Asked by: Lord Storey (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 the importance of music education to creative industries in the UK.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
In 2016, the creative industries employed 2 million people and made up 5% of the UK’s total GVA. Securing a strong and diverse intake of skills and talent is key to the sector's continued success and that is why Government is committed to ensuring children enjoy a broad curriculum, including music. Recognising the importance of music, the Government is spending £300m between 2016-20 on music education hubs alongside a range of other arts and cultural educational programmes. In January 2019, DfE announced an additional £1.33 million funding for music education hubs and that an independent panel would be working with Government to create a model music curriculum.
Sir Peter Bazalgette's 2017 independent review of the creative industries concluded that social and informational barriers to entry are inhibiting the growth and greater productivity of the sector. That is why government is investing £2m seed funding for the industry-led Creative Careers Programme, aimed at raising awareness of employment opportunities and developing entry routes into the creative industries, including the music sector.
Asked by: Lord Storey (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 the Reporters Without Borders 2019 World Press Freedom Index; and the UK’s position at 33 in that index.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We welcome the improvement in the UK’s ranking, but are disappointed that our position is not higher. The UK press is among the most respected and free in the world. The government recognises press freedom is fundamental to a healthy democracy and strongly supports it, including committing to repeal s40; publishing a world leading independent review on the sustainability of high quality journalism by Dame Cairncross; and launching a Global Media Freedoms campaign.
Asked by: Lord Storey (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 Social Impact Bonds; and whether they intend to continue the scheme.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Government has launched several Social Impact Bond programmes since 2010, including the Peterborough Prison Offender Rehabilitation service, the Social Outcomes Fund, two Rough Sleeping Programmes and the Fair Chance Fund. Evaluation and assessment findings have shown that Social Impact Bonds can successfully address complex social problems, with evidence of both improved outcomes and reductions in costs.
The Centre for Social Impact Bonds will continue to build the evidence base for Social Impact Bonds by supporting the monitoring and evaluation of current programmes, and building on our partnership with the Government Outcomes Lab at Oxford University, a centre of expertise for Social Impact Bonds and innovative Government commissioning.
In line with our commitments outlined in the Civil Society Strategy, the Centre for Social Impact Bonds will continue to provide support to government departments to deliver Social Impact Bonds at scale. Government is also supporting the use of Social Impact Bonds in the commissioning of local public services through the Life Chances Fund, an £80m fund to help people in society who face the most significant barriers to lead happy and productive lives.
Asked by: Lord Storey (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 the impact on local communities of the decision by Ofcom to remove the requirement on local radio stations to produce their own breakfast show.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We have made no such assessment. These are matters for Ofcom, the independent regulator.
Asked by: Lord Storey (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 the regulations issued by Ofcom in 2018 that allowed radio station owners to reduce the minimum amount of local programming on local radio stations during daytime hours from seven to three hours per day.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We have made no such assessment. These are matters for Ofcom, the independent regulator.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the protected Sports Rights List; whether they have any plans to add other national sports, in particular women’s sports, to that list; if so, which sports they intend to add; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The list of protected sporting events was last reviewed between 2008 and 2009, by an independent advisory panel. Government does not currently have any plans to revise the list which we believe works well to deliver the best outcome. Our listed events regime strikes a balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public while allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport.
Coverage of women’s professional sport on free to air television has improved significantly in the last ten years, with the women’s Football World Cup and Euro Championships, Women’s Rugby World Cup, cycling and tennis being regular fixtures on the BBC and ITV . However, the list is kept under continued review by my Department to ensure that the nation’s most loved sporting events remain available on free to air television.