent screen content. We are strengthening our public service broadcasters through the Media Act. And we are working with industry to support the skills pipeline to ensure the sustainability of the sector for years to come.
As part of our Industrial Strategy, we will soon publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan, which will set out actions to support the growth of the film and TV sector.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure the financial sustainability of film studios in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to supporting the growth and sustainability of the film sector. We provide globally competitive tax measures to incentivise production. We are investing in infrastructure through continued funding via the British Film Commission (BFC) which has doubled the amount of studio space since 2020, and we are providing a 40% business rates relief for eligible film studios until 2034. We are supporting our independent domestic sector through our 53% independent film tax relief and committing a further £7m this year to the UK Global Screen Fund to promote and distribute UK independent screen content. We are strengthening our public service broadcasters through the Media Act. And we are working with industry to support the skills pipeline to ensure the sustainability of the sector for years to come.
As part of our Industrial Strategy, we will soon publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan, which will set out actions to support the growth of the film and TV sector.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Valuation Office Agency on the appropriate valuation of film and TV studios.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 and Local Government finance (Wales) Bill legislated for three yearly business rates revaluations in England and Wales from 2023. The date of completion for the next revaluation is 1 April 2026. This is to ensure that properties are assessed fairly and reflect changes in the property market over time. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will publish the 2026 rating lists in draft on gov.uk by 31 December 2025.
The VOA keep HMT updated on the progress of discussions they are having with stakeholders in the film and TV industry whilst preparing the 2026 rating list, and expect these updates to continue.