Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 31 of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, published in May 2016, if he will publish the minutes of the roundtable events held with the creative sector as part of the BBC Charter review process.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will not be publishing minutes of the events held with the creative sector as part of the BBC Charter review process. A list of the attendees of these meetings are however available in Annex 2 of the White Paper.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to his Department was of commissioning and publishing the report, entitled BBC television, radio and online services: An assessment of market impact and distinctiveness, published in March 2016.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The costs of this piece of independent research was £98,900 excluding VAT.Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to his Department was of commissioning and publishing the report, entitled Research to explore public views about the BBC, published in May 2016.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The cost for this piece of independent research was £108,085 excluding VAT.Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of staffing levels for Ofcom in each year up to 2028.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Ofcom decides resource allocation and staffing levels based on the activities identified in its annual planning process. For 2014/15 the average resource cost was £63.8m and average number of staff was 787. The 2015/16 figures will be published and laid before Parliament in July.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the draft BBC Charter.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The government is in the process of drafting the Royal Charter and we expect to publish a draft version in the coming months.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses unable to access broadband speeds of (i) 10 Mbit/s and (ii) two Mbit/s in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report - based on the state of the market in May 2015 - 8% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 10Mbp/s and 2% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 2Mbp/s. These figures are likely to have reduced due to continued commercial and BDUK broadband deployment across the UK - superfast broadband access has increased from 45% in 2010 to 90%, and by the end of next year, 95% of homes and businesses will have access to superfast broadband. In addition, all premises with speeds below 2Mbp/s now have access to speeds greater than this through the Government’s Basic Broadband Scheme, and the Prime Minister has announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, with a minimum speed of 10Mbps, to help ensure no-one is left behind.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's planned expenditure on resources is for Ofcom in each year up to 2028.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government and Department set Ofcom’s overall spending cap as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Where significant changes are made to Ofcom’s remit or activities, Government will review the spending cap to ensure Ofcom is adequately resourced.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the future availability of protected sporting events on free-to-air television; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Ofcom Code on Listed Events ensures that key sporting events are made available for free-to-air channels. Our sport strategy, Sporting Future: A new strategy for an active nation, published December 2015, made clear that the Government does not propose to review this list.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government will bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole by the Summer.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, published in May 2016, if he will provide details of how the more flexible payment plans for payment of television licence fees will help people on lower incomes.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The government intends to update legislation to allow clearer and more flexible payment schemes, especially for those facing difficulty in paying the licence fee. This will enable the BBC to trial alternative payment plans, including removing the requirement for individuals to pay the cost of a 12-month licence over six months. This would help those who struggle to make higher initial payments.