Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much financial support the Government has provided to support South Asia Heritage Month in each of the last five years; what proportion of that funding came from (a) his and (b) other Government departments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Arm's Length Body, Arts Council England (ACE), via its National Lottery Project Grants funding has supported a wide range of organisations and events focused on engaging with and celebrating South Asian Heritage, including supporting the South Asian Heritage Trust, which delivers their annual South Asian Heritage Month observance.
South Asian Heritage Month was established in 2020. Since then, ACE awarded a £20,175 National Lottery Project Grant to the South Asian Heritage Trust for their South Asian Heritage Month Online Programme in May 2022. Additionally, ACE awarded £41,700 to 'Tribe Arts' in July 2022 as part of a project to establish partnerships with South Asian Heritage Month.
Significant projects have also been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund between 2003- 2021, in the London Borough of Harrow, with a total investment of £178,732 which explored and celebrated the South Asian community.
Current projects supported by Historic England are celebrating South Asian Places of Worship through thematic listing and research, and two projects have been awarded through their Everyday Heritage programme to the Bengali Photography Archive and the Sikh Development Academy.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department last funded celebrations, exhibitions and programmes related to (a) the contributions of the South Asian community to UK life and (b) the culture, history and religions of South Asian countries; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has funded many exhibitions and programmes related to the contribution of South Asian culture and history through the bodies it funds.
Significant projects have been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund between 2003- 2021, in the London Borough of Harrow, with a total investment of £178,732 which explored and celebrated the South Asian community. Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants has also supported a wide range of organisations and events including: the South Asian Heritage Trust, which delivers their annual South Asian Heritage Month observance; Luton Mela, a festival of South Asian arts and cultural heritage; and Croydon’s Beeja Dance Company who play a national role in developing the next generation of Indian dance leaders in the UK.
Current projects supported by Historic England are celebrating South Asian Places of Worship through thematic listing and research, and two projects have been awarded through their Everyday Heritage programme to the Bengali Photography Archive and the Sikh Development Academy.
There are also future events to look forward to. In 2023 the Manchester Museum will unveil a new South Asian gallery in partnership with the British Museum and which has been part-funded by a £5m grant from the government. The British Library also plays a part in celebrating South Asian culture and history through their partnership programmes and events such as the upcoming Lahore literature festival in 2023.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on photography (a) in 2019, (b) in 2020, (c) in 2021 and (d) to date in 2022.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In 2020 there were two occasions external photographers were employed by communications directorate with a total cost of £695 (excluding VAT).
In 2022 £5,520 (excluding VAT) was spent on photography for a Home Office recruitment campaign.
Spend for photography as part of social media, marketing and internal communications is not recorded separately.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact on the UK professional photography sector of the decision to expand the text and data mining copyright exception.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government asked specific questions about impact in the consultation on AI and IP, but received very limited quantitative evidence. An impact assessment will be published alongside the legislation when laid. The proposed exception will be targeted to limit negative impacts, and the government welcomes further evidence from rights holders on how to best achieve this.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) photographers and (b) video producers were employed by his Department in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.
Answered by Jane Hunt
The Department has no one employed exclusively as a photographer or video producer. The content producers in the digital communications team are multi-skilled and work on many other aspects of creative production and digital delivery.
In July 2019, July 2020 and July 2021, the BEIS digital communications team had 3 full time content creators. Currently the BEIS digital communications team has 2 full time content creators.
There are a number of other employees who are not primarily content producers, but who sometimes support videos and photography – we do not have a record of how many members of staff this has included across the department in this time period.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many photographers and video producers were employed by his Department in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
No dedicated photographers or videographers were employed in these years. All photography and videography was undertaken by communications staff who work across a range of disciplines and communication channels.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many photographers and video producers were employed by his Department in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, (c) 2020-21, and (d) 2021-22.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All video and photography content is produced by the in-house communications team with staff working across a range of disciplines.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what tactful representations they will make to the government of Ukraine about the need to adhere to the Geneva Conventions; and in particular Article 13, which covers the photography and videoing of captured enemy service personnel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is in regular contact with the Ukrainian Government at ministerial, military and diplomatic levels. The UK, at all times, supports and promotes the letter and the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, and we would expect any participant in any conflict to adhere to it completely, including Russia and Ukraine
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to tackle the unconsented sharing of intimate and sexual images.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
There are a range of criminal offences with robust sanctions which can be used to deal with the non-consensual creation and sharing of intimate photography (so called ‘revenge porn’). In 2015 we made it an offence to share private sexual photographs and films without the consent of the individual appearing in the photograph or film and with intent to cause them distress. There have been over 900 convictions for this offence since its commencement in April 2015. And, through our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, we criminalised making threats to share private sexual images with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
In addition, our Online Safety Bill will give companies clear legal responsibilities to understand the risk of harm to users and to put in place systems and processes to improve safety of users. For illegal content like criminal revenge porn, companies will have to take action to prevent its proliferation online.
The Law Commission is considering the existing offences in this are to identify whether there are any gaps in the scope of protection already offered to victims.. We expect the Commission to publish its recommendations this Spring, and the Government will consider these carefully.
We are also committed to ensuring that victims and survivors get the support they deserve. That is why the Home Office provided an initial £120k to the ‘Revenge Porn’ Helpline to support victims of non-consensual intimate image sharing, and, as part of our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, we have increased funding by a further £40K for the ‘Revenge Porn’ Helpline in recognition of the significant increase in demand to the service. In addition, we are providing nearly £200k to the National Sexual Violence Support Fund to support victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they are giving regarding carnets to those working in the fashion industry and who travel to Europe for work purposes, particularly in regard to clothing items; and what plans they have to make such advice more detailed.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Now that the UK has left the EU Customs Union and Single Market, there are new customs processes that businesses and individuals need to follow when moving goods from Great Britain into the EU and vice versa. These new processes apply to all goods being moved on a temporary basis. HMRC are supporting traders to adjust to changes in their customs obligations with extensive engagement, communications campaigns, guidance, and educational resources, working in collaboration with other Government departments.
ATA Carnets are one option businesses and individuals can use to move goods temporarily between the UK and EU. An ATA Carnet simplifies customs formalities by allowing a single document to be used for clearing goods through customs in the countries that are part of the ATA Carnet system. This removes the requirement for individual declarations of goods and allows goods to be imported or exported without payment of duty.
Examples of goods that can be covered by ATA Carnets include commercial samples, clothing, and jewellery as well as professional equipment such as photography equipment, stage equipment and lighting. In the UK, ATA Carnets are administered by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There is an issuing cost, and Carnet holders are required to provide a security which relates to the value of the goods being temporarily exported. More information can be found on their website.
As an alternative to an ATA Carnet, businesses and individuals may be able to use the EU’s Temporary Admission procedure, when moving goods temporarily into the EU. This allows goods to enter the EU on a temporary basis without payment of duties subject to relevant conditions being met. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the Member States, so it is important that businesses and individuals confirm any conditions or procedures that may apply, such as the time limit that goods may remain in the EU without the payment of duty. Further information can be found on the EU’s website.