Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a leak inquiry was carried out by his Department into the source of reports by ITV News on 25 October 2021 setting out the detail of increases in the National Minimum Wage to be announced in the Budget on 27 October 2021, including quotes about the rationale behind those increases attributed to him.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a long-established practice of the Treasury not to comment either on whether a leak inquiry has been established, or on its conduct or outcome.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of television advertising slots there have been on UK free to view television in the most recent year for which data is available, and (2) of the trend in the number of such advertisements over the previous 10 years.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom is the independent regulatory body responsible for overseeing the amount and scheduling of adverts on UK licensed broadcast television. It is the responsibility of Ofcom to make any assessment in relation to the number of television advertising slots on UK free to view television or any related trends over the years.
Under section 322 of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom requires licensed television broadcasters to observe a set limit on the amount of advertising they show. The number of internal advertising slots permitted on public service channels depends on the genre and scheduled duration of the specific programme. The total amount of advertising on ITV 1, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and STV must not exceed an average of seven minutes per hour of broadcasting in any one day, or an average of 8 minutes per hour between 6.00 and 11.00 p.m. For other broadcasters, the total amount of advertising in any one day must not exceed an average of nine minutes per hour of broadcasting. This may be increased by a further three minutes per hour devoted to teleshopping spots.
Ofcom’s Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA) sets out the rules with which licensed television broadcasters must comply when displaying adverts. If a broadcaster does not comply with these requirements, they can be found in breach of their licence.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether there are restrictions on the (a) length or (b) nature of advertising ITV shows on ITV hub.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
There are currently no limits on the amount of advertising Ofcom regulated on-demand services (such as ITVHub) can show. However, there are restrictions on the type and content of advertising that appear on on-demand services. These are set out in Section 368F of the Communications Act. Ofcom has designated the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to enforce the rules.
The advertising must adhere to the content and placement standards set out in the advertising codes, namely the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising (CAP Code). This code sets out the principles for advertisers that their marketing content should be legal, decent and honest.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what regulatory barrier prevents non-public broadcasters adopting any or all of Channel 4's obligations and methods of operating.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government wants Channel 4 to remain a public service broadcaster. Public service broadcasters - publicly and privately owned - have both benefits and obligations. Our consultation document outlines that we see the value in many of these obligations.
Channel 4’s ability to make distinctive content, and its work with independent producers are precisely the strengths we would protect and expect any potential buyer to look to develop and nurture, should we decide to proceed with a sale. We do not therefore subscribe to a false binary choice between public service remit and privatisation.
Indeed, we already have two privately-owned - and very successful - public service broadcasters in the examples of ITV and Channel 5. Both continue to deliver public service objectives.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria were used in the appointment of the chair of the review of children's social care, announced on 15 January.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, asked Josh MacAlister to lead the independent review of children’s social care based on his understanding of the challenges facing the system and his experience of implementing innovative solutions. It is common practice for independent reviewers to be directly appointed based on their expertise.
The department will set out the expected timescales for the review in due course. As part of business planning and setting budgets for the financial year 2021/2022, the department will work with the lead reviewer to ensure there are sufficient resources available to undertake the review.
The event to launch the review was attended by over 50 people from over 25 organisations, as well as Josh MacAlister, the reviewer, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. These organisations are: Action for Children, Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board, Association of Directors of Children’s Service, Barnardo’s, Become, BBC, Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Cardiff University, Care Leaver Covenant Board, Chair of Child Safeguarding Panel, Office of the Children’s Commissioner, Children's Society, Coram, Council for Disabled Children, Daily Telegraph, Department for Education, Early Intervention Foundation, Family Justice Observatory, Family Rights Group, Financial Times, ITV, LEAP Academy, Local Government Association, National Children’s Bureau, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Ofsted, Social Work England, What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, Sky News and Social Work England. A number of individuals who were invited to and attended the event have lived experience of children’s social care. Representatives from other organisations were invited but did not attend. These are: Youth Endowment Fund, Kent University, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Reach Academy.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date the chair of the review of children's social care, announced on 15 January, was appointed; what is the duration of this appointment; and what is the total budget allocated to the review.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, asked Josh MacAlister to lead the independent review of children’s social care based on his understanding of the challenges facing the system and his experience of implementing innovative solutions. It is common practice for independent reviewers to be directly appointed based on their expertise.
The department will set out the expected timescales for the review in due course. As part of business planning and setting budgets for the financial year 2021/2022, the department will work with the lead reviewer to ensure there are sufficient resources available to undertake the review.
