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 representatives of Virgin Mobile on their proposal to not reintroduce roaming charges for UK residents travelling in the EU.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with senior representatives of mobile operators on a range of issues, including on the issue of mobile roaming, and the government will continue to promote a competitive marketplace that serves the interests of consumers.
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.
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 representatives of O2 on their proposal to not reintroduce roaming charges for UK residents travelling in the EU.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with senior representatives of mobile operators on a range of issues, including on the issue of mobile roaming, and the government will continue to promote a competitive marketplace that serves the interests of consumers.
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.
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 has made representations to the Vice President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, Maroš Šefčovič, on the reintroduction of roaming charges for UK travellers in the EU.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with our European partners. Mobile roaming is a commercial decision for mobile operators as to whether they impose a surcharge on their consumers travelling abroad to the EU for their mobile phone usage.
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.
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 Government plans to bid to host the 2028 UEFA European Football Championships.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A partnership of the football associations and the Governments of the UK and Ireland have been undertaking feasibility activity to determine the viability of a bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030, which is the government’s focus. This feasibility assessment includes a number of key work streams to identify the winnability, likely costs, and the benefits of hosting the tournament. To ensure we can make an informed decision we will contrast these findings against other potential hosting opportunities.
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 impact of the delayed reintroduction of roaming charges in Europe on people travelling to European countries from Newport West constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Since the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020, the UK has no longer been part of the EU Roaming Regulation known as ‘Roam Like at Home’. This means it is a commercial decision for mobile operators as to whether they impose a surcharge on their consumers travelling abroad to the EU for their mobile phone usage.
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.
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 impact of the delayed reintroduction of roaming charges in Europe on mobile phone users in Newport West constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Since the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020, the UK has no longer been part of the EU Roaming Regulation known as ‘Roam Like at Home’. This means it is a commercial decision for mobile operators as to whether they impose a surcharge on their consumers travelling abroad to the EU for their mobile phone usage.
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.
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 has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on tackling racism within sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Please refer to the answer for PQ 98428.
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 tackling racism within sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Racism has no place in sport, or in wider society. The Government is committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination both domestically and internationally.
Grassroots sport is devolved, however I meet with my counterparts in the devolved authorities, including the Welsh Minister for Sport, at least twice a year to discuss shared areas of interest in sport.
Our respective sports councils are also collaborating on work to tackle racism in sport. In June 2021, Sport England, UK Sport and the other home nations’ sports councils published the results of a detailed, independent review into tackling racism and racial inequality in sport. The review agreed on some initial overarching commitments that all five organisations will work on together, relating to people; representation; investment, systems and insights. In December 2021, the five Sports Councils released a joint update outlining the current actions being taken to address the commitments.
There is still more to do, and we will continue to work with the sports councils to combat racism.
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 Cabinet colleagues on securing British musicians the right to work visa free in other European nations.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This government is working hard to help touring musicians work in Europe. That is why we have spoken to every EU Member State about the importance of touring. From these discussions, 21 out of 27 Member States have now confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative professionals. This includes Spain, which introduced a new visa exemption after extensive lobbying from the sector and this government, which included engagement involving the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department for International Trade (DIT), and the Cabinet Office.
The Government, led by DCMS and involving a number of departments, is working extremely hard with the remaining 6 EU Member States that have not confirmed that they allow any visa or permit free touring, to encourage them to make touring easier. We want all our European colleagues to be able to enjoy the economic and cultural benefits that UK touring artists bring, as we do from EU creative performers who can tour here easily.
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 European nations have signed agreements to allow British musicians to tour, work and operate visa free.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This government is working hard to help touring musicians work in Europe. That is why we have spoken to every EU Member State about the importance of touring. From these discussions, 21 out of 27 Member States have now confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative professionals. This includes Spain, which introduced a new visa exemption after extensive lobbying from the sector and this government, which included engagement involving the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department for International Trade (DIT), and the Cabinet Office.
The Government, led by DCMS and involving a number of departments, is working extremely hard with the remaining 6 EU Member States that have not confirmed that they allow any visa or permit free touring, to encourage them to make touring easier. We want all our European colleagues to be able to enjoy the economic and cultural benefits that UK touring artists bring, as we do from EU creative performers who can tour here easily.