Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to provide financial support to (a) adult and (b) youth brass bands in (i) Telford and Wrekin borough and (ii) Shropshire in the next five years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Arts Council England, which is funded by taxpayers and National Lottery players, is working with Brass Bands England, the sector support organisation for brass bands. In particular, it is providing support to brass bands across the country to develop their membership and audiences.
While there are no specific plans for the funding of brass bands in Telford and Wrekin borough or Shropshire at present, brass bands from anywhere in the country are eligible to apply for Arts Council England’s National Lottery project grants. Since April 2022, the Arts Council has provided over £500,000 of funding for 21 applications from brass bands. It also provides annual funding to the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and the organisation Making Music, both of which support youth and amateur adult brass bands.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take further steps to promote STEM subjects through (a) permanent and (b) temporary exhibitions at (i) the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands and (ii) other museums.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Royal Air Force Museum is sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. It welcomes around 900,000 visitors a year to its sites in London and the West Midlands, inspiring everyone with the Royal Air Force story through its unique national collection. Around 64,000 of its visitors are young people participating in formal learning sessions, including STEM subjects, history, and literacy.
In December 2022 the Royal Air Force Museum was awarded investment from The National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund for its ‘Inspiring Everyone: Royal Air Force Museum Midlands Development Programme’. This will include a new Learning Centre linked to an innovative exhibition focusing on the critical national role played by the Royal Air Force over the past four decades in particular.
More widely, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport supports museum programming, including education, through Arts Council England. Arts Council England has awarded National Portfolio Organisation status to 82 museums and museum sector organisations in its forthcoming 2023–26 investment round. Museums are also eligible for National Lottery Project grants.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 protect news gathering and output following the review into BBC local radio services in Shropshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the important role that BBC Radio Shropshire plays in terms of the provision of local news and information, and of community engagement in the local area. We are disappointed that the BBC is planning to reduce parts of its local radio output. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government as set out in its Royal Charter, and decisions on service delivery are a matter for the BBC. However, I have been clear with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director General that the BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local radio services, with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK. The Government also expects Ofcom, as regulator of the BBC, to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties. The Secretary of State has already asked Ofcom about how they are considering this issue, and I understand that Ofcom is continuing to discuss these proposals with the BBC.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has for the future (a) use and (b) expansion of Lilleshall Hall National Sports Centre; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Lilleshall National Sports Centre provides opportunities for elite and talent pathway athletes as part of National Governing Body (NGB) programmes. The centre is part of the national Elite Training Centre network of facilities which also provide support through the English Institute of Sport (EIS) athlete rehabilitation programmes. These activities are provided alongside opportunities for local people and community organisations/clubs to take part in a range of activities.
UK Sport, Sport England, EIS and stakeholders including British Gymnastics, GB Archery and the Royal British Legion Battleback programme collaborate and combine to provide a range of activities on site.
An element of commercial activity such as conferences take place at Lilleshall and this helps to underpin the financial viability of the site and enables the provision of sporting activity. There are no plans for this to change.
The centre has benefitted from investment over recent years, including state of the art gymnastics facilities, renovation of the Lilleshall Main House listed building, new hockey pitches and office accommodation for NGB’s. Future plans for investment include improved archery facilities and the expansion of the Royal British Legion Battleback programme which include the hosting of the Invictus Games programme.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 support Shropshire SMEs to roll out broadband into harder to reach rural areas and where major suppliers refuse to operate.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We want all telecoms providers to be able to be a part of Project Gigabit, from small, specialist suppliers reaching hard-to-reach communities to larger firms able to tackle large areas at pace.
The Project Gigabit procurement process for the Shropshire area will commence shortly. Market engagement in advance of the procurement has confirmed strong interest from a number of suppliers including SMEs and the procurement approach will be designed to utilise this as effectively as possible.
Alongside Project Gigabit procurements, the £210m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme is also a key tool in incentivising and encouraging suppliers to connect some of the hardest to reach premises in the UK. To date, over 220 premises in Shropshire have claimed and received payment for a voucher through the scheme, with a further 590 premises awaiting completion, for a combined value of over £2.5m. Shropshire Council has also invested £2m into a local top-up scheme that further increases the level of funding available for voucher projects.
