Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of restrictions on advertisements for products high in fat, salt or sugar on smaller UK media channels.
Answered by Margot James
There is a clear need to address childhood obesity on health and social justice grounds and this government is committed to tackling the issue and supporting people in making healthy choices.
As part of this ongoing process, in August 2017 we announced a £5 million investment in a policy research unit on childhood obesity to provide a robust evidence, evaluation and research capability including looking at the impact of marketing on childhood obesity. The unit is undertaking a large programme of work and we will consider the results in due course.
In 2016 we published a world-leading plan to tackle childhood obesity based on the best evidence. We have made significant progress and now want to build on those strong foundations. We will be publishing a second chapter of the Childhood Obesity Plan in due course.
A review of advertising restrictions for products and brands high in fat, salt or sugar, was published by Ofcom in 2010 and included a detailed assessment of effects on commercial public service broadcasters and commercial channels.
The UK currently places strong restrictions on high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products. Strict new rules came into effect in July 2017 banning the advertising of HFSS food or drink products in children’s media. These restrictions apply across all non-broadcast media including in print, cinema, online and in social media and are designed to compliment similar measures already in place for broadcast media.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of restrictions on advertisements for products high in fat, salt or sugar on public service broadcasters.
Answered by Margot James
There is a clear need to address childhood obesity on health and social justice grounds and this government is committed to tackling the issue and supporting people in making healthy choices.
As part of this ongoing process, in August 2017 we announced a £5 million investment in a policy research unit on childhood obesity to provide a robust evidence, evaluation and research capability including looking at the impact of marketing on childhood obesity. The unit is undertaking a large programme of work and we will consider the results in due course.
In 2016 we published a world-leading plan to tackle childhood obesity based on the best evidence. We have made significant progress and now want to build on those strong foundations. We will be publishing a second chapter of the Childhood Obesity Plan in due course.
A review of advertising restrictions for products and brands high in fat, salt or sugar, was published by Ofcom in 2010 and included a detailed assessment of effects on commercial public service broadcasters and commercial channels.
The UK currently places strong restrictions on high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products. Strict new rules came into effect in July 2017 banning the advertising of HFSS food or drink products in children’s media. These restrictions apply across all non-broadcast media including in print, cinema, online and in social media and are designed to compliment similar measures already in place for broadcast media.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to announce his decision on the maximum prize cap on society lotteries.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
We are carefully considering the issues around society lotteries raised by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, including the maximum prize cap.
We will continue to take advice from the Gambling Commission as we consider policy options. We hope to conclude considerations and provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's updated Departmental Plan, published on 29 January 2018, whether he intends to publish a consultation on reform of Society Lottery regulation.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
We are carefully considering the issues around society lotteries raised by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. We will continue to take advice from the Gambling Commission as we consider policy options and next steps. We hope to conclude considerations and provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of Sport England’s Wellness Hub initiative; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The setting and environment in which sport and physical activity takes place has a big impact on the likelihood of people taking part, and continuing to take part, in the activity. As set out in government's Sporting Future strategy, government is committed to investing in facilities that are designed and built around customer need and that reflect people's preferences for how they want to engage with sport and physical activity. The strategy is clear that Sport England investment in major sports and physical activity facility projects should include a presumption in favour of co-locating sports and physical activity facilities with other types of community facilities to make it easier for people to get active.
Government has received representations on the Wellness Hub proposal from Sport England and ukactive and is working with both organisations to understand the implications of the proposal and how best to take this forward.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how often the Inter-Ministerial Group on Healthy Living plans to meet; and whether his Department plans to publish the minutes of those meetings.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sporting Future: A Strategy for an Active Nation, published in December 2015, made the commitment to a more joined-up approach to delivery and funding for sport and physical activity, putting in place the structures needed to make this happen including a cross government ministerial group which will meet regularly to drive implementation. Sporting Future - Second Annual Report published last month confirmed that government is establishing an Inter-Ministerial Group on Healthy Living, to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Health and Social Care. The Group will be meeting for the first time in early 2018.
Information relating to the proceedings of Inter-Ministerial Groups, including minutes of their proceedings, is not disclosed to encourage full and frank dialogue in such meetings.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 has taken to ensure that funding for superfast broadband solutions have public support.
Answered by Margot James
Publicly-funded superfast broadband projects under the Superfast Broadband Programme are subject to a competitive procurement process which is managed by the lead local authority. The successful supplier is selected by the local authority by determining which one has provided the most economically advantageous tender, using evaluation criteria which include cost and service quality parameters. The quality parameters can include consideration of the range of retail internet service providers who will offer retail services over the network. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) in DCMS provides assurance that the selected supplier’s solution meets EU state aid requirements and that there is no over-compensation of the supplier.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
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 arts sector to become self-funding and financially sustainable.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Department has promoted a number of initiatives alongside our Arm’s Length Body, Arts Council England (ACE) to support the arts sector to become more self-funding and financially sustainable. For example, the recent Catalyst Fund supported organisations with a limited track record in fundraising to enable them to attract more private giving, while ACE's Building Resilience programme helped arts and culture organisations build their financial and business resilience.
'Boosting Resilience: Survival Skills for the New Normal' is currently one of four new flagship projects supported by ACE, which aims to enable senior staff from England-based arts and cultural organisations, music education hubs, museums and library services to develop new approaches to making the most of creative assets and intellectual property. In addition, the Arts Impact Fund encourages organisations to consider alternatives to grants for business development. The fund provides repayable finance to arts organisations with ambitions to grow, achieve great artistic quality and have a further positive impact on society.