Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking through the UK Cyber Council to improve online banking security.
Answered by Matt Warman
DCMS has funded the creation of the new, independent UK Cyber Security Council to establish professional standards and support efforts to address skills shortages in cyber security. We anticipate that its work will reach across the whole UK labour market, including those focused on online banking security, in order to provide the necessary quality assurance and structure to those entering and developing a career in this area.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has made to HM Treasury on VAT on audiobooks; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the value of publishing as one of the UK's most successful industries. In addition to £330Bn of guarantees announced by the Chancellor which have included grants, loans, and the Job Retention Scheme, zero rate of VAT on e-publications was brought forward from December. The extension of the zero rate of VAT has been introduced to provide consistency in approach between certain physical and digital publications. Audiobooks, however, are already taxed consistently at the standard rate in both physical and digital format. The government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the average length of time was for Ministers of his Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members in each month in the last two years.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, DCMS has a target of responding within 20 working days where a response is required. As you will understand, we are currently dealing with unprecedented volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. DCMS ensures that urgent cases raised by hon. Members are prioritised, and is taking steps to provide substantive responses in as short a time as possible.
All correspondence received from hon. Members is being reviewed and will be responded to as soon as possible.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of broadband for smart ticket machines on buses in the rural areas of (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Matt Warman
Department for Transport statistics show that in March 2019, 92% of buses in England outside London were enabled for smart ticketing and 72% offered contactless payment. The Department for Transport offers bus operators in England outside London an additional incentive to implement smart ticketing through the Bus Service Operators Grant. Policy on bus services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
The Government announced in-principle support in October 2019 for the Mobile Network Operators’ (MNOs) Shared Rural Network (SRN) proposal. The proposal would share investment costs between the mobile network operators and government and increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the United Kingdom to 95% by 2025, with the biggest improvements seen in the devolved nations. It will be underpinned by a legally binding coverage commitment from each operator.
The Government's in-principle support is subject to detailed negotiations. While this is not yet a done deal, the Prime Minister has made improvements to rural mobile coverage part of his first 100 days pledge. I will continue to work with the sector to make that happen.
Smart ticketing is dependent on good mobile coverage, so improvements in geographic coverage, including on major roads will facilitate the option for bus companies to provide smart ticket machines on buses in the rural areas of each nation of the UK, if they choose to do so.
This Government is committed to improving digital connectivity overall. It has committed to investing £5bn to improve broadband connections in the hardest to reach areas of the UK.