Paul Blomfield

The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a global leader in life sciences and continues to collaborate with European and other countries on scientific research. At the end of the UK transition period, clinical trials will continue to be approved at a national level, working to international standards as they are now. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) along with partners in the UK healthcare system, has taken steps to ensure that all trials, including multinational trials, can continue. The UK is collaborating extensively with international partners in the research effort against COVID-19 and we will continue to do so after the end of the UK transition period.

The UK’s approach to the future relationship negotiations sets out our ambition to reach an agreement that would facilitate trade in medicinal products. However, any responsible Government has a duty to prepare for all scenarios and have robust contingency plans in place. We continue to hold stockpiles to cope with a range of scenarios.

We are doing everything we can to ensure our health and social care staff have the equipment they need to tackle Covid-19 virus. Sourcing sufficient PPE is an international challenge and we are working with many international partners, including the EU. In terms of ventilators, as a result of the Ventilator Challenge the NHS has significantly increased supply.

The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a global leader in life sciences and continues to collaborate with European and other countries on scientific research. At the end of the UK transition period, clinical trials will continue to be approved at a national level, working to international standards as they are now. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) along with partners in the UK healthcare system, has taken steps to ensure that all trials, including multinational trials, can continue. The UK is collaborating extensively with international partners in the research effort against COVID-19 and we will continue to do so after the end of the UK transition period.

The UK’s approach to the future relationship negotiations sets out our ambition to reach an agreement that would facilitate trade in medicinal products. However, any responsible Government has a duty to prepare for all scenarios and have robust contingency plans in place. We continue to hold stockpiles to cope with a range of scenarios.

We are doing everything we can to ensure our health and social care staff have the equipment they need to tackle Covid-19 virus. Sourcing sufficient PPE is an international challenge and we are working with many international partners, including the EU. In terms of ventilators, as a result of the Ventilator Challenge the NHS has significantly increased supply.

As set out in ‘Our Plan to Rebuild’, any adjustments to current social distancing controls for England will be timed carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step to the next.

In the strategy, we committed to exploring how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings. We are actively looking at how we can facilitate small weddings, as soon as possible, to deliver the roadmap.

Step Three of the plan also includes the ambition to open at least some places of worship, including the potential for some small wedding ceremonies. The Government’s current planning assumption is that this step will be no earlier than 4 July, subject to the five tests for easing measures and further detailed scientific advice provided closer to the time, on how far we can go.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

While freedom of movement between the UK and the EU has ended, the UK-EU Trade & Co-operation Agreement (TCA) contains provisions on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes (Mode IV). This includes self-employed professionals.

The TCA ensures that both parties offer a minimum standard of treatment for this type of professional, such as guaranteed lengths of stay of up to 12 months (subject to Member State reservations), and transparency and procedural facilitation measures where visas or work permits are required by a destination country.

The TCA also guarantees market access to key economic sectors (subject to Member State reservations), including for the self-employed, and eases some burdens on business travellers, such as: removing the need for work permits for some short-term business activities, and reducing the number of economic needs tests a country could impose to block access to exporters.

Taken together, these measures will help self-employed professionals to continue providing services in the EU and the UK. Requirements for visas and work permits, including costs, vary depending on Member State, and on the activity being performed. Those looking to work in the EU should check with their host state’s entry and stay requirements before travelling.

Seasonal work is not a category normally featured in free trade agreements. However, temporary work routes were negotiated in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), as featured in the chapter on entry and temporary stay. These include: short-term business visitors; intra-company transferees; and those providing services under contract, whether as an employee or a self-employed professional.

The contractual service suppliers and independent (self-employed) professionals categories are most likely to offer appropriate routes to seasonal workers. The TCA ensures both the UK and the EU offer length of stays of up to 12 months (with a limited number of exceptions in some Member States) and guarantees market access for a range of economic sectors, subject to qualification requirements and Member State reservations. Specifically, our agreement with the EU includes sectoral coverage for contractual services suppliers who provide tourist guides services, and travel agency and tour operator services. This mirrors commitments taken by the UK in our recent trade deal with Japan.

The TCA also eases some burdens on business travellers, such as: removing the need for work permits for some short-term trips, and reducing the number of economic needs tests a country could impose to block access to exporters, which will also help seasonal workers.

