Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 local democratic engagement and accountability of reductions in dedicated regional news services in the north of Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on ensuring that changes to regional broadcasting licences do not lead to a disproportionate concentration of news production in central urban areas.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will review the public service broadcasting framework to increase protections for local and regional news provision.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to ensure that distinct local voices continue to be represented in public service broadcasting.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of Ofcom's approval of changes to STV's regional news programming on access to locally relevant news for rural and remote communities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 ensure that viewers in areas such as the Highlands and Islands are not impacted by the centralisation of broadcast news production.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.
I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.
Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she plans to hold with stakeholders in the heritage sector; and how often she plans to hold such discussions.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since the General Election, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and her ministerial team have met with a wide range of stakeholders in the heritage sector, including representatives of the department’s arm’s length bodies. These meetings will continue periodically, in Westminster and around the country and we intend to announce the next date of the Heritage Council very soon.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential merits of introducing listed building consent orders to help support the decarbonisation of listed buildings.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK has the oldest building stock in Europe. Historic buildings - including listed buildings and buildings within Conservation Areas - have an important role to play in supporting growth in the construction sector and our transition to Net Zero. Listed Building Consent Orders (LBCOs) proactively encourage and streamline the sensible upgrade and development of our listed buildings, including installing decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.
I have written to Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on some of the opportunities around planning that support heritage-led development and growth, including LBCOs. My officials and I are working closely with officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to prioritise the roll out of LBCOs and support the wider Government's agenda around growth and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many water sports (a) training sessions, (b) activities and (c) events have been reported to her Department due to unsafe water quality in each year since 2020.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Event organisers, including National Governing Bodies (NGBs), are responsible for ensuring appropriate measures are in place to protect participants.
We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.
Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy that will help encourage people to get active.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 impact of sewage discharges on sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In our Sport Strategy, ‘Get Active’, we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation and our vision to ensure the sector can thrive in the years ahead. Outdoor recreation on our nation’s coastline and in our rivers, lakes and canals are vital to the participation landscape.
We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.
Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England remain the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy in this area.