Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that online fundraising platforms advertise prominently on their webstes, information on deductions from donations for fees charged.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Online fundraising platforms raise significant funds for charitable causes. Therefore high standards of transparency are important to allow donors to make informed decisions.
Part 2 of the Charities Act 1992 already requires all professional fundraisers, including online fundraising platforms, to inform potential donors of fees and charges.
Furthermore, the Fundraising Regulator has updated the Code of Fundraising Practice to include requirements for these platforms, including new transparency requirements about charges.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have visited the Irish border in the last 12 months; when those visits took place; and how long they spent at the border in each of those visits.
Answered by Margot James
a) No such trips have taken place. Details of Ministers’ overseas travel are published quarterly and are available on GOV.UK.
b) Details of business expenses incurred by senior officials include domestic and international travel. This information is also published quarterly and is available on GOV.UK.
The information requested for all officials in my Department is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what Guidance he has issued to Government (a) departments and (b) agencies on the use of electronic signatures by people completing Government documents online.
Answered by Margot James
The use of electronic signatures, seals and other trust services is addressed by two set of regulations - eIDAS (electronic identity and trust services), a 2014 European regulation, and the EITSET (Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions) Regulations 2016. The government guidance on eSignatures is published on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electronic-signatures).
This guidance was last revised in August 2016 and is due to be revised within the next six months.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether a mechanism is in place to allow a football club that has introduced a safe standing area to retain that area if it is promoted to the top two tiers of English football.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The government’s all-seater stadium policy precludes the use of standing accommodation at clubs in the top two tiers of English football.
Spectator safety at sports grounds remains the priority for Government. The Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing and advising on safety at sports grounds.
The government will continue to learn from the latest data, research, and advances in technology to improve the safety of spectators, but we have yet to see robust evidence of a safer approach to protecting spectators at football matches than the existing all-seater arrangements.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons he rejected the application by West Bromwich Albion Football Club to pilot a safe-standing scheme at The Hawthorns in the 2018-19 season; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Spectator safety at sports grounds remains the priority for Government.
The Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing and advising on safety at sports grounds.
The Government will continue to learn from the latest data, research, and advances in technology to improve the safety of spectators, but we have yet to see robust evidence of a safer approach to protecting spectators at football matches than the existing all-seater arrangements.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of Disney's takeover of 21st Century Fox for the Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into the anticipated acquisition of Sky Plc by 21st Century Fox; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
On 14 December, Disney and the 21st Century Fox announced details of an agreement for the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney. This includes its interests in two major UK Media companies Sky PLC and Endemol/Shine. 21st Century Fox currently remains as the bidder for Sky PLC and Disney and 21st Century Fox confirmed in their joint announcement that they want the 21st Century Fox bid for Sky - announced in December 2016 – to continue. The current Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry into the Fox/Sky merger will therefore continue.
The CMA are of course fully aware of the Disney bid and it is for them to consider how to account for this development in their inquiry. The CMA are due to publish their interim findings on the merger in mid-January and provide their final report by 6 March. I will then consider all the relevant information and make the final decision on the merger.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she next plans to review the list of sporting events of national interest available to all television viewers.
Answered by Matt Hancock
We currently have no plans to review the list of sporting events of national interest.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will postpone any decision on the proposed takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox until after the publication of any report on the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry.
Answered by Matt Hancock
As set out in previous statements to the House, the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial responsibilities in relation to the proposed acquisition of Sky by 21st Century Fox will be discharged thoroughly, robustly and transparently. Such decisions must also be taken as promptly as is reasonably practicable.
On 29 June the Secretary of State announced that she is minded-to refer the merger to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on media plurality grounds. In coming to a final decision, consideration will be given to the available evidence before her including any further representations received following the call for evidence which closed on 14 July.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve broadband connectivity in Oxford West and Abingdon constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Broadband is a modern necessity and the Department is working hard to ensure that everyone in Britain has the connection they need to be involved in our digital society. The Government has invested £1.7 billion of public money to support vital improvements in broadband services across the UK. This funding has created more than four million new superfast connections to date. Over 93% of UK premises are now able to access superfast speeds and we are on track to reach our target of 95% by the end of the year.
The constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon falls within the area covered by Better Broadband for Oxfordshire (http://www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk/cms/). The government has invested over £8 million in the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire project, with local funds contributing over £13 million further. Over 4,600 premises in the constituency have received superfast broadband coverage as a result of this project. Superfast coverage in the constituency sits at over 98.8% according to third party monitoring by ThinkBroadband http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/oxford-west-and-abingdon,E14000874.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with the BBC before the introduction of compulsory registration for BBC iPlayer services.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Requiring users to register for BBC iPlayer services was a decision taken by the BBC. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from government, and the government has had no formal engagement with the BBC on this issue.