Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what impact the freezing of the licence fee will have on funding for the BBC World Service.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC will continue to receive billions in public funding every year.
The government recognises the vital role that the BBC World Service plays across the globe.
The Secretary of State has made it clear to the BBC that it should continue to make a substantive investment from the licence fee into the World Service to ensure that it continues to effectively reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - in English and through its language services.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 extending discounted TV licences to deaf people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Under the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004, TV Licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, people who live in qualifying residential care and are disabled or over 60 years old.
There are no further concessions available for people with severe hearing impairment and we are not considering making changes to the current concessions regime at this time.
The government has made clear that the TV Licence model will be reconsidered again ahead of the next Charter Review, which is set to be completed by 2027.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the online media literacy strategy.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper confirmed our commitment to publishing a Media Literacy Strategy. The Strategy will review the existing UK media literacy landscape and set out plans to ensure a strategic and coordinated approach to online media literacy education.The Strategy will be published later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 implications for his policies of the BBFC's recent survey entitled Age ratings on subscription streaming services - April 2021 and its finding that parents want age ratings to be consistent between cinema, DVD and video-on-demand platforms; and if he will take steps to ensure that platforms respond to that finding and use age ratings based on UK standards.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government welcomes the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) recent report, which contributes to our understanding of this matter and builds on wider evidence regarding best practice age ratings for film content.
The Government will consider the report and its findings, and continue to support the adoption of BBFC ratings for content on video on demand platforms. To that end, we were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.
We will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 phase of the Government’s plan to ease coronavirus restrictions under which community music rehearsals and performance are planned to be permitted to resume.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 22 February the Prime Minister set out the roadmap gradually ending the current lockdown for England.
At step 3 of the roadmap, no earlier than 17 May, the restrictions on social mixing indoors will be eased and individuals will be able to meet socially distanced in a group of 6 or with 1 other household. Non-professional activities, such as community music rehearsals and performances, will be able to resume from this time.
The timings outlined in the roadmap are indicative, and the Government will be led by data, rather than fixed dates. Before taking each step, the Government will review the latest data and will only ease restrictions further if it is safe to do so. The indicative, ‘no earlier than’ dates in the roadmap are all contingent on the data and subject to change.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of including community music group rehearsals in the list of activities exempt from the rule of six during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As of 14 September non-professional performing arts activity, including choirs, orchestras or drama groups can continue to rehearse or perform together where this is planned activity in line with the performing arts guidance and if they can do so in a way that ensures that there is no interaction between groups of more than six at any time. If an amateur group is not able to ensure that no mingling takes place between these sub-groups of no more than six (including when arriving at or leaving activity or in any breaks or socialising) then such non-professional activity should not take place.
We will continue to work with the Performing Arts sector to understand how the new regulations affect those engaging in activity. We have always been clear that the easing of restrictions depends on the prevalence of COVID-19.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 bringing forward legislative proposals in line with New Zealand legislation extending regulation of classification of films and DVDs to online streaming platforms from 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government will continue to unlock the huge opportunities presented by digital technologies while seeking to minimise the risks to online consumers. While adoption of the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings by online platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome Netflix’s commitment to work towards complete coverage of its content under the BBFC’s ratings and support the BBFC’s drive to encourage other Video On Demand platforms to follow suit. By doing so, this will provide consumers with well recognised age ratings and consumer advice.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital Media Culture and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policy on commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 of the 26 September 2019 research by the BBFC in its role as designated age-verification regulator; and when she plans to lay the BBFC guidance on age-verification arrangements.
Answered by Matt Warman
Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and is key to wider government priorities. The government published the Online Harms White Paper in April this year. It proposed the establishment of a duty of care on companies to improve online safety, overseen by an independent regulator with strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance. Since the White Paper's publication, the government's proposals have continued to develop at pace.
The government has concluded that the objectives of the Digital Economy Act will be best achieved through our wider online harms proposals and, as a consequence, will not be commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 concerning age verification for online pornography. The Digital Economy Act objectives will be delivered through our proposed online harms regulatory regime which will result in a more coherent approach protecting children. We expect age verification to continue to be a tool used by companies to keep children safe online.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Internet Watch Foundation continues to receive government funding after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The work of the Internet Watch Foundation is greatly valued by the UK Government, and is a key part of the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC). Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UKSIC will continue to receive EU funding until the end of 2020. Continued UK participation in EU funding programmes is subject to negotiations on the UK's future partnership with the EU. In the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Government has guaranteed successful bids to EU funds submitted by UK participants before the UK exits the EU.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the conclusions the report, Skin gambling: teenage Britain’s secret habit, published by Parent Zone in June 2018 of the assessment he has made of the findings of the June 2018; and what discussions he has had with the Gambling Commission on underage skin gambling.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The report from ParentZone highlighted concerns around ‘skins’ gambling, including that this may permit children to access gambling sites. It identified the role the government, industry, regulators and parents play in protecting children online.
Protecting children and the vulnerable from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a priority for the government and a core objective of the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. There are strong protections in place against operators of illegal gambling facilities, including within video games.
The Gambling Commission published a position paper which addressed gambling with in-game items in May 2017. It has a range of powers to act where there is a failure to prevent illegal gambling, including bringing criminal action against unlicensed operators that offer gambling to children.
The Commission is closely monitoring the convergence between video games and gambling and has shown it will take action and prosecute unlicensed gambling. The Commission is also seeking to work with the video games industry to raise awareness of and explore solutions to this issue.
As part of its work to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online, the Government published the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper in October 2017 and published its consultation response in May this year.