Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support the YMCA and other youth projects in North Staffordshire.
Answered by John Whittingdale
DCMS is engaging regularly with key youth organisations and colleagues in other government departments to understand the impact of Covid-19 on the provision of vital services for young people and options for addressing this.
Government has funded up to £7 million through the Youth Accelerator Fund, expanding existing successful projects delivering positive activities for young people, and to address urgent needs in the youth sector.
UK Youth has distributed over £1 million in small grants to support grassroots organisations to deliver extra sessions in youth clubs and increase positive activities for young people across the country. 5 grants have been awarded to organisations in Staffordshire totalling over £18,000.
This Government is also distributing £310 million via the National Lottery Community Fund to support the organisations in England most impacted by Covid-19. This is part of the wider Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise package to include organisations working with vulnerable people.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle loneliness in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) Talke.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government’s first annual report on tackling loneliness was published in January 2020. It highlighted the progress made so far across the country, including in the West Midlands.
The report highlighted the good work of the 126 projects supported through the £11.5m Building Connections Fund to bring people and communities together. 14 grants, totalling £1.2million, have been made to projects in the West Midlands. This includes grants made to Staffordshire Housing Association Limited to provide long-term social support to older people and to Saltbox to support older people in Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding areas.
In addition, the Government has recently announced a plan to tackle feelings of loneliness and social isolation during the coronavirus outbreak and period of social distancing. The plan includes funding for loneliness organisations, a new #Let’sTalkLoneliness public campaign and a new ‘Tackling Loneliness Network’ convened by Government of high profile charities, businesses and public figures to help connect groups at risk of isolation.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with charities in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove on applying for the Tampon Tax Fund.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport is not aware of any discussions that have been had with charities in a) Stoke-on-Trent and b) Kidsgrove about applying to the 2020/21 round of the Tampon Tax Fund.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the effective delivery of broadband and telecommunications in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government’s contingency planning with industry and considerable investment in superfast broadband has ensured that the UK’s broadband and mobile networks have stood up well to the increase in home working as a result of COVID-19
We are also ambitious to see further improvements in broadband and mobile coverage, including nationwide coverage of gigabit capable broadband, and are introducing a range of measures to deliver this ambition. The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill will make it easier for operators to deploy broadband in blocks of flats. In addition, in March, we announced that we would be legislating to mandate gigabit connectivity in new build homes, and that we will be investing £5 billion in bringing gigabit broadband to the hardest to reach areas of the UK.
The Government also announced on 9 March that it had agreed a £1 billion deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network. This will see operators collectively increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of 2025, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments
In Stoke-on-Trent specifically, the Government has also provided £9.2 million to the City of Stoke-on-Trent for a Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) Wave 3 project. In partnership with VXFIBER, this project will develop a publicly owned and operated, open access and gigabit-capable, 60 mile long network with citywide coverage by spring 2021.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received on a potential Staffordshire 5G connected region growth deal.
Answered by Matt Warman
My department is in contact with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and its Cities and Local Growth Unit with regard to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire’s Local Industrial Strategy. The Government is committed to delivering world-class digital infrastructure across the country, including 5G and encourages all Local Enterprise Partnerships to consider opportunities for digital infrastructure deployment with their plans.
Government has allocated up to £200m to build the business for 5G through its 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme. This has accelerated 5G deployment with over 80 UK towns and cities now receiving 5G coverage - including Stoke-on-Trent.
The Government recently announced further funding via the Programme, a £30 million competition - 5G Create. This is an open competition aiming to attract bids from a variety of industries where the UK has a competitive advantage, encouraging dynamic business models and opening up new opportunities and markets. This includes our creative industries such as film, TV and video games, but also our rich variety of technology businesses in diverse sectors such as energy, water, health and social care, logistics and more.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to expand the availability of gigabit-capable broadband throughout (a) Staffordshire and (b) Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit capable connectivity as soon as possible. Much progress has already been made, with full fibre coverage doubling in the past year to reach 10% of UK premises, according to the latest Ofcom figures.
This Government will continue to take action to remove barriers to network rollout and to ensure that those in the hardest to reach areas are not left behind. We have introduced legislation to make it easier for operators to deploy broadband in blocks of flats, will be legislating to mandate gigabit connectivity in new builds and will invest £5 billion of funding to support gigabit rollout in hard to reach areas.
Specifically in Staffordshire, the Government has already invested £9.6 million into better broadband. Superfast coverage is 98.9% across the area, compared to the UK average of 96%. The Government has also provided £9.2 million to the City of Stoke-on-Trent for a Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) Wave 3 project. In partnership with VXFIBER, this project will develop a publicly owned and operated, open access and gigabit-capable, 60 mile long network with citywide coverage by spring 2021.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) Historic England and (b) local authorities to preserve Chatterley Whitfield Colliery.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is one of the UK’s most important industrial heritage sites, and is deserving of a positive regeneration solution to protect it for future generations. The previous Heritage Minister recently visited the Chatterley Whitfield Colliery alongside representatives from Historic England and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to discuss the issues facing the site, and to seek to identify potential next steps and opportunities for its future.
The scale of the challenge presented by a site of this size and complexity is vast, but Government stands ready to further support Historic England and Stoke-on-Trent City Council in their ongoing conversations to find a long-term solution that will provide a sustainable future for Chatterley Whitfield.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to allocate funding from the public purse to the refurbishment of former sports centres in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government's Sporting Future strategy emphasises the important role that facilities play in encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to get more active.
Through Sport England, Government is investing over £120m into grassroots facilities across England between 2017-2021 to make sure that everyone is able to access high quality sports facilities, regardless of where they live.
So far, during their current investment period (2017-2021), Sport England has awarded over £12.5k to improve or refurbish sports facilities in Stoke on Trent North.
Sport England welcome applications from projects looking to take over an underused sports facility or one under threat of closure. More information is available on Sport England’s website: https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/our-funds/community-asset-fund