Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to support new FM licences for radio stations in (a) Rutland, (b) Mid-Wales and (c) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The growth and development of digital radio and changes in listener behaviour have resulted in a clear shift away from analogue listening – digital listening now accounts for 74% of all radio listening (RAJAR Q3 2024). Although AM/FM platforms remain important for smaller commercial and community stations, significant numbers of listeners are migrating to digital platforms.
The licensing of AM/FM radio services is a matter for Ofcom, and in October Ofcom set out its current approach to licensing in a progress report on the rollout of small-scale DAB (SSDAB) technology. This report set out Ofcom’s current view that SSDAB offers audiences a wider range of services and makes a more efficient use of spectrum than FM, and committed to at least two further rounds of SSDAB licensing before considering the possibility of any further analogue licensing in the future.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether St John Ambulance volunteers will be awarded the Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
To qualify for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 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, and this does not include St John Ambulance volunteers.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to utilise data sovereignty to gain a competitive advantage over hostile states.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government’s approach to data policy is set out in the National Data Strategy. The strategy is ambitious and pro-growth, placing the availability of data and confidence in its use at its heart, and positioning the UK as a global data champion.
Data sovereignty, including improving data use and access in the UK and controlling our own data laws and regulations, presents a major opportunity for economic growth, strategic innovation as well as boosting our national security and defence capabilities. We have published priority areas for where the government will take action on increasing data access and availability in the National Data Strategy Mission 1 Policy Framework. The Government has also recently consulted on an ambitious package of data reforms to create a new pro-growth and innovation-friendly data protection regime that underpins the trustworthy use of data. We will be setting out next steps shortly.
The UK will also continue to champion the international flow of data and support open data and improved data quality and data standards, while working with like-minded international partners to ensure that global data governance supports better outcomes for us all.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timetable is for commencing the rollout of gigabit broadband in Rutland and Melton constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Commercial delivery of gigabit broadband is extending rapidly and according to the independent website www.thinkbroadband.com over 35% of premises in the Rutland and Melton constituency now have access to gigabit broadband. Approximately 95% have access to superfast broadband with speeds of at least 30 Mbps.
Alongside further commercial roll-out of gigabit broadband, premises in Rutland and Melton which are not within the scope of commercial coverage will be eligible for support through the £210 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) or through Project Gigabit procurements.
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. It enables households and businesses to club together to increase the total subsidy of a project to cover most, or all, of the costs for installation to eligible areas. Further information on the scheme is available on the GBVS website.
Premises within the constituency of Rutland and Melton are covered by three separate Project Gigabit procurement processes:
Most of the constituency falls within Lot 11 which covers Leicestershire and Warwickshire, with some further premises in Lot 10 which focuses on Nottinghamshire and the West of Lincolnshire. These areas are both anticipated to commence procurement between November 2022 and January 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between October 2023 and December 2023.
Most of the remaining premises are covered by Lot 5 which covers Cambridgeshire and adjacent areas. This area is currently in procurement with an estimated contract start date of between November and December this year.
A small number of premises are included within Lot 23 which is focused on Lincolnshire and East Riding. This procurement is targeted to commence between May and July 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between April and June 2024.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support food tourism in (a) the UK and (b) Rutland and Melton constituency.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The £45m Discover England Fund supports the development of internationally marketed tourism products, including food tourism experiences. The Gourmet Garden Trails project, for example, promotes a range of regional culinary-themed itineraries.
VisitBritain has created a number of Food and Drink Tourism Hubs to showcase food and drink experiences available across the UK. VisitBritain also includes the Melton Mowbray pork pie in its guide to English food and drink in the East Midlands.