Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to have discussions with senior staff at the British Museum about returning the Mold Gold Cape to Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The British Museum operates independently of His Majesty's Government, and decisions relating to the care and management of its collections are a matter for the Museum’s trustees.
The British Museum, as well as some other national museums, is prevented by law from removing objects from its collections, with a limited number of exceptions, none of which apply in this case. The Government has no plan to change the law.
As the former Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, recounts in his A History of the World in 100 Objects (2010), it is thanks to the work of the British Museum over more than a century that so many fragments of the Mold Gold Cape have been reunited, following their dispersal shortly after it was discovered at Bryn-yr-Ellyllon in 1833.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in promoting the UK as a tourist destination, to ensure that appropriate prominence is given to the attractions of Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government works to promote the whole United Kingdom as a destination for tourists, both domestic and international, working with the devolved governments and administrations across the UK.
VisitBritain promotes the UK abroad by running advertising and promotional campaigns in prospective markets. It generates a return on investment of £21 for every £1 spent; as a result of its activity, international visitors spent an additional £34 million in Wales in 2019–20 alone.
Visit Wales leads on the development of a tourism brand specifically for Wales, while VisitBritain works with Visit Wales to ensure that these brand values are reflected in the broader GREAT Campaign, which highlights a number of the many wonderful destinations and experiences on offer across Wales.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the annual number of overseas visitors to (1) the UK and (2) Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2022, overseas residents made an estimated 31.2 million visits to the UK according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS estimated a total of 686,000 visits to Wales for the same year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much central government funding they provided towards the £120 million cost of the Unboxed festival.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2018 HM Government announced that £120 million would be made available for UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
HM Treasury provided £98.3 million to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport for the programme, and the remainder was provided to the devolved administrations via the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent advice on playing the game of rugby (1) in schools, and (2) between clubs, in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. The Government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health.
The government has released new guidance to enable competitive grassroots team sports to be played – starting with cricket from 11 July. The government has asked individual sports including rugby union and rugby league to consider the steps that would need to be taken, and the conditions that would need to be met, for their activity to resume. Once those plans have been cleared by the government, the sport will be able to return.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the additional finance recently announced for the arts and culture sector in England will be (1) by way of grant, and (2) by way of loans.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 5 July, the government announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinemas.
The package will include a £1.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England, delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to set up a review of the terms of reference of the Gambling Commission and the extent to which that Commission is working to meet those terms.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to reducing gambling-related harm and works closely with the Gambling Commission. We have committed to review the Gambling Act 2005, which is the basis for the regulation of gambling in Great Britain, including the powers and duties of the Commission. We will announce further details in due course. We welcome the National Audit Office’s report on Gambling Regulation: Problem Gambling and Protecting Vulnerable People and are considering its recommendations carefully with the Commission.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate, if any, they have made of the number of young people exposed to gambling adverts over the last five years; and whether they will publish any such estimate.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Gambling Commission carries out an annual survey of 11-16 year olds, which includes questions on advertising. In 2017 80% of young people reported having ever seen gambling advertisements on TV, 70% on social media, 66% on other websites, 62% posters and 50% in newspapers. This data looks at awareness of gambling advertising, which may be different to exposure, since not all people will recall what they heard or saw. The survey data is not available over a five year period.
Advertising is generally measured in terms of numbers of impacts, ie one advert seen by one person. The total number of TV gambling adverts seen by children rose between 2005 and 2012 and has been falling since then. In 2016 children aged 4-15 saw 25% fewer gambling adverts than they did in 2012, and children aged 10-15 saw 28% fewer. On average, a child currently sees around three gambling adverts on TV in a week.
There are strict controls on the content of gambling advertising, which must not be targeted at children or appeal particularly to them. The Government Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures set out a package of initiatives to strengthen existing protections around gambling advertising. This includes new guidance on protecting children and young people from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), due later this year, and significant new research commissioned by GambleAware into the effects of marketing and advertising on children, young people and other vulnerable people. This will look at the targeting of online and social media advertising and the impact of advertising on certain groups.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish a new funding formula for S4C.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
As set out in the Welsh Conservatives manifesto, the government remains committed to carrying out a review of S4C's remit, governance and funding in 2017. We will announce more details in due course
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the approach made by S4C for its remit to be broadened to enable it to extend its activities on digital media platforms.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
As set out in the Welsh Conservatives manifesto, the government remains committed to carrying out a review of S4C's remit, governance and funding in 2017. We will announce more details in due course