Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 estimate of the cost of removing Huawei components from the UK's 4G infrastructure network.
Answered by Matt Warman
As part of its UK Telecoms Supply Chain Review, the Government set out its position on the stringent restrictions that should be applied to the presence of high risk vendors in the UK telecoms networks in January 2020.
The Review focused on 5G and full fibre networks. We have not estimated the specific costs associated with the removal of equipment from high risk vendors in the UK’s 4G mobile networks. Cost estimates produced for the review represented the aggregated view across all mobile technologies (2G,3G,4G,5G).
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 ensure the adequacy of support after October 2020 for independent theatres that cannot operate under social distancing measures.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The performing arts industry is one the UK's greatest success stories and we are doing all we can to support the sector through the pandemic. We are providing unprecedented assistance including a years' business rates holiday, government loans, the recently-extended Self Employed Income Support Scheme, the Job Retention Scheme that hundreds of organisations have received support from.
Additionally, DCMS has worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package announced by Arts Council England, made possible by Government funding. This intervention complements the financial measures already announced to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.
The package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including independent theatres; and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including self-employed theatre practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. To date more than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.
The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art sector extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector.
On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures required to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector, including independent theatres, and we remain committed to opening up venues as soon as it is safe to do so and are working directly with the sector on detailed advice and guidance.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to allow campsites and caravan parks to reopen that have been closed due to the covid-19 outbreak before the end of June 2020.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We will look at opening forms of holiday accommodation in Step 3 of the government’s recovery strategy, currently planned for 4 July at the earliest. This will be subject to the further scientific advice and the latest risk assessment at the time.
My Department has launched the Cultural Renewal Taskforce to help our sectors’ businesses prepare to reopen when it is safe to do so. To inform this Taskforce, we have set up a Visitor Economy Working Group to specifically focus on the practicalities and guidelines for restarting tourism activity during the recovery period. We remain in regular contact with holiday park stakeholders as part of this group and via the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has in place to ensure that the Fair4All Finance scheme is able to operate effectively with existing credit unions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Fair4All Finance launched earlier this year with the ambition to increase access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services for vulnerable customers, with a particular focus on access to affordable credit.
Fair4All Finance is an independent organisation. It has in place a highly experienced Chair, and will appoint a similarly high calibre board. This group, along with the organisation’s executive, will determine the organisation’s strategy, including which partnerships will help it to be most effective in supporting the financial inclusion of low income consumers.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 been told that the Maritime Heritage Foundation has a commercial salvage contract with American treasure hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration which would allow Odyssey and the Maritime Heritage Foundation to sell artefacts from the wreck of HMS Victory 1744, including the personal property of the crew; and whether such sales under such a contract are contrary to Government policy for historic shipwrecks under the Annex to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Answered by Michael Ellis
DCMS is aware that a contract exists between the Marine Heritage Foundation (MHF) and Odyssey Marine Exploration and that MHF has also confirmed that there is no contractual arrangement with OME concerning any artefacts which may be recovered from the wreck of HMS Victory, which were not passed to MHF pursuant to a Deed of Gift dated 12 January 2012 between the Ministry of Defence and MHF. If any such artefacts are found, they will be notified to the Receiver of Wrecks to be dealt with according to law. MHF have also confirmed that the contract with OME does not require at any time in the future the de-accession or sale by MHF of artefacts from the wreck which, with their associated archive, will remain together as a single assemblage wherever possible.
The UK Government has adopted the Key Management Principles in the Annex to the UNESCO Convention as best practice in the management of underwater archaeological and historic sites and this includes provisions regarding the incompatibility of commercial exploitation of cultural heritage for trade or speculation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which expert bodies and experts in historic artillery were consulted by his Department during the preparation of the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744 which gifted the wreck to the Maritime Heritage Foundation in order to obtain an appropriate commercial value for the battery of bronze cannon which were carried aboard that vessel and were thus Crown property and Crown assets; and what financial value those experts ascribed to those cannon.
Answered by Michael Ellis
No expert bodies or experts in historic artillery were consulted by my department on the commercial value of the bronze cannon during the preparation of the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Section 3.3 of the Culture White Paper, published in March 2016, if she will provide a timetable on the decision to ratify the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Government remains committed to reviewing the case for UK ratification of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. We are considering the plans and timescales for a review and will make an announcement in due course.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any salvage retrieved from SS Mantola has to comply with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The United Kingdom is not a signatory to the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, but has endorsed as good practice the rules set out in its Annex concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage. Now that the wreck of the SS Mantola is over 100 years old, having been sunk in Feb 1917, any salvage activities sanctioned or contracted in advance by HMG would take into account the requirements of the Convention.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's communications budget has been for each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Answered by Helen Grant
The department’s budgets for Publicity and Communications – excluding pay costs are set out below:
2010/11 - £1,099k
2011/12 - £966k
2012/13 - £674k
2013/14 - £283k
2014/15 - £403k
Budgets in 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 reflect the costs associated with the preparation for, and delivery of, the hugely successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
The budget for 2014/15 has been increased to provide for the work associated with the planned events at home and abroad to commemorate the centenary of the First World War
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's advertising budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Answered by Helen Grant
The Department does not typically hold a budget specifically for advertising. Advertising costs are met from a variety of other budgets depending upon their nature and are not typically separately distinguishable. However in 2014-15 we have budgeted up to £10.2m for broadband advertising, promoting the superfast and the voucher campaigns.