Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funding to science and discovery centres which are not eligible for the support available to museums and cultural organisations.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for leisure attractions such as science and discovery centres. These organisations educate and entertain visitors of all ages on what science is and the important discoveries over the centuries that have changed all our lives.
We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers, including those in the tourism and attractions sector, to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes the Job Retention Scheme, VAT payment deferrals for firms and £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses. The Chancellor has also announced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.
Our immediate national priority is containing the spread of the virus. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will be encouraging people to visit leisure attractions once again. On 11th May 2020 the Government published a roadmap setting out how we expect organisations such as science and discovery centres to open back up and welcome visitors again.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing schemes to encourage charitable donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, including giving donors 100 per cent of tax relief rather than splitting that relief through Gift Aid.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In recognition of the vital role that the charity sector plays in the UK, the Government has long provided tax reliefs to help charities carry out their charitable aims. This includes the provision of tax reliefs directly to charities to increase the amount they have to spend on charitable activities; and on donations, to incentivise charitable giving. Gift Aid is widely supported and is worth around £1.3billion (2018-19). Giving 100% tax relief to the donor for donations to charities would mean charities losing out on valuable Gift Aid income. However, those who wish to receive 100% tax relief can make their donations through Payroll Giving.
As part of the government’s £750million support package for charities, the government announced it would match-fund public donations to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal on 23 April, starting with a contribution of at least £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust appeal. The event has raised over £33 million in donations from the general public. We encourage the public to continue donating to the National Emergencies Trust appeal, which is coordinating national support for local charities doing vital work during the pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with online media platforms to ensure readers and users of their comment sections are not subject to online harms.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet stakeholders to discuss a range of issues, including online media sites and their comment sections.
The Government published the initial response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation in February 2020. This confirmed that the Government is developing legislation on online harms to establish a new duty of care on online companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. This framework will make companies more responsible for their users’ safety. For comments sections on media sites, the legislation will not duplicate existing regulation.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total number and proportion of direct respondents to their consultation on the Leveson Inquiry Part 2 and section 40 who (1) wrote unique or individual letters or emails, (2) sent in coupons cut out from newspapers, (3) sent in pro-forma, standard or identical email responses, and (4) provided other responses; and for each of those categories, how many were in favour of their preferred options for (a) section 40, and (b) Leveson Part 2.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government received 174,730 direct responses to the consultation and two petitions, offering a variety of views. Of the direct responses, 79 percent were in favour of full repeal, compared to 7 percent who favoured full commencement. A full breakdown of responses can be found in the government response.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 16 June (HL576), whether the trial of Mazher Mahmood is among those cases she refers to as connected to the subject of the Leveson Inquiry and which must conclude before they will consider Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry, and which other criminal proceedings are also in that category.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are a number of on-going cases captured by the Leveson criteria, which were laid down to avoid the risk of prejudice to the right to fair trials in the criminal courts. The trial of Mazher Mahmood is one of these.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), who, in addition to Sir Brian Leveson, will be consulted before a decision on Leveson Part 2 is made, and what form that consultation will take.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), whether it is their policy that the trial of Mazher Mahmood would need to be completed before Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry could take place.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.