Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 help ensure local TV services can continue to secure (a) carriage and (b) discoverability on TV sets during the transition to internet protocol television delivery.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government remains committed to securing the most effective framework for local TV operators going forward. This includes continuing to engage with the sector over the next decade to ensure local TV has the tools to deliver its statutory objectives in a changing broadcasting ecology.
To support this, the government will continue providing the regulatory benefits that local TV services have received since 2013. These benefits include, but are not limited to, continued access to digital terrestrial television (DTT) and prominence on DTT and other linear TV platforms, including internet protocol television.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 help reduce administrative (a) time and (b) cost for local TV operators renewing local TV licences.
Answered by John Whittingdale
On 7 June 2023, the government launched a public consultation on the renewal of local TV licences. Through the consultation, the government put forward various options for renewal of the multiplex licence, and for the renewal or relicensing of the 34 individual local TV services. The consultation document considered, among other things, which options would minimise the administrative burden on local TV operators.
The consultation was open for 12 weeks, and closed on 13 September. A summary of in-scope responses submitted to the consultation and the government’s response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 implication for its polices of the announcement by Meta that it plans to discontinue its funding for the Community News Project on local journalism.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry, and our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 level of risk of covid-19 transmission of the reopening of (a) indoor children soft play centres and (b) mobile play bus businesses; and what the timeframe is for the reopening of those businesses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 13 August, the Government announced that indoor play and indoor soft play venues can open from 15 August. We have also been working with BALPPA, the trade body that represents the industry to develop guidance that lays out detailed measures that should be taken by indoor play and indoor soft play operators to make venues COVID-secure. These include closing ball pits and sensory areas, reducing capacity of venues and soft play frames, regular deep cleaning, pre-bookable timed sessions, increased sanitation, and a rigorous process to support track and trace. Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active and the Government is committed to reopening facilities as soon as it is safe to do so. Since 4 July other indoor facilities, including some indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues have reopened.
As with all aspects of the Government’s response to COVID-19, we continue to be guided by public health considerations to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of Twitter on moderating hate speech towards people with Down’s Syndrome.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with Twitter on a range of issues, including hate speech. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to help ensure that people with Down’s Syndrome are able to use social media platforms without fear of bullying or harassment.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government intends to introduce world-leading Online Harms legislation to make the UK the safest place to be online. We intend to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users which will be overseen by an independent regulator. The Government published its Initial Consultation Response to the Online Harms White Paper in February 2020, and this set out our direction of travel on a number of key areas. We are aiming to publish a full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year, and this will include more detailed proposals on online harms regulation.
In addition to this new legislation, it is important to make sure that the criminal law is fit for purpose to deal with online harms. DCMS and the Ministry of Justice have engaged the Law Commission on a second phase of their review of abusive and offensive online communications. The Law Commission will review existing communications offences and make specific recommendations about options for reform, to ensure that criminal law provides consistent and effective protection against such behaviour.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the final report of the cross-Government review that his Department is leading into the supply chain arrangements for UK telecoms infrastructure will be made publicly available.
Answered by Margot James
A statement will be made to the House to communicate the decision at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the Rowing Association's ability to trade and work with its counterpart clubs in EU member states after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has outlined our aspiration to negotiate an agreement with the European Union on our future economic partnership that will include a UK-EU free trade area for goods, and a comprehensive package for services. We will also seek to negotiate a mobility framework with the EU that supports businesses to provide services, and allows people to travel freely without a visa for tourism and temporary business activity. Subject to the negotiations, we expect these measures to minimise barriers to UK businesses, including sports organisations such as British Rowing, in trading and working with their counterparts in the EU after we leave.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the advertising industry on reducing the promotion of unhealthy food before the watershed.
Answered by Margot James
In the second chapter of our Childhood Obesity Plan, published in June 2018, we have committed to consult on introducing further advertising restrictions, including a 9pm watershed on TV advertising of HFSS products and similar protection for children viewing adverts online, with the aim of limiting children’s exposure to HFSS advertising, and incentivising sugar and calorie reduction. The consultation will be issued by the end of 2018. Ministers and officials in the Department have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders on a range of matters, including on tackling obesity.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's policy is on the secondary ticket market.
Answered by Margot James
We are committed to cracking down on unacceptable behaviour in the ticketing market and improving fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price.
We have strengthened the existing ticketing information requirement in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and have introduced a new criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets than that allowed for profit.
We support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator the Advertising Standards Authority.