Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to enable local authorities to place statutory notices with digital-only local news outlets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While policy responsibility for each specific type of statutory notice lies with other departments, my department is working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the implications of any changes to publicity requirements relating to planning notices are understood before decisions are taken, as they consider next steps with regard to the Planning for the Future White Paper.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she plans to expand the requirement for (a) planning and (b) other statutory notices to be placed with news outlets to include digital-only news outlets.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While policy responsibility for each specific type of statutory notice lies with other departments, my department is working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the implications of any changes to publicity requirements relating to planning notices are understood before decisions are taken, as they consider next steps with regard to the Planning for the Future White Paper.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 revising covid-19 guidance to allow non-professional choral activities involving more than six people to take place indoors.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
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 Government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.
However, it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions.
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.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using dormant assets set to be unlocked from the savings and investment sector to fund the delivery of financial education at a primary level to build future financial resilience.
Answered by Matt Warman
The distribution of dormant assets is a devolved matter, and in England, dormant assets spend is currently restricted by legislation to three areas, including financial inclusion. To date, in England, we have invested £96 million of dormant assets in financial inclusion, delivered by an independent organisation (Fair4All Finance) who have focused on building financial resilience through better access to affordable credit.
The purpose of the Dormant Assets Bill, which has recently been introduced to parliament, is to expand the Scheme and amends the approach to restrictions in England to mirror the model used for the devolved administrations. This will allow the government to consult on, and respond more flexibly to, changing social and environmental needs in England over time.
Subject to this measure passing, the Government is committed to launching a public consultation to give people a say in how future funds are spent in England.
The funding unlocked through Scheme expansion will consist of all eligible dormant assets in scope of the Scheme and will not be differentiated by sector or asset class.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to increase investment into grassroots football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and I welcomed its return on the 29th March.
During the pandemic, Sport England has provided £220m directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35m Community Emergency Fund. This support is available to both men’s and women’s clubs with the latest figures showing £10.5m has already been awarded to over 1,500 football clubs.
Sport England has provided funding to The Football Foundation which has run various funds to help grassroots clubs prepare for the return of football and re-open their facilities once safe to do so. This has included the Club and Pitch Preparation Funds and Matchday Support Fund.
The Government also has an established partnership with the Football Association and the Premier League focused on investment into community facilities, the Government contributing £18m each year. The three-way partnership sees a combined £70m go to new facilities delivered by the Football Foundation each year. Sport England and The FA have worked with the Foundation to produce a local football facility plan for every local authority in the country, mapping out the local investment needs. These can be found at https://footballfoundation.org.uk/local-plans.
Alongside this annual investment, the Government announced at Budget 21 an additional £25m of funding for community sport facilities across the UK.
The Government will continue to support grassroots sport in our local communities.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support grassroots football in Harlow.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and I welcomed its return on the 29th March.
During the pandemic, Sport England has provided £220m directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35m Community Emergency Fund. This support is available to both men’s and women’s clubs with the latest figures showing £10.5m has already been awarded to over 1,500 football clubs.
Sport England has provided funding to The Football Foundation which has run various funds to help grassroots clubs prepare for the return of football and re-open their facilities once safe to do so. This has included the Club and Pitch Preparation Funds and Matchday Support Fund.
The Government also has an established partnership with the Football Association and the Premier League focused on investment into community facilities, the Government contributing £18m each year. The three-way partnership sees a combined £70m go to new facilities delivered by the Football Foundation each year. Sport England and The FA have worked with the Foundation to produce a local football facility plan for every local authority in the country, mapping out the local investment needs. These can be found at https://footballfoundation.org.uk/local-plans.
Alongside this annual investment, the Government announced at Budget 21 an additional £25m of funding for community sport facilities across the UK.
The Government will continue to support grassroots sport in our local communities.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 effect of the proposed European Super League on grassroots football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has been vocal in its opposition to these proposals, which are not in the interests of the game, and I was glad to see the withdrawal of all English teams from the project.
This is the right result for football fans, clubs and communities across the country.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of advising Ofcom as the Government’s intended social media regulator to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and ensure that social media companies comply with it to help tackle the increase in online antisemitic attacks.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to tackling racism, including the spread of antisemitic content online. In December 2020, we published the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, which sets out new expectations on companies to keep their users safe online. Under a new legal duty of care, in-scope companies, including social media, will need to tackle illegal antisemitic content and activity on their services.
In addition, companies providing high-risk, high-reach services will need to set clear terms and conditions stating what legal but harmful material they accept (and do not accept) on their service. This may include antisemitic hate speech, which does not meet the threshold of a criminal offence. Companies will need to enforce these terms and conditions consistently and transparently, and could face enforcement action if they do not. All companies in scope will be required to have effective and accessible user reporting and redress mechanisms.
The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the Full Government Response, including the appointment of Ofcom as the regulator, will be ready this year. There are no plans to specify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 including in his legislative proposals on online harms a requirement for companies offering services to UK users to establish UK teams to moderate content from UK users which is reported to breach the platform’s standards to improve the accountability of those companies to UK users.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As part of the new online harms regulatory framework, Ofcom will set out how companies can fulfil their duty of care via codes of practice. The codes will outline the systems and processes companies must have in place to keep their users safe, including procedures on the training and support of human moderators.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether private photographers who operate with social distancing measures can continue working during the 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Private photographers are able to continue working, including leaving home for work purposes, where it is unreasonable for them to do their job from home. All relevant Covid-secure guidance developed with the Government should continue to be followed.