As a direct result of voucher funding, over 140 telecoms providers are currently actively building in challenging rural areas. Their ambitions have also grown, with the average size of projects increasing four-fold since 2019, meaning they are covering larger, contiguous areas and increasingly including the very hardest-to-reach premises.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to establish a cultural export office.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. We support our world leading creative industries across the UK through a range of export support programmes, including the successful Music Export Growth Scheme and International Showcase Fund.
Creative SMEs in England can also access the Internationalisation Fund which provides matching grants for export support including attendance at trade shows. The Department of International Trade is setting up new trade and investment hubs in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the North-East to boost trade and investment and level up the country. The offices will include teams of export and investment specialists who can provide businesses with expert support and advice.
The Department for International Trade has also set up a new Export Support Service where UK businesses can get answers to practical questions about exporting to Europe by accessing cross-government information and support all in one place.
All of this support is featured in the new Creative Industries Export Campaign. This was launched on 20 September, and will encourage both new exporters and companies wanting to look at new export markets to take advantage of the new opportunities available to the UK as an independent trading nation.
DCMS continue to work closely with the Department of International Trade, the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board (CITIB) and sector representatives to consider what more can be done to help the creative and cultural industries adapt to new arrangements in the EU and take advantage of the opportunities that the UK’s new global position offers.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to reform the governance of oversight and due diligence of the Gambling Commission in response to the collapse of Football Index.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Secretary of State has appointed Malcolm Sheehan QC to lead the independent review of the Football Index gambling product. He will provide an independent expert account of the actions taken by the Gambling Commission and other relevant regulatory bodies, and consider the lessons to be learnt for the future. As outlined in my Written Ministerial Statement of 7 June, the independent review is expected to provide a report for publication in the summer. The statement can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-06-07/hcws63 and the scope and terms of reference for the review are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that Shropshire plays a role in supporting the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Birmingham 2022 will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the West Midlands and it provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase the very best of the region to the rest of the world. These Games will be about far more than 11 days of sport and will create significant opportunities including job creation, community and sports facilities, an exciting cultural programme and a timely boost to businesses and tourism for the whole of the West Midlands. An additional £24 million investment to create a Business and Tourism Programme will ensure we maximise the economic opportunities hosting the Games provides for the region and the UK.
Birmingham 2022 is providing a boost for jobs and businesses across the UK, with a total procurement spend of around £350 million. The Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee, which is responsible for the operational delivery of the Games, held a webinar in November 2020 with the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce to highlight how Shropshire businesses can take advantage of the opportunities the Games will provide, including bidding for potential contracts. There will also be many other activities and opportunities open to the residents of Shropshire, including the volunteering programme which launched on 1 June 2021 and is seeking over 13,000 volunteers to help deliver the Games.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in high street betting shops in Shropshire; and what assessment he plans to make of that level of employment for the gambling review.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review’s objectives include examining whether changes are needed to the system of gambling regulation to reflect changes to the gambling landscape, to make sure customers are suitably protected wherever they are gambling, and to ensure that there is an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
The Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to have effective procedures in place for customers who choose to self-exclude. More information is available at: https://gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/LCCP/Licence-conditions-and-codes-of-practice.pdf (Section 3.5). In March 2020, the Commission made it mandatory for online operators to participate in GAMSTOP, the national online self-exclusion scheme, which allows customers to self-exclude from all licensed online gambling at once.
The government recognises the value of a responsible industry which protects players, provides employment and pays taxes. It does not hold information on the number of people employed in high street betting shops in Shropshire.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to work with the gambling and gaming sector on extending self-exclusion provisions for problem gamblers as part of the gambling review.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review’s objectives include examining whether changes are needed to the system of gambling regulation to reflect changes to the gambling landscape, to make sure customers are suitably protected wherever they are gambling, and to ensure that there is an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries.
The Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to have effective procedures in place for customers who choose to self-exclude. More information is available at: https://gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/LCCP/Licence-conditions-and-codes-of-practice.pdf (Section 3.5). In March 2020, the Commission made it mandatory for online operators to participate in GAMSTOP, the national online self-exclusion scheme, which allows customers to self-exclude from all licensed online gambling at once.
The government recognises the value of a responsible industry which protects players, provides employment and pays taxes. It does not hold information on the number of people employed in high street betting shops in Shropshire.