Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what resources his Department provide to (a) voluntary and (b) statutory support services to help prevent technology-facilitated abuse.
Answered by Margot James
The Government published the Online Harms White Paper on the 8 April. This sets out the Government’s plans for world leading laws to make the UK one of the safest places in the world to be online. These will make companies more responsible for their users’ safety online, especially children and other vulnerable groups.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
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 UK data security is protected in respect of the involvement of Huawei in the development of the UK's 5G network.
Answered by Margot James
The Government has a long established strategy for managing the presence of Huawei in the UK telecoms sector. The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) was established in 2010 as part of a mitigation strategy.
The need to ensure that the UK telecoms network is secure both now and for future mobile generations is the reason for the Telecoms Supply Chain Review. The terms of reference are available here. The Review includes consideration of the full UK market position, including the resilience and security standards of equipment for 5G. A statement will be made to the House to communicate the outcome of the Review at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government had plans to include reference to smart, internet-connected devices in the definition of online harms.
Answered by Margot James
The Online Harms White Paper consultation proposes that the duty of care applies to companies that provide services or tools that allow, enable or facilitate users to share or discover user-generated content, or interact with each other online. It, therefore, would not typically apply to consumer smart devices. Harms suffered by individuals that result directly from a breach of data protection, breach of cyber-security or hacking are also excluded from scope.
However, the Government has taken a number of actions to increase the security of consumer smart devices. In October 2018, DCMS published the Code of Practice for Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) Security to support manufacturers in building strong security into smart products by design. We recognise that further action is needed, and we will soon be publishing a consultation on our regulatory proposals regarding consumer IoT security.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has undertaken an impact assessment of his Department's decision to delay the implementation of a maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals from April 2019 to October 2019.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Chancellor announced at Budget that the new stake limits for sub-category B2 gaming machines will come into effect when Remote Gaming Duty is increased in October 2019. There is no delay as no date had previously been set. Government considered a range of factors in determining the implementation date of the stake reduction to B2 machines, including harm from problem gambling, impact on the high street and the economic wellbeing of those who work in betting shops. It remains completely committed to taking action to protect the most vulnerable in society from the harm that these gaming machines can cause and we have been clear we expect this to be a priority for the gambling industry.Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing direct UK Government funding to support museums and art galleries in the city of Glasgow.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Cultural policy has been devolved to the nations of the United Kingdom since 1999. Funding for museums and galleries in Glasgow is therefore the responsibility of the local authority, the Scottish Government, and its agencies, who are best placed to determine how to support the city’s cultural assets.