Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what concerns relating to problem gambling and women they intend to address in their Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Gambling Commission is continuing to monitor gambling behaviour during the Covid-19 period. Survey data published by the Commission in January indicated that 87% of women gamblers have gambled the same amount or less during the pandemic than they had previously. The Commission recently wrote to operators to remind them of its guidance issued in May 2020, which requires them to increase protections for those who may be at heightened risk of gambling harm. That guidance directed operators to monitor customer behaviour more closely to identify signs of potential harm, and banned mechanisms by which customers could cancel requests to withdraw money from their account.
The Gambling Commission also conducts a quarterly telephone survey of gambling behaviours which collects data about problem gambling prevalence. The most recent wave of that survey was carried out in September, and aggregated results for the year to September 2020 estimated the problem gambling rate amongst women to be 0.3%. This is higher than the rate estimated for the year to September 2019 (0.1%), but lower than the rate estimated for the year to March 2020 (0.4%). Caution should be used when interpreting these figures due to the low numbers of respondents involved. Much of the data for the year to September 2020 was collected prior to the Covid-19 period, and problem gambling is measured using questions which ask about past year experiences and behaviours, so it is not possible to accurately assess the relative impact of the pandemic on fluctuations in currently available data. The Commission will publish the next wave of telephone survey data later this month, which will give figures for the year to December 2020.
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8th December with the publication of a call for evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure we have the right balance for regulation and appropriate protections for all vulnerable people.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the levels of problem gambling among women.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Gambling Commission is continuing to monitor gambling behaviour during the Covid-19 period. Survey data published by the Commission in January indicated that 87% of women gamblers have gambled the same amount or less during the pandemic than they had previously. The Commission recently wrote to operators to remind them of its guidance issued in May 2020, which requires them to increase protections for those who may be at heightened risk of gambling harm. That guidance directed operators to monitor customer behaviour more closely to identify signs of potential harm, and banned mechanisms by which customers could cancel requests to withdraw money from their account.
The Gambling Commission also conducts a quarterly telephone survey of gambling behaviours which collects data about problem gambling prevalence. The most recent wave of that survey was carried out in September, and aggregated results for the year to September 2020 estimated the problem gambling rate amongst women to be 0.3%. This is higher than the rate estimated for the year to September 2019 (0.1%), but lower than the rate estimated for the year to March 2020 (0.4%). Caution should be used when interpreting these figures due to the low numbers of respondents involved. Much of the data for the year to September 2020 was collected prior to the Covid-19 period, and problem gambling is measured using questions which ask about past year experiences and behaviours, so it is not possible to accurately assess the relative impact of the pandemic on fluctuations in currently available data. The Commission will publish the next wave of telephone survey data later this month, which will give figures for the year to December 2020.
The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8th December with the publication of a call for evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, and aims to make sure we have the right balance for regulation and appropriate protections for all vulnerable people.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with churches and faith communities about the difficulties of obtaining broadband access for places of worship which do not have a postcode; and what plans they have to arrange a debate on this issue in the House.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has been in discussion with representatives from the Church of England, in particular, regarding the issue of broadband access where places of worship do not have postcodes, or are otherwise missing from telecom provider databases. In some cases this leads to issues in identifying and providing service to such locations.
Over 31,000 premises are listed in relevant databases accessible to the Government as being used as places of worship. Of these, approximately 86% of premises used for religious purposes in Great Britain can access Superfast broadband speeds or better on fixed networks, compared to the UK average of 95%. Approximately 4% of premises used for religious purposes in Great Britain cannot access ‘decent broadband’ speeds of 10 Megabit/s on Fixed networks, compared to the UK average of 2%, largely due to their rurality. However, 4G data services are also widely available, and this reduces the number of such listed places of worship with no potential service to less than 0.2% of the total.
We are working with relevant stakeholders, including telecom operators (such as Openreach) and Ofcom, to ascertain the extent of this problem, and how many religious premises are still facing these barriers. This includes whether data used by operators is consistent with that available to the Government and to identify appropriate solutions, including ensuring that databases are up to date, but also that all broadband technology solutions that are available to places of worship are considered. Therefore, there are no current plans to debate the matter in the House.
We understand the importance for broadband access in places of worship to help improve connectivity for local communities, as well as practical benefits for such premises, including streaming services, security, and accepting contactless donations or administration.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) regarding the fee structure for coaching courses and for the Level One coaching qualification for school-aged children; what assessment they have made of the impact of fees charged on participation by young people from (1) state, and (2) private schools; and whether they have advised the LTA to vary that fee structure according to which type of school a young person attends.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We want all young people, regardless of economic background, to be healthy and active, and playing tennis is a great way to achieve this. Coaching courses and participation fees are for sports to manage, but as set out in the government's sport strategy Sporting Future, we should ensure that opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity are as inclusive and accessible as possible
Sport England published its new coaching plan “Coaching in an Active Nation: The Coaching Plan for England” earlier this year, setting out a key objective of making it easier to become a coach. An important part of that is reducing the costs of entry. Sport England has recently commissioned a review of the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) which will include looking at the issue of the increased cost of coaching qualifications.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government how they intend to monitor the effectiveness of grants given to those charities that have a turnover of less than £250,000 per year.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
All grants managed by the Office for Civil Society are consistent with the Government Grants Minimum Standards, which provide guidance on effective grant monitoring. All payments to grantees are subject to the satisfactory and timely completion of monitoring reports that set out the use of funds to date as well as progress against pre-agreed milestones, outputs and outcomes.
Asked by: Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to increase charitable giving from higher-rate tax payers.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The UK is the most generous place in Europe and one of the most generous places in the world. In 2016 alone, the British public donated around £10 billion to charitable causes and 73% of people gave money in an average month. This is a level of generosity that deserves to be celebrated. To help build a compassionate country that works for everyone, this Government will make it as easy and compelling as possible for people to give.
The Government currently offers several schemes to incentivise higher-rate taxpayers to give. Tax relief is offered when donations are made through Gift Aid, when donating land, property, shares, or if gifts are left to charity in a will. Relief is also available for any individual or company who donates cultural artefacts through the Cultural Gift Scheme.
At the Giving Roundtables held in 2016, the Government heard about opportunities to increase charitable giving by higher-rate taxpayers. Further announcements about those opportunities will follow.
The £4m Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone innovation fund, managed by Arts Council England on behalf of DCMS, was set up to pilot library service projects that provide benefit disadvantaged people and places in England. These pilots will be tracked and evaluated, with a view to encouraging wider adoption and investment in those which prove most successful.