Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2022 to Question 18050 on Channel Four Television, how many times she has met the Chief Executive of Channel 4 in 2022 as of 20 June.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
DCMS ministers and officials continue to meet with Channel 4.
The Secretary of State made clear in her oral evidence session with the DCMS Select Committee on 19 May that the Government wants to work collaboratively with the Channel 4 Management and Board to secure the best future for the broadcaster.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times she has met the senior management at Channel 4 since her appointment.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
During the consultation period, the Government worked closely with Channel 4’s management to understand the challenges and opportunities the changing market presents and different models and plans that might support Channel 4’s future.
DCMS ministers and officials continue to meet regularly with Channel 4.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh government on proposals to privatise Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government consulted extensively on a change of ownership of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders – including from stakeholders in Wales – has informed the government’s assessment and wider policy-making.
Following this consultation, the Secretary of State has come to a decision that, although Channel 4 as a business is currently performing well, public ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape. The Secretary of State has consulted with Cabinet colleagues on that decision.
The Government will set out its plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly. The Government will also publish a rationale for its decision regarding Channel 4’s ownership model.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the risk of damage to historic wooden churches near conflict zones in Ukraine, including those moved to the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine in Pyrohiv on the southern outskirts of Kyiv.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK is working with UNESCO, Blue Shield International, the British Council, and other partners to monitor whether Russia is meeting its obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This requires Russia to avoid damaging significant heritage sites, monuments, or other cultural property in Ukraine, including historic wooden churches.
Through the Cultural Protection Fund – a partnership between DCMS and the British Council – Her Majesty’s Government is also directly supporting the Cultural Emergency Response for Ukraine, an international effort co-ordinated by the Prince Claus Fund working directly with affected cultural heritage organisations and individuals on the ground in Ukraine to monitor the risks, document damage, and share information on threats to Ukrainian cultural heritage.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the rollout of the mobile phone Shared Rural Network will be fully delivered by 2025.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Shared Rural Network (SRN) is on track and both the government and the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) remain confident that their combined coverage is expected to be delivered to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling online scams and fraud in Newport West constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Ministers have regular meetings and discussions with their ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including tackling online scams and fraud. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she discussed her proposals to freeze the BBC licence fee until April 2024 with the Welsh Government.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In the course of setting the licence fee for the next six years, discussions were held with a number of stakeholders.
Broadcasting remains a reserved matter, and the UK Government has a strong record of demonstrating its commitment to minority language broadcasting to ensure that our broadcasting sector services all audiences of the UK nations and regions.
The licence fee offers a strong settlement for S4C, providing £88.8 million per annum for the first two years, then rising in line with inflation thereafter. This includes a new commitment of £7.5 million per annum to support S4C’s digital development, ensuring S4C’s offering remains sustainable in the digital age. As the only Welsh language broadcaster, S4C is vital to the people of Wales, and this settlement will enable S4C to continue to support the Welsh economy, culture and society, reach more Welsh language speakers including younger audiences, and the UK Government’s commitment to support the ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 mitigate the financial impact of the reintroduction of roaming charges for UK travellers in the EU.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
As per Ofcom regulations, providers must make sure their contract terms are fair and transparent. They must also tell customers about changes to their contracts. Where those changes will particularly disadvantage customers, providers must give them at least a month’s notice and the right to exit their contracts without being penalised. Further requirements to prevent roaming bill-shock include providers publishing roaming charges on their website and sending alerts with pricing information when customers start roaming. They must also apply a default £45-a-month (exc VAT) cut-off limit on data roaming unless customers choose to extend this. Our advice is that consumers check with their operators before travelling abroad.
I welcome the recent decision by VirginMedia and O2 to keep roaming free, meaning UK citizens can still use their mobile data, calls and texts across Europe with no extra charges.