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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of (a) the number of care homes and supported living accommodation sites which have shared facilities but have no common and exclusive boundary, and (b) the number of pensioners who by reason of residence in such locations are unable to claim a concessionary TV licence.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Some residents in sheltered or residential care accommodation may be eligible for the Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) television licence fee concession. If eligible, residents are required to pay a reduced rate of £7.50 for a TV licence.
While licence fee concessions are set in legislation, it is the BBC, not the government, that administers these schemes. The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee and all of its concessions, including maintaining existing ARC concessionary licences and making decisions on requests for new ARC concessionary licences.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold the information requested. More information on this concession, including eligibility information and details on how to apply, can be found on the TV Licensing website.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Cairncross Review, what steps her Department is taking to support local journalism.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
However, as the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, society is increasingly moving online and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models.
The Government supported the majority of Cairncross recommendations and has taken them forward through a range of fiscal and regulatory interventions. This has included through the extension of business rates relief for local newspapers in England for an additional five years; the investment of £2 million in the Future News Fund; the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the 2021 publication of an Online Media Literacy Strategy; and our work through the Mid Term Review of the BBC Charter, exploring how the BBC seeks to act as a complement, rather than a substitute for, local commercial news outlets. The Government was also pleased to see the BBC conduct a thorough review of the Local Democracy Reporting Service in 2020, as recommended by the Cairncross Review. As set out in our response to the Review, we would support any efforts by the BBC to grow the scheme.
Most importantly, we are introducing a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets. The regime, which aims to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press.
Longer term and beyond Cairncross, we continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining the sector.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) supporting the English Heritage Scheme to expand the Blue Plaque scheme outside of London and (b) including expansion of that scheme in the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I have not made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Blue Plaque scheme outside of London, as part of the levelling up agenda or otherwise. English Heritage Trust, which runs the scheme, offers free advice and guidance to anyone across the country seeking to put up a commemorative plaque.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with English Heritage on the potential merits of expanding the blue plaque scheme outside of London.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I have held no recent discussions with English Heritage Trust on the merits of expanding the Blue Plaque scheme outside of London. The charity freely offers advice and guidance to anyone across the country seeking to put up a commemorative plaque.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of social tariffs on broadband packages for consumers in receipt of benefits.
Answered by Matt Warman
Raising awareness of social tariffs amongst eligible households is a key priority for DCMS.
We are working closely with other departments including the Department for Education, and the Department for Work and Pensions, to share information on the availability of social tariffs with libraries, local authorities, schools and regional job centres. We have also engaged a number of charities to circulate social tariff messaging to help reach those who may qualify for support.
On 27 June, the Secretary of State secured a set of public commitments from the UK’s major mobile and broadband providers to support families through the rise in the cost of living, which includes increasing efforts to promote their social tariff offers. To support the sector, the government is developing eligibility checking software which will allow a more efficient application process. We expect this work to conclude over the summer.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of levels of (a) lottery duty and (b) returns to good causes (i) in 2022-23 and (ii) in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Damian Collins
National Lottery ticket sales return 12% to the Exchequer as lottery duty. The Gambling Commission provides DCMS and the Lottery Distributing Bodies with good cause forecasts on a six-monthly basis to assist them with their grant planning. The forecast is presented as a range, with low, high and central scenarios. The modelling approach is regularly refined to ensure the forecasts remain as accurate as possible. The most recent forecast extends to 2023-24. We do not publish this information given commercial sensitivities.
Actual good cause returns are broadly consistent with these forecasts and are published in the National Lottery Distribution Fund Annual Report and Accounts and can be found on the GOV.UK.
The fourth National Lottery Licence is due to commence on 1 February 2024. 12% in Lottery Duty will continue to be paid on each National Lottery ticket. However, the method for calculating good cause returns will change. The design of the new Licence is such that as National Lottery sales grow, so do the benefits to good causes.