The event to launch the review was attended by over 50 people from over 25 organisations, as well as Josh MacAlister, the reviewer, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. These organisations are: Action for Children, Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board, Association of Directors of Children’s Service, Barnardo’s, Become, BBC, Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Cardiff University, Care Leaver Covenant Board, Chair of Child Safeguarding Panel, Office of the Children’s Commissioner, Children's Society, Coram, Council for Disabled Children, Daily Telegraph, Department for Education, Early Intervention Foundation, Family Justice Observatory, Family Rights Group, Financial Times, ITV, LEAP Academy, Local Government Association, National Children’s Bureau, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Ofsted, Social Work England, What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, Sky News and Social Work England. A number of individuals who were invited to and attended the event have lived experience of children’s social care. Representatives from other organisations were invited but did not attend. These are: Youth Endowment Fund, Kent University, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Reach Academy.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) organisations, and (2) individuals, were (a) invited to, and (b) attended, the launch of the review of children's social care on 15 January.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, asked Josh MacAlister to lead the independent review of children’s social care based on his understanding of the challenges facing the system and his experience of implementing innovative solutions. It is common practice for independent reviewers to be directly appointed based on their expertise.
The department will set out the expected timescales for the review in due course. As part of business planning and setting budgets for the financial year 2021/2022, the department will work with the lead reviewer to ensure there are sufficient resources available to undertake the review.
The event to launch the review was attended by over 50 people from over 25 organisations, as well as Josh MacAlister, the reviewer, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. These organisations are: Action for Children, Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board, Association of Directors of Children’s Service, Barnardo’s, Become, BBC, Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Cardiff University, Care Leaver Covenant Board, Chair of Child Safeguarding Panel, Office of the Children’s Commissioner, Children's Society, Coram, Council for Disabled Children, Daily Telegraph, Department for Education, Early Intervention Foundation, Family Justice Observatory, Family Rights Group, Financial Times, ITV, LEAP Academy, Local Government Association, National Children’s Bureau, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Ofsted, Social Work England, What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, Sky News and Social Work England. A number of individuals who were invited to and attended the event have lived experience of children’s social care. Representatives from other organisations were invited but did not attend. These are: Youth Endowment Fund, Kent University, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Reach Academy.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data and information his Department holds on trends in the level of (a) original programming hours and (b) broadcast hours produced as (i) Programmes for schools and colleges and (ii) other educational content for school-age children by (A) the BBC, (B) ITV and (C) other broadcasters.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The department does not hold this information.
Ofcom data indicates that in 2018, public service broadcasters (PSBs, in this context the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) collectively broadcast 125 hours of content in 2018 meeting the description of “formal education”. Of this, 65 hours were considered original content.
This output was supplemented by content available on-demand, online, on podcasts and radio, as well as less formal educational content such as documentaries and broader children’s content.
Between 2010 and 2018, the total amount of educational content broadcast by PSBs fell considerably (2010: 725 hours). Over the same period, the amount of original educational content broadcast by PSBs remained relatively constant (2010: 70 hours), albeit with considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Data covering 2019 and 2020 is not yet available.
Ofcom data suggests that commercial multi channels broadcast 40 hours of original content classified as ‘other’ in 2018 (2014: 0 hours). This classification includes formal education.
Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on trends in the level of (a) original programming hours and (b) broadcast hours of (i) programmes for schools and colleges and (ii) other educational content for school-age children on (A) the BBC, (B) ITV and (C) other broadcasters.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The department does not hold this information.
Ofcom data indicates that in 2018, public service broadcasters (PSBs, in this context the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) collectively broadcast 125 hours of content in 2018 meeting the description of “formal education”. Of this, 65 hours were considered original content.
This output was supplemented by content available on-demand, online, on podcasts and radio, as well as less formal educational content such as documentaries and broader children’s content.
Between 2010 and 2018, the total amount of educational content broadcast by PSBs fell considerably (2010: 725 hours). Over the same period, the amount of original educational content broadcast by PSBs remained relatively constant (2010: 70 hours), albeit with considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Data covering 2019 and 2020 is not yet available.
Ofcom data suggests that commercial multi channels broadcast 40 hours of original content classified as ‘other’ in 2018 (2014: 0 hours). This classification includes formal education.
Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to include the Women’s World Cup Football Finals in the Listed Events category for free to air sports viewing.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Coverage of women’s professional sport on free to air television has improved significantly in the last ten years, with the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Euro Championships, Women’s Rugby World Cup, cycling and tennis being regular fixtures on the BBC and ITV.
We know that more can be done to improve equality in sports broadcasting. That is why we have just announced our proposal to add the Paralympic Games to the list and we have started the statutory consultation process to do that. We are also considering the addition of women’s only sporting events where the equivalent men’s only tournaments are currently listed, which we plan to consult on later in the year. This is to give equal recognition to disabled and women’s sports.