Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the BBC board on impartiality in its news coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Ministerial team regularly meets with BBC leadership, including members of the Board, to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. In delivering that duty, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decisions around its editorial policies and guidelines are a matter for the BBC. Ofcom is the external independent regulator responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.
The Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear that the BBC’s accuracy and impartiality is critical to viewer trust. It is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive events, such as the terrorist acts committed in Israel on 7 October and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The Secretary of State has regularly stated that point in meetings with the BBC.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to restrict advertising for high-carbon products and services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has no plans to restrict new categories of advertising, including on high carbon products.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support his Department has allocated to providers of (a) arts and (b) sports training for children and young people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and on the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.
The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people. In addition, we have allocated over £800m from the Culture Recovery Fund to almost 3,800 cultural organisations and sites in England, including organisations that focus on arts provision for children and young people.
The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recent announced Spending Review £30m of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.
Separately, Sport England have invested £194m into children and young people since 2016, including £40M over four years for the Families Fund; £11M each year on School Games, supported by a further £7M from DHSC; £34M over four years to the Satellite Club program; and £13.5M over four years on Teacher training.