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate had 28 staff in post on 31^st March 2020 and 22 on 31^st December 2020. A recruitment campaign is currently being undertaken to fill the vacant positions. Staff are not allocated to a dedicated location and will deal with casework that covers all of Great Britain.

The Department published a list of UK approved bodies on 8 December 2020 on the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies database (UKMCAB) which can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/uk-market-conformity-assessment-bodies.

The bodies on this list are the same bodies who already provide conformity assessment services now. This has been previously communicated to industry to help them make plans for the new regulatory regime.

On 9th September 2020, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a Written Ministerial Statement on the future plans for subsidy control. This can be found here.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising in the UK must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) for online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV and radio. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising additionally mandates that a safer gambling message must appear on screen throughout all televised adverts, along with the inclusion of the address begambleaware.org (which signposts to a wide range of advice and support related to gambling). The Industry Code also requires safer gambling messages in all radio adverts.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and the effectiveness of mandatory safer gambling messages in adverts in preventing harm. The Call for Evidence closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including broadcasters, sporting bodies and individuals and organisations representing those with lived experience of gambling-related harm. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining our conclusions and policy proposals.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising in the UK must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) for online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV and radio. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising additionally mandates that a safer gambling message must appear on screen throughout all televised adverts, along with the inclusion of the address begambleaware.org (which signposts to a wide range of advice and support related to gambling). The Industry Code also requires safer gambling messages in all radio adverts.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and the effectiveness of mandatory safer gambling messages in adverts in preventing harm. The Call for Evidence closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including broadcasters, sporting bodies and individuals and organisations representing those with lived experience of gambling-related harm. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining our conclusions and policy proposals.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising in the UK must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) for online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV and radio. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising additionally mandates that a safer gambling message must appear on screen throughout all televised adverts, along with the inclusion of the address begambleaware.org (which signposts to a wide range of advice and support related to gambling). The Industry Code also requires safer gambling messages in all radio adverts.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise and the effectiveness of mandatory safer gambling messages in adverts in preventing harm. The Call for Evidence closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals, including broadcasters, sporting bodies and individuals and organisations representing those with lived experience of gambling-related harm. We are considering all the evidence received carefully and aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year outlining our conclusions and policy proposals.

I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. I can assure you that everyone across the government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.

However, it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions. We have followed the views of public health experts on singing. We are aware, through the NERVTAG and PERFORM studies that singing can increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission through the spread of aerosol droplets. This was backed up by a consensus statement from SAGE, resulting in the suggested principles of safer singing being published.

We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.

Broadcasters have discretion over how advertising breaks are set and what adverts are broadcast, in line with Ofcom and ASA standards. However, the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising prohibits most gambling adverts from being shown before 9pm, including a whistle-to-whistle ban for live sporting events.

All gambling adverts, wherever they appear, are subject to strict controls on content and placement, and gambling adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV.

The government is taking the collapse of Football Index and the concerns of those affected by it very seriously, and the Secretary of State and I have met the Gambling Commission to receive urgent updates. We are particularly keen to understand both how this situation came about and what lessons we can learn from these events. Further details will be provided in due course.

DCMS officials were made aware of the challenges facing Football Index in March 2021 shortly before the Gambling Commission suspended the licence of BetIndex Ltd, the operator of Football Index. The Gambling Commission’s regulatory investigation is ongoing. While we have been in close contact with the Commission as it continues its investigation, its role as set out in the Gambling Act is to conduct investigations fully independent of Government. It is not for the government to direct independent regulatory bodies on individual cases.

Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is considering a range of questions around the regulation of gambling, including the powers and resources of the Commission and whether any changes to the legislation are required to make it fit for the digital age. The review will also consider whether an alternative system of consumer redress, such as an ombudsman, is needed. Our call for evidence closed on 31 March and we are carefully considering the responses received.

The government is taking the collapse of Football Index and the concerns of those affected by it very seriously, and the Secretary of State and I have met the Gambling Commission to receive urgent updates. We are particularly keen to understand both how this situation came about and what lessons we can learn from these events. Further details will be provided in due course.

