Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the provision of (1) swimming pools, and (2) leisure centres, in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools across the country, including in rural areas. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility for providing this access lies with local authorities, and the Government continues to encourage them to support swimming facilities.
We appreciate the impact that rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. That is why we announced the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme in September last year. The scheme was always time-limited, and has now been succeeded by the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Under the new scheme, swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.
Officials in my Department are in regular contact with representatives from the sector to assess the impact of rising energy costs, including monitoring how operators and local authorities are responding to them.
Sport England has invested £12,775,274 of public money in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £9,360,002 to Swim England. This is in addition to the Government’s £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many fines were imposed against gambling companies by the Gambling Commission for failing to meet their social responsibility obligations in (1) 2016, (2) 2017, (3) 2018, (4) 2019, (5) 2020, and (6) 2021.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Commission can fine a gambling operator if a licence condition has been breached. In some circumstances, the Commission may decide to agree a regulatory settlement instead of issuing a fine. While fines are paid to the Exchequer, regulatory settlements are divested by the company to third parties. The following financial penalties were imposed against gambling companies for failing to meet their social responsibility obligations between 2016 and 2021:
Year | Monetary value | Details |
2016/17 | £1.7m | 3 regulatory settlements |
2017/18 | £18.4m | 2 fines and 7 regulatory settlements |
2018/19 | £19.6m | 2 fines and 7 regulatory settlements |
2019/20 | £30.2m | 2 fines and 10 regulatory settlements |
2020/21 | £32.1m | 5 fines and 10 regulatory settlements |
2021/22 | £29.4m | 9 fines and 5 regulatory settlements |
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Gambling Act white paper will be published.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Act Review is an extensive, evidence-led review, which aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) church buildings, and (2) other historical buildings, in the UK are adversely affected by the presence of bat roosts.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Whilst His Majesty’s Government does not directly hold this information, we are aware of data through the Bats in Churches project, which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and is a partnership between Natural England, Historic England, Church of England, Bat Conservation Trust, and Churches Conservation Trust. The project aims to bring together the parties to create solutions to allow bats to be managed in churches either by their exclusion or by restricting access within the church itself to concealed roof spaces. The project has accumulated some data about the prevalence of bats in ecclesiastical buildings.
This data highlighted that around 60% of pre-16th century churches contain bat roosts, many home to nationally important breeding colonies. Churches are known to house larger roosts than other, natural sites.
Of 120 churches with bats consulted by the project partnership, for the 2015 project questionnaire, 90 churches reported damage caused by bats to the fabric of the church building, 81 churches reported damage to more than one monument, and 97 churches reported damage to fixtures and fittings.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what grants are available to repair medieval artwork damaged by bats in (1) church buildings, and (2) other historical buildings.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The £42 million per annum government funded Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme refunds the VAT incurred on the costs of repair and maintenance of Listed Places of Worship of all faiths and denominations. Under the scheme, repairs to wall paintings and murals are eligible as well as works to repair damage to the fabric of the building and mitigation measures to reduce or prevent damage caused by bats.
A Church of England congregation seeking advice on how to assess and address any damage is advised to contact the Head of Conservation at the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, who may also signpost funders who have supported conservation projects in the past.
Those concerned about other historic buildings will find advice on historic wall paintings, their conservation and how to find an appropriate conservator on the Historic England website: https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/buildings/decorative-features/wall-paintings/.
The Heritage Fund is currently funding a five year long Bats in Churches project that provides practical help and advice on the mitigation and management of bats. The project gives congregations the confidence to cope with their bats positively while giving regard to their protected status under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) (as amended) and The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations (2017) (as amended). The project runs until October 2023 and will continue to support and enable churches until it closes.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether loot boxes are (1) games of chance, and (2) capable of being exchanged for real money.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between loot boxes and problem gambling.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase monitoring of third-party websites that enable the trading of loot box items.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government’s response to the call for evidence sets out our findings on loot boxes, and our view on the next steps to address the issues it identified.
The call for evidence identified an association between the purchase of loot boxes and problem gambling. There are, however, a range of plausible explanations for this association, and research has not established whether a causal relationship exists.
Loot boxes vary in their design and deployment within games. Loot box rewards are usually confined for use within a given game and cannot be sold for real world currency, so are unlikely to meet the Gambling Act 2005's definition of a prize of ‘money or money’s worth’.
It is for the Gambling Commission to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue enforcement action against any operations which it believes to be facilitating unlicensed gambling. It has shown that it can and will take action where the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling. Its recent uplift in fees has given the regulator new resources to monitor for and tackle unlicensed gambling.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to include active members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry with five years of service to the list of groups awarded the commemorative Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Individual Government Departments, the devolved administrations and the Crown Dependencies were responsible for applying the criteria and making eligibility decisions regarding the award of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal to their staff and other organisations that fall under their sponsorship. The criteria are in line with those for the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
To qualify for the Medal, recipients must be in an eligible public sector role in a frontline emergency service accessed via a call to the 999 emergency telephone number or equivalent. This does not include members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, but that in no way diminishes our appreciation for the vital work they do.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the NERA report Economic Assessment of Selected House of Lords Gambling Reforms, published 26 May 2021; and what assessment they have made of how gambling reform could help to level up disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The report of the House of Lords Select Committee has been an important contribution to the evidence base informing our Review of the Gambling Act 2005. We have also carefully considered the “Economic Assessment of Selected House of Lords Gambling Reforms” by NERA, along with a wide range of evidence from other sources including the 16,000 submissions to our call for evidence. We are determined to tackle gambling harms across society with effective but proportionate controls, and will publish a white paper outlining our vision for the sector in the coming weeks.