Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the gender imbalance in people prosecuted for TV licence evasion identified by the TV Licence Fee Enforcement Review conducted by David Perry QC.
Answered by John Whittingdale
TV Licensing completed a review of the gender disparity in TV licence evasion prosecutions and published a Gender Disparity Report in 2017. The report explored some of the reasons why a gender imbalance exists but noted that there is no evidence of any discriminatory enforcement practices on the part of TV Licensing.
The government also noted its concern about the ongoing gender disparity of prosecutions for TV licence evasion in the consultation on decriminalisation of TV licence evasion launched in 2020.
The government is keeping the issue of decriminalisation under active consideration as part of the wider roadmap of reform of the BBC.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2021 to Question 156495 on Arts: EU Countries, what progress the Government has made on (a) negotiating a bespoke Visa Waiver Agreement with the EU for the creative sector, (b) reaching bilateral agreements with EU Member States regarding the introduction of cultural exemptions for work permits and (c) mitigating the impact of new road haulage and cross-trade rules on pan-European cultural tours.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This government recognises the importance of our world leading creative and cultural industries. That is why the UK took an ambitious approach during negotiations that would have ensured that touring musicians, performers and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU. Regrettably, our proposals were rejected by the EU, but our door remains open if the EU wants to reconsider its position.
A bespoke visa waiver agreement with the EU would require the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to be renegotiated. The TCA is the basis of our trading relations with the EU, and this is not going to be renegotiated.
The Commission would be likely to argue that any EU-wide visa waiver agreement can only be part of a wider package with a binding non-discrimination clause and a reciprocal visa waiver agreement covering all current and future Member States. This was what the Commission proposed in the negotiations and would be incompatible with our manifesto commitment to retain control of our borders.
We have spoken to every Member States about the importance of touring, and we have established that at least 18 out of 27 Member States, including France and Germany, allow some visa and permit free touring. Furthermore, we are now working closely with individual Member States to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach, in line with the UK’s own rules which allow creative professionals to tour easily here.
We are aware that the new provisions in the TCA around haulage will require the sector to adapt to new requirements and ways of working with the EU now we are no longer a Member State. The Department for Transport published a call for evidence on 30 June to seek views and evidence on two possible options that could help support these sectors adapt to the new requirements.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of negotiating a reciprocal touring artist visa waiver programme with the EU to ensure that artists, musicians and performers can tour freely.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Government recognises the importance of touring for UK musicians and other creative professionals. We acknowledge that there will be some additional processes for those in creative industries working across the EU now that the transition period has come to an end. However, our agreement with the EU contains Transparency and Procedural Facilitation measures that will help ensure visa processes are as prompt and smooth as possible.
During our negotiations with the EU, the UK proposed measures, reflecting the views of the music industry itself, that would have allowed musicians to travel and perform in the UK and the EU more easily, without needing work-permits. Specifically, we proposed to capture the work done by musicians, artists and entertainers, and their accompanying staff through the list of permitted activities for short-term business visitors.
In practice this would have delivered an outcome that is closer to the UK’s approach to incoming musicians, artists and entertainers from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, who can come to perform in the UK without requiring a visa. Unfortunately, these proposals were repeatedly rejected by the EU.
The EU did not propose and wouldn’t accept a tailored deal for musicians, artists and their support staff to tour across the EU and UK.
Going forward, we will continue our close dialogue with the creative and cultural sectors to ensure that they have the support they need to thrive.The Government recognises the importance of touring for UK musicians and other creative professionals, and has engaged extensively with the creative industries and arts sector since the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to ensure they are aware of the new requirements.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses in East Renfrewshire constituency have enrolled on the Cyber Essentials Scheme.
Answered by Matt Warman
From 2016 until the end of April 2020, seven Cyber Essentials certificates have been awarded to organisations in the East Renfrewshire constituency. This is an estimate, as there is incomplete location data for some historical certificate entries.
A total of 44,443 certificates have been awarded to organisations across the UK.
A search function to find organisations with Cyber Essentials certificates is available at www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/search.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 improve awareness of the Suspicious Email Reporting Service among the public and businesses in East Renfrewshire constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) was launched on 21 April as part of the government’s Cyber Aware campaign. This is a UK-wide campaign promoted through paid activity, press and stakeholder engagement.
The campaign materials were shared with Scottish Government and other Scottish public sector organisations, including Education Scotland, Scottish Business Resilience Centre and Trading Standards Scotland. We have also worked closely with Police Scotland. All have played an essential role in helping to amplify the SERS in local communities.
The SERS was promoted on social media and through paid search, both of which were targeted at audiences in Scotland. Results show specific engagement within East Renfrewshire.
We plan to run the campaign for the remainder of this financial year with sustained engagement and paid activity in Scotland.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 improve awareness of the Cyber Essentials scheme among the public and businesses in East Renfrewshire constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
As part of the National Cyber Security Strategy, the Government is helping organisations across the economy and society improve their digital security. We are promoting the uptake of the Cyber Essentials (CE) scheme, which is targeted at businesses and organisations, in a number of ways, including through the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) extensive engagements with industry sectors and via police regional organised crime units, which engage with businesses locally.
The Government’s Cyber Aware campaign helps the public and small businesses take up secure online behaviours, including signposting businesses towards Cyber Essentials and other guidance and support.
Up to the end of April 2020, 44,443 Cyber Essentials certificates have now been awarded to organisations, including 5,534 since the start of 2020.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect on UK firms engaged in the digital economy if the UK were to be outwith the EU Electronic Communications Framework.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The department is in consultation with all stakeholders its to understand how leaving the EU will impact them, including the UK telecoms industry. We want our new partnership with the EU to allow for tariff free trade in goods and to minimise the regulatory and market access barriers for both goods and services.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect on UK firms engaged in the digital economy of proposed changes to the EU Electronic Communications Framework.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has carefully considered the impact assessments that accompanied the European Commission’s proposals for recast of, and revisions to, the EU Electronic Communications Code and we have challenged these where we felt more information was needed.
The Government ran an industry “call for views” in October and November 2016, following publication of the proposals in September 2016, which included seeking “views and any supporting evidence on the costs and benefits of these proposals”.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect on UK firms engaged in the digital economy of the UK leaving the European Single Market.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is focused on securing the best deal for Britain. As we set out in the UK Digital Strategy, we continue to engage with businesses and key stakeholders to support the UK's digital economy. We will listen to their concerns, aim to limit uncertainty in the transition and ensure our new relationship with the EU works for business and consumers.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect on UK firms engaged in the digital economy of proposed changes to the VAT regime for the EU Digital Single Market.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is focused on securing the best deal for Britain. As we set out in the UK Digital Strategy, we continue to engage with businesses and key stakeholders to support the UK's digital economy. We will listen to their concerns, aim to limit uncertainty in the transition and ensure our new relationship with the EU works for business and consumers.