DCMS officials were made aware of the challenges facing Football Index in March 2021 shortly before the Gambling Commission suspended the licence of BetIndex Ltd, the operator of Football Index. The Gambling Commission’s regulatory investigation is ongoing. While we have been in close contact with the Commission as it continues its investigation, its role as set out in the Gambling Act is to conduct investigations fully independent of Government. It is not for the government to direct independent regulatory bodies on individual cases.

Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is considering a range of questions around the regulation of gambling, including the powers and resources of the Commission and whether any changes to the legislation are required to make it fit for the digital age. The review will also consider whether an alternative system of consumer redress, such as an ombudsman, is needed. Our call for evidence closed on 31 March and we are carefully considering the responses received.

The Advertising Standards Authority is an independent body. The Government works closely with them across a wide range of areas, including gambling advertising.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV. If an advert for gambling holds particular appeal to children and is freely accessible then it will break the rules.

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently concluded a consultation on proposals to amend their advertising codes to further limit the potential for gambling adverts to appeal to children. The broadcast advertising codes make clear that adverts for commercial gambling must not be shown during or adjacent to television programmes directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children.

The Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling Advertising also prohibits gambling advertising on television before 9pm, except for adverts promoting bingo or lotteries, and sports betting in limited circumstances (not immediately around or during live sport).

The government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to sports clubs and has not had discussions with football clubs about developing commercial opportunities.

The Review of the Gambling Act 2005 was launched on 8th December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the broad scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements across sports, esports and other areas. The Call for Evidence will remain open until 31 March, and no policy decisions have yet been made. We intend to set out conclusions, including any proposals for change, in a white paper later this year.

The government currently has no plans to introduce a requirement for gambling operators to pay a fee or levy to sports clubs and has not had discussions with football clubs about developing commercial opportunities.

The Review of the Gambling Act 2005 was launched on 8th December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the broad scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements across sports, esports and other areas. The Call for Evidence will remain open until 31 March, and no policy decisions have yet been made. We intend to set out conclusions, including any proposals for change, in a white paper later this year.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people, and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently concluded a consultation on proposals to amend the advertising codes to further limit the potential for adverts to appeal to these groups. The broadcast advertising codes make clear that adverts for commercial gambling must not be shown during or adjacent to television programmes directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children. In addition, the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling Advertising prohibits gambling advertising on television before 9pm, except for adverts promoting bingo or lotteries, and sports betting in limited circumstances (not immediately around or during live sport).

The government is not aware of specific evidence on the effect of gambling advertising broadcast on television during the day. However, in March 2020 the charity GambleAware published the final report of a major piece of research into the effect of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable people. That study found that exposure to advertising was associated with an openness to gamble in the future amongst children and young people aged 11-24 who did not currently gamble. It also found that there were other factors that correlated more closely with current gambling behaviour amongst those groups, including peer and parental gambling. Among vulnerable adults, the study found some evidence that problem or heavy gamblers were more likely to report that marketing had prompted them to place a bet or open a new account. It did not suggest a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling in childhood or later life.

The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise.

Data released by the Gambling Commission in May 2020 on the black market suggested that the scale of the black market had remained low and stable, with little variation in the number of complaints it had received about illegal gambling websites over the previous 12 months. The Commission continues to monitor this area closely and take action against unlicensed operators where needed.

However, new technologies have the potential to increase the risk posed by illegal unlicensed operators, so it is important that we improve our understanding of these risks and the exact scale of the black market. That is why our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 will consider issues around black market gambling as part of its wide scope, and we have called for evidence on the extent of the black market, its accessibility to consumers, and the risk of one emerging in the future. We have also launched our consultation proposing an uplift to industry licence fees, which will provide the Commission with greater capacity in the short to medium term to investigate and tackle the threat caused by the black market.

The Call for Evidence will be open until 31 March 2021, and further details, including how to make a contribution, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence.

Ministers have regular discussions with their Cabinet Colleagues on a wide range of issues, including cross-border labour mobility with the EU for musicians and other creative professionals.

The Government recognises the importance of touring for UK musicians and other cultural and creative practitioners, and their support staff. Officials from across government engaged with the performing arts sector extensively throughout negotiations. That engagement has continued since the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to ensure they are aware of new requirements. Going forward, we will continue our close dialogue with the creative and cultural sectors to ensure they have the support they need to thrive.