Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the enquiries her Department are making to ensure that the preferred organisation to run the next National Lottery licence, Allwyn, do not have financial, or political ties to the current Russian regime.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The competition to operate the 4th National Lottery licence is run by the Gambling Commission. In accordance with the relevant legislation, the decision to appoint Allwyn as the preferred bidder was made by the Commission’s Board. DCMS and Ministers have not been involved in the decision making process, nor have they discussed or corresponded with the Commission about who the licence should be awarded to.
We do not have any plans to publish correspondence between the Department and the Gambling Commission.
It is the Gambling Commission’s responsibility to regulate the National Lottery and appoint a licensee that will operate the National Lottery with all due propriety. To satisfy this duty, fit and proper checks were carried out during the competition and will be maintained throughout the transition and licence term. These checks consider the identity, integrity, criminality and financial integrity of those operating or benefitting from the National Lottery (or applying to do so) and include enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Where an individual was based overseas, checks were carried out against information provided by the relevant police report. In addition, the Commission reviewed the funding structures for all applicants, including Allwyn, and is satisfied that no sanctioned entities are involved in funding the proposed licensee.
Standard vetting checks (BPSS level - Baseline Personnel Security Standard) are being carried out by UK Security Vetting on key people connected with the preferred applicant’s proposal. These include Qualifying Direct Shareholders, which is any person that holds at least 5% interest in the Licensee. This vetting process has already started and is expected to take 8 – 10 weeks to complete. Full details of what is included in a BPSS level check is outlined on the UKSV website.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish her Department's correspondence with the Gambling Commission with reference to their decision to appoint Allwyn, a company with reported links to the Russian regime, as the preferred organisation to run the next licence for the National Lottery.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The competition to operate the 4th National Lottery licence is run by the Gambling Commission. In accordance with the relevant legislation, the decision to appoint Allwyn as the preferred bidder was made by the Commission’s Board. DCMS and Ministers have not been involved in the decision making process, nor have they discussed or corresponded with the Commission about who the licence should be awarded to.
We do not have any plans to publish correspondence between the Department and the Gambling Commission.
It is the Gambling Commission’s responsibility to regulate the National Lottery and appoint a licensee that will operate the National Lottery with all due propriety. To satisfy this duty, fit and proper checks were carried out during the competition and will be maintained throughout the transition and licence term. These checks consider the identity, integrity, criminality and financial integrity of those operating or benefitting from the National Lottery (or applying to do so) and include enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Where an individual was based overseas, checks were carried out against information provided by the relevant police report. In addition, the Commission reviewed the funding structures for all applicants, including Allwyn, and is satisfied that no sanctioned entities are involved in funding the proposed licensee.
Standard vetting checks (BPSS level - Baseline Personnel Security Standard) are being carried out by UK Security Vetting on key people connected with the preferred applicant’s proposal. These include Qualifying Direct Shareholders, which is any person that holds at least 5% interest in the Licensee. This vetting process has already started and is expected to take 8 – 10 weeks to complete. Full details of what is included in a BPSS level check is outlined on the UKSV website.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of (a) projected funds raised for good causes by the National Lottery and (b) actual funds raised by that organisation in the last bid period.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Gambling Commission provides DCMS and the Lottery Distributing Bodies with good cause forecasts updated on a six-monthly basis to assist them with their grant planning. The forecast is presented as a range, with low, high and central scenarios. The modelling approach is regularly refined to ensure the forecasts remain as accurate as possible. We do not publish this information given commercial sensitivities.
Actual good cause returns are published in the National Lottery Distribution Fund Annual Report and Accounts and can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the contribution was to good causes from each pound spent on National Lottery games in (a) 2010 and (b) 2021; and what total amount in contributions to good causes was so raised in each of those years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The precise breakdown of contribution to good causes from each £ spent on National Lottery games varies depending on the level of sales, the types of game being sold and the period of the licence that has been reached. The table below gives a breakdown of the total returns to good causes against the proportion returned £ spent in 2009/10 and 2020/21. Although the per £ return is lower in 2020/21, the overall return to good causes is higher. The reduction in good cause money per £ of sales is caused largely by a mix shift towards scratchcards and online instant win games which return a lower amount per £ sales. The contribution per £ of sales for each underlying product type has remained broadly the same over the period.
