Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to nominate new members to the S4C authority to fill current and impending vacancies.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We intend to make appointments to the board of the S4C Authority later this year. Appointments will be made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, and will be regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DDCMS) review relating to the funding of S4C; for how long the funding commitment will remain frozen; whether any agreement has been reached on the proposed reduction of the DDCMS funding; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that proposed reduction on S4C's financial position.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The department will conduct a review of S4C funding requirements for 2017/18 before the second half of the financial year begins.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the respective responsibilities of the home nations' tourism organisations following restructuring of VisitBritain, in particular regarding the attraction of overseas visitors to each of the four nations.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Tourism is a devolved matter, so it is for each of the home nations to decide on the structure and activities of their national tourist boards. The Government has decided that the British Tourist Authority should continue to trade as VisitBritain and VisitEngland - with VisitBritain focussed on the promotion of Britain overseas, and VisitEngland focussed on the development of English tourism product. VisitEngland will do this through a new £40m Discover England fund. Funding for British tourism will now be ring-fenced and the Government is committed to setting challenging targets for VisitBritain to encourage more visitors to explore beyond London. We are actively engaging with the Scottish and Welsh Governments on these targets and operating principles.Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the current level of direct funding of S4C by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be retained in the new licence period irrespective of the outcome of discussions concerning the renewal of the BBC's Charter.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government are committed to Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C.
The level of all exchequer funding for public bodies will be a matter for the Spending Review, which has yet to begin.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place between ministers or officials of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and officials of the English Football Association regarding the continued full recognition of the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Football Associations within FIFA.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department has not engaged in any discussions with the English Football Association on this subject. Sport is not only a devolved matter, but it is also for the football associations in each of the home nations to maintain their own relationships with FIFA, and in particular with regard to their independent status in world football.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many premises or households in Wales benefit from superfast broadband; and what was the figure 12 months previously.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
According to Ofcom's UK Infrastructure Report published in December 2014, superfast broadband was available to 55% of premises in Wales. There are no comparable figures available for superfast broadband availability in 2013, but according to Ofcom’s 2013 UK Infrastructure Report, 48% of the premises in Wales had access to Next Generation Access networks.