Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure access to digital terrestrial television in rural communities.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government remains committed to digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK rely on DTT, particularly rural communities and older people.
While Freeview currently reaches nearly 99% of UK households, good terrestrial television signals may not be available to all households due to a number of factors such as local topography and spectrum availability. In these cases, Everyone TV – the organisation responsible for the day-to-day running of Freeview – advises that viewers consider other options to access free-to-air television such as the satellite service Freesat, which has total coverage in the UK.
The Government recognises the crucial role that DTT services such as Freeview play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences. For these reasons, we have legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
We have also recently launched a major research and engagement programme looking at how UK audiences will get their TV in the decades to come, including digital terrestrial television (DTT), satellite, cable, and online.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support sports clubs in rural areas.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier - which is why in our new Sport Strategy - 'Get Active’ - we set out an ambitious strategy to boost our national health by getting 3.5 million extra active people by 2030. This includes bold targets to reach communities with the lowest levels of physical activity.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arms Length Body, Sport England. Since 2019, we have invested over £773,000 in the Penrith and Borders area supporting projects such as the refurbishment of the Hunsonby Community Centre, the Wigton Baths Trust and the Castle Park tennis project. A further £50,000 has been invested in the area as part of the Multi-Sports Grassroots Facilities Investment programme, providing funding for new goalposts, floodlights and improving grass pitch surfaces.
Building on their 12 local delivery pilot areas in areas such as Withernsea, Sport England is expanding their place-based work so that at least 75% of their investment is committed to areas with the lowest levels of physical activity and social outcomes.
Sport England are using a range of data sources to inform this approach, including physical activity data from the Active Lives Surveys as well as wider social data including IMD, community need and health inequalities data. These datasets help to identify a range of communities, including rural communities, across England that need support to become more active.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 191414 on Sports: Electronic Cigarettes, if her Department will collect information on the level of sponsorship of sports teams by vaping companies.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The department does not currently plan to assess the levels of sponsorships by vaping companies in sport, or the level of vaping advertising more broadly. Sports are responsible for their own commercial deals.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 191413 on Sports: Electronic Cigarettes, if her Department will collect information on the level of advertising by vaping companies.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The department does not currently plan to assess the levels of sponsorships by vaping companies in sport, or the level of vaping advertising more broadly. Sports are responsible for their own commercial deals.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment (a) of levels of sponsorship of sports teams by vaping companies and (b) the potential implications of those levels for her Department's policies.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
No assessment has been made by the department into levels of sponsorships by vaping companies in sport. Sports are responsible for their own commercial deals.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment (a) of levels of sports advertising by vaping companies and (b) the potential implications of those levels for her Department's policies.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
No assessment has been made by the department into levels of sponsorships by vaping companies in sport. Sports are responsible for their own commercial deals.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of a ban on vaping advertisements on levels of vaping.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK. The ASA already has rules in place that prohibit adverts for nicotine-containing vapes not licensed as medicines from appearing on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and periodicals, online, and in commercial emails and text messages. Only a small number of nicotine-containing vaping adverts are permitted, and the ASA requires all vaping advertising to be socially responsible and not be placed in media targeted at under-18s or in media where more than 25% of its audience is under-18.
The Government currently has no plans to further ban the advertising of vaping products; however, we are working to close the loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of nicotine-containing vapes to children in England. Additional reviews are being carried out into banning retailers selling nicotine-free vapes to under-18s, and the rules on issuing fines to shops that illegally sell vapes to children. In April, we launched a call for evidence to explore where we can go further to reduce youth vaping, which closes on 6 June. This will help us explore where we can go further to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products. We are also examining the regulatory model for online advertising to ensure it protects consumers and minimises harm through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Online Advertising Programme. The consultation closed last year, and we will be publishing a Government response in due course.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps his Department has taken to support the (a) tech and (b) digital sectors during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The tech and digital sector has really stepped up to the challenges posed by the pandemic, which has seen tech adoption reportedly advancing 10 years in 2 months.
TO support them in this vital work, the Government Future Fund has distributed over £1bn in loans to over 1000 companies. Our local digital skills partnerships are helping to address tech companies workforce and skills needs.