Financial year | Total returns to good causes | Return to good causes per £ |
2020/21 | £1,833m | 21.4p |
2009/10 | £1,496m | 26.9p |
DCMS reports annually on the level of good cause income in the National Lottery Distribution Fund Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what protections have been put in place by the National Lottery operator to prevent under-18 year olds from playing National Lottery games online, since the new minimum age restrictions for the playing of such games online came into force in April 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The age to play the National Lottery changed from 16 to 18 years on 22 April 2021.
Digital players are subject to online Experian age-verification checks when registering for an account. Therefore, anyone under-18 will be prevented from opening an account with the National Lottery. Existing 16 and 17 year olds accounts were closed at the appropriate point and no under 18s were able to continue playing online.
In retail, in the months leading up to the change and continuing since, there was a range of communications from the National Lottery operator to retailers to ensure the new age limits are adhered to, consisting of retail visits, phone calls, training videos and other written information. The operator continues to be required to undertake test purchase activity, to establish whether sales have been or are being made or are likely to be made by retailers to purchasers under the age of 18, with a pass rate above 90% being achieved in the first few months of tests relating to the new age limits. This is a similar level of compliance to that achieved when the age limit was 16.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions she or her predecessor, or Ministers or senior civil servants of her Department, met with Camelot representatives in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Camelot is the licensee for the current licence to run the National Lottery. The Department meets with them regularly and on an ad hoc basis to discuss issues relating to their operation of the Third National Lottery licence and these meetings may include both senior and working level civil servants.
All ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed on the website.
Additionally the Directors General for Culture, Sport and Civil Society held an introductory meeting with Matt Ridsdale, Executive Director and Nigel Railton, CEO of Camelot on 9 March 2021.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the difference has been in the amount of projected funds raised for good causes by the National Lottery and actual funds so raised in the most recent bid period for which such information is available.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Gambling Commission provides DCMS and the Lottery Distributing Bodies with good cause forecasts updated on a six-monthly basis to assist them with their grant planning. The forecast is presented as a range, with low, high and central scenarios. The modelling approach is regularly refined to ensure the forecasts remain as accurate as possible. We do not publish this information given commercial sensitivities.
Actual returns are broadly consistent with these forecasts. The National Lottery returned £1,833m to good causes in 2020/21.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that broadband remains affordable to those on (a) universal credit and (b) other low-income benefits.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government has worked closely with industry throughout the pandemic and agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support vulnerable consumers during the Covid-19 period. Providers committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported. Providers also committed to removing fixed broadband data caps, in addition to providing new and generous landline and mobile offers, such as free or low cost mobile data boosts.
There are already social tariffs available which offer low cost landline and broadband services for those on certain means-tested benefits. However, the Government is now encouraging all fixed broadband providers to introduce a social tariff and we will monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to tackle the effect of misinformation online on disordered eating.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online.
The Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, published in December 2020, sets out the government’s plans to introduce a new statutory duty of care. Tech companies will have new responsibilities to protect their users, particularly children, from harmful content, which could include eating disorder content. The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the full government response, will be ready this year.
We have asked the Law Commission to review the current legislation on harmful online communications. As part of this review the Government has also asked the Law Commission to examine how the criminal law will address the encouragement or assistance of self harm. The Law Commission has made provisional recommendations and has consulted on these proposed reforms. They will provide final recommendations in summer 2021.
Online media and digital literacy can equip users with the skills they need to spot dangers online, critically appraise information and take steps to keep themselves and others safe online. The Online Harms White Paper, set out the government’s intention to develop an online media literacy strategy. The strategy will ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to online media literacy education and awareness for children, young people and adults.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to support women’s sport through the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
I am committed to helping women’s sport come out of the current crisis stronger than ever and I am continuing to work closely with the sector to ensure that happens. Over the last year I have met with a range of sports organisations to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women’s sport and how together we can address these challenges going forward. I have made clear in these discussions that I expect women’s sport to be protected through the pandemic and prioritised as we emerge on the other side.
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many women’s sport clubs have benefited from. For example, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has provided £220m directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic. Women’s spectator sports severely impacted by the restrictions around fans over the winter are also being supported through the £300m Sports Winter Survival Package, which aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England over the winter period.