Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with officials at UNESCO on the UK’s (a) participation in and (b) ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK’s cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, brings benefits to communities and individuals in every part of the country. Government is committed to protecting important intangible heritage, including through grants made by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Arts Council and the Cultural Recovery Fund. Ministers in the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport have not had recent discussions with UNESCO regarding the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, however we remain open to considering ratification when resource allows.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the (a) live music industry and (b) arts and culture sector of ending the transition period without a deal with the EU.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I refer the Hon Member to the answer from the Secretary of State to his topical question during DCMS Oral Questions today.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using the taxation system to disincentivise the collection of personal data by companies.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has not made an assessment of the use of taxation as a disincentive to the processing of personal data. The better use of data can help organisations of every kind succeed – across the public, private and third sectors. Data can be a driver of scientific and technological innovation, and central to the delivery of a whole range of vital public services and societal goals, from tackling climate change to supporting the National Health Service.
All organisations in the UK that process personal data, whether large or small, have to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPA and the GDPR strengthen the obligations on companies to process people’s data fairly, lawfully and transparently and to keep it safe and secure. It also strengthens people’s rights to seek to access, rectify or delete their data.
The legislation is regulated and enforced by the independent Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO has issued comprehensive guidance for organisations on how to comply with the legislation and works closely with specific sectors to address areas of risk.
The ICO has a range of corrective powers and sanctions to enforce the GDPR, including:
issuing warnings and reprimands;
imposing a temporary or permanent ban on data processing;
ordering the rectification, restriction or erasure of data; and
suspending data transfers to third countries.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 718 on Audio-visual performers' rights.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Actors and other audiovisual performers enrich our lives and our culture and make an important contribution to our economy. The United Kingdom’s high standards of intellectual property protection include protections for audiovisual performers which reflect this contribution and allow them to be rewarded for it. These include economic rights in audiovisual performances which are consistent with those set out in the Beijing Treaty.
The United Kingdom is a signatory to the Beijing Treaty. However, while it was a Member State of the European Union, it was unable to proceed towards ratification by itself. Now that the UK has left the European Union, we are able to consider ratification as part of our future domestic and international policy agendas.
However, the Treaty contains certain optional provisions, which may be implemented in different ways. Before taking steps to ratify the treaty, these and other elements would need to be fully considered and their impacts assessed. This would include consultations with interested parties to best ensure that the most appropriate decisions are made for the United Kingdom’s creative industries and audiovisual performers in particular.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will issue a response to the Open Letter to the UK Government published by the Music Venue Trust on 23 June 2020.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Since the open letter from the Music Venue Trust was published, the Secretary of State has announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors, including live music venues.
We are working closely with DCMS’ Arm’s Length Bodies to develop guidance indicating who can apply for the different elements of this funding, and we will publish detailed guidance as soon as possible in July.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will publish guidance for (a) youth and child and (b) adult choirs on planning to recommence safely during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Current Public Health England assessment is that singing carries a potential higher risk of transmission and that participation in this activity requires particular attention to the risk involved. Based on this, Government guidance proposes a precautionary risk-based approach to certain activities and aims to develop the ways activities can be carried out as the evidence base is better understood.
To help support the development of the evidence base in regards to singing, DCMS is engaged in a number of scientific activities focusing on the need to understand the different risks associated with singing, brass and woodwind. DCMS is working closely with SAGE and a number of specialists in aerosol transmission and ventilation, who will focus on a number of critical research questions. These groups will be examining existing and emerging evidence to provide advice to guide the future development of policy and guidelines.
Sector wide guidance for the performing arts returning to rehearsal and performance safely will be published in due course.