Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 3 August (HL7046), whether the OneWeb offering has changed to include defence specific applications since 3 August.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
While Her Majesty's Government has a stake in the company, it will operate as a commercial entity. The point raised is a commercial matter and should be directed to the company.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to consult on the operation of the Electronic Communications Code.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are committed to consulting on whether further reforms to the Electronic Communications Code are necessary to support the delivery of digital connectivity. Timings for this consultation are still to be finalised, and we will confirm this as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Barran on 9 November (HL Deb, col 808), what proportion of the £119 million of funding available through Arts Council England has been paid directly to individual freelance workers; and what is the breakdown of payments by (1) art form, and (2) category of freelance worker.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Of the £119m available through Arts Council England as part of their Covid emergency support, over £26m has been distributed to individuals, including freelance workers, and organisations via the Emergency Relief Fund and Project Grants Funding (as of 5 November 2020).
Within the £26m, £17m has been distributed to individuals via ACE’s Emergency Response Fund (now closed) and c.£9m has so far been distributed to both organisations and individuals via Project Grants (out of a total of c.£80m available until April 2021).
In addition to the two Funds above, the £119m also includes the following:
£6 million distributed by a series of Benevolent Funds focused on self employed individuals; and
£18 million available through their Developing Your Creative Practice Fund
The split by art form and category of freelance worker will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on (1) developing, and (2) trialling, the Job Support Scheme.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HM Treasury, along with other Government departments including HMRC, developed the Job Support Scheme through the usual government processes using a range of Civil Service policy expertise and experience. It is not possible to determine the cost of developing individual policies. The Chancellor postponed the Job Support Scheme and has announced the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK. HMG will review the policy in January to consider whether any changes to the policy are appropriate in light of the economic and health situation at that time.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward proposals for a pilot study allowing the use of digital forms of identification for age verification purposes in retail and hospitality settings.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A Document Checking Service pilot is currently underway to test the use of digital means of identification-proofing across the economy. Age verification is a key requirement in a range of sectors where there are age restricted goods and services, including hospitality and retail. It is important we get our approach right. Therefore, we are working with industry and civil society to develop standards that will provide confidence to retailers and consumers that digital identity products are secure and fit for purpose. We continue to work in close collaboration with other Government departments on this matter.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) feasibility, and (2) benefits, of promoting the use of digital identification in retail and hospitality settings to help address the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Having a more open economy is reliant on having measures in place to minimise transmission of the virus and keep the public safe. Where someone who has visited a venue in the hospitality sector or other designated sectors tests positive, NHS Test and Trace or local public health officials may request the records maintained by that venue of staff, customers and visitors. This will help them to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and provide the necessary public health advice.
Since 18 September 2020, the Test and Trace strategy has included mandatory requirements for designated venues, including displaying an official National Health Service QR code poster from 24 September, so that customers and visitors can ‘check in’ using the NHS COVID-19 app as an alternative to providing their contact details.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Callanan on 8 July (HL Deb, col 1119) that OneWeb “has many applications that the UK can leverage, including defence applications” and the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 14 July (HL6644) which stated that “the investment in OneWeb is not a Defence matter”, whether OneWeb has any current defence applications; if so what those applications are; and if not, when they became aware that OneWeb could not be applied to defence matters.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The current OneWeb offering does not include any defence specific applications. The investment in OneWeb is not a defence matter. Moving forward, OneWeb’s capabilities around its second-generation satellite offering will be reviewed in the context of the UK’s evolving civil and military space requirements.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the European Electronic Communications Code beyond the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December; and, if they intend to maintain the Code, what assessment they have made of its impact on the use of digital technologies designed to detect and prevent online harms against children.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, it is a legal requirement to implement the European Electronic Communications Code Directive (EECC) by 21 December 2020. The Government's approach to implementing the Directive was published at gov.uk on 22 July (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-the-european-electronic-communications-code), and was laid in the House of Lords Library on the same date.
Amendments made in UK legislation to implement the Directive will be retained after 31 December, save for limited instances where corrections are required to reflect the UK’s exit from the European Union. The Directive is infrastructure focused and does not include measures relating to the regulation of content, and our transposition approach as set out does not impinge on online harms.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the estimated costs, to date, (1) of preparing for the UK's participation in the Unified Patent Court, and (2) of any future wind down costs consequent on their decision to withdraw their ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court and the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Unified Patent Court. [T]
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
UK contribution to the project to date has been from multiple sources and amounted to £9.5m.
The Government committed to leasing accommodation for the UPC in London which is currently being utilised by the IPO and other tenants. We have invoked the break clause set out in the lease. We estimate future IPO costs of approximately £420,000 in net rent, plus costs to return the accommodation to its original state.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make regulations under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 to protect museum collections from sale when holding bodies go into administration.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government is aware of this important issue and DCMS is exploring options, including legislation, for how we may be able to prevent the dispersal, and therefore potential loss of these collections. One option is considering whether the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 can be used as a means of saving museum collections in the event of insolvency.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis officials and ministers have been in even more regular contact with museums and sector organisations to understand the impact of the pandemic, the measures the Government has taken to fight it and to understand what support museums and heritage organisations need and how best to get it to them. On 5th July, the Government announced a £1.57 billion support package to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions. In addition, DCMS arms’ length bodies have created sector specific support. Arts Council England launched a £160 million Emergency Funding Package, the National Lottery Heritage Fund launched the £50 million Heritage Emergency Fund, and Historic England launched a £2 million Emergency Fund. This emergency short-term funding will help address pressures over the next 3-6 months for those organisations most in immediate need.
The Government has also announced unprecedented support for business and workers, to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme and VAT payment deferrals. We know that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, in particular, has been a lifeline for the museum sector. The Government continues to monitor the impact of these and other measures.