Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps her Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including DCMS, and a wide range of other interested parties.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of recent trends in (a) the level of and (b) regional variations in the level of domestic tourism.
Answered by David Evennett
The number of overnight trips in England in 2015 was up 11% on 2014, with associated spend reaching a new record of £19.6bn. In 2015, five English regions (East Midlands, West Midlands, South West, Yorkshire and the Humber and London) saw double digit growth in domestic overnight trips on the previous year.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value to the economy of the technology sector.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Digital is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative sectors. It currently supports 1.4 million jobs in the UK and according to the DCMS Digital Sector Economic Estimates, published in January 2016, contributed £118.3 billion to the UK economy in 2014 - up 7.2% on the previous year - accounting for 7.3% of the UK economy. Total UK digital exports came to £43 billion in 2013, equalling 8.2 per cent of all UK exports (goods and services).
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support culture and the arts.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government is committed to supporting the arts, to provide culture for all, ensuring the economic, social and intrinsic benefits are available to everyone. During the life of this Parliament, almost £3bn will be provided to Arts Council England by the Government in grant-in aid and National Lottery money. The Government recently launched a Theatre Tax Relief which will support strong growth in the theatre sector right across the country and a National Plan for Music Education with the Department of Education which is investing £246 million into music education.Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to review the rules relating to non-payment of the TV licence fee.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The government supported amendments in the Deregulation Bill and has committed to a thorough, independent review of how the licence fee is enforced. The Secretary of State announced last month that the Review will begin shortly and will conclude early in the next parliament.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for the staffing of libraries.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities and it is for each local authority to determine at a local level how much they spend on libraries and how to manage and deliver the service, including decisions about expenditure on staffing.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make representation to Lincolnshire County Council on its decision to invite volunteers to run some local libraries in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a statutory duty under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to superintend and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in England. The Department is aware of the proposed changes to library service provision in Lincolnshire having received a number of representations from local residents. A legal challenge to the decision taken by Lincolnshire County Council to reconfigure its library services is to be considered by the High Court on 8/9 July and this Department will consider matters further in light of the outcome of the Judicial Review.