Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the research by Coadec entitled How the Online Safety Bill could change liability rules, and what this means, published in February 2022, and its findings on the comparative average cost of compliance with the Online Safety Bill for large and small businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
Online intermediaries are protected from liability for illegal content they host, unless it is flagged and not removed. These protections support digital innovation in the UK.
Recognising that technology is fundamental to how companies protect users, the Online Safety Bill will empower Ofcom to be able to require technology companies to use automated technology that identifies and tackles illegal content and protects children.
The regulatory framework set out in the Online Safety Bill is designed to ensure that regulatory expectations on services are reasonable and proportionate to the severity of the potential harm posed and the resources available to the service.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that age restrictions implemented by the Online Safety Bill will not reduce online access to (a) sexual health and (b) LGBT+ educational resources.
Answered by Paul Scully
Under the child safety duties in the Bill, services which are likely to be accessed by children will only be required to protect children from content and activity that meets the Bill’s definition of content that is harmful to children. This is content of a kind which presents a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children in the UK. This would not include content that is designed to educate and inform children, such as content on sexual health and LGBT+ educational resources.
In addition, content will only meet the definition of pornographic content in the Bill if it is produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal. Part 5 of the Bill, which imposes restrictions for children in relation to pornographic content published or displayed by online providers, will not require providers to block children’s access to content where it is reasonable to assume that the content was created principally for educational reasons.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the need for regulatory certainty for companies deploying full fibre broadband on meeting the Government's target of reaching 85 per cent of premises with gigabit connectivity by 2025.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In 2018, the government published the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR), which set out our strategy to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable broadband. Central to this strategy is our desire to see a regulatory system which incentivises competition and investment in UK fixed telecoms. In this document, DCMS called for regulation that is limited to where it is necessary, and provides the longer-term stability and predictability that investors need.
We followed this with our 2019 Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom. This document implemented the regulatory strategy we established in the FTIR, including through extending market review periods to at least five years.
In 2021, Ofcom published its Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) which set out Ofcom’s decisions for regulation of the fixed telecoms markets until 2026. The WFTMR makes explicit mention of the government’s desire for regulatory stability and certainty set out in the Statement of Strategic Priorities.
This approach is working; thanks to our stable regulatory environment, there are now over 80 companies investing over £35bn to connect premises all over the UK, and gigabit coverage has increased to over 70%, rising from just 6% in 2019.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Electronic Communications Code as set out in the Digital Economy Act 2017.
Answered by Matt Warman
My Department has been working closely with stakeholders within the private and public sector since the 2017 reforms to the Electronic Communications Code (“the Code”) came into effect to support their implementation and to understand their impact on this important sector.
We are keen to ensure that the Code is fully fit for purpose and intend to consult on whether further reforms are necessary to support investment in digital networks.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the role of public sector landlords, including local authorities, in supporting greater mobile connectivity.
Answered by Matt Warman
Public sector landlords play a critical role in facilitating the delivery of greater mobile connectivity. We are keen to ensure that the public sector leads by example and that public property is readily available for digital infrastructure deployment.
My Department’s Barrier Busting Task Force regularly engages with local authorities across the country to advise on the deployment of mobile infrastructure. This includes the publication of guidance, for example on access to assets and valuation, and working directly with councils to encourage greater collaboration with the mobile sector and develop understanding of the Electronic Communications Code, which underpins rights to install digital communications apparatus. My officials spoke with Buckinghamshire County Council in December last year, and are planning to meet with Milton Keynes Council in the near future.
In addition to our work with local authorities, both we and the Office of Government Property are continuing to engage with government departments and arm’s length bodies in order to provide them with training and guidance on access to public sector land.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what further support will be made available to grassroot music venues who were unsuccessful in their bid for funding from the Culture Recovery Fund.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We will analyse the impact of the funds we have already announced. We are continuing to meet with live events stakeholders to provide support and guidance for grassroots music venues to re-open and stage live events.
The Secretary of State announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the cultural sector which will benefit the live events sector by providing support to venues and many other cultural organisations to stay open and continue operating. £333 million was awarded to 1973 arts organisations which had applied for grants less than £1 million from Arts Council England. Funded organisations included venues, festivals, theatres, museums and cultural organisations. Over the coming weeks further Culture Recovery Fund awards will be announced - including grants over £1 million, and the Capital Kickstart and Repayable Finance programmes.
The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme come to end. We are also offering businesses who face a drop in demand for their services and possible cash flow issues generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans.
We continue to engage with the sector to discuss the on-going challenges facing grassroots music venues.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department plans to make available from the public purse for arts and culture venues that were unsuccessful in obtaining funds from the Culture Recovery Fund.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Culture Recovery Fund will provide a vital lifeline to thousands of organisations but we have always been clear that this funding would not be enough to help every organisation. This is public money and it is important that there was a robust criteria that applicants had to meet. This included applicants being able to show that they have a sustainable, viable plan, and that this funding would help them to continue trading.
While this means not everyone who applied could be supported, we have provided funding to almost 2000 organisations already - providing a vital life line and protecting them for future generations. Organisations unsuccessful in obtaining funds from the Culture Recovery Fund can still apply to the government’s other support measures including the job support scheme, the bounce back loans scheme and the VAT reduction.
In addition, Arts Council England recently reopened the National Lottery Project Fund programme with a budget of £77.9 million which will be available until April 2021. This programme will support independent organisations, creative practitioners and freelancers.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the planned timescale is for reopening indoor ice rinks as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.
The Government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health. The Government is in discussions with representatives from the sport and physical activity sector about the steps required to restart grassroots sport and will update the public when it is deemed safe to reopening indoor sports venues and facilities as soon as it is safe to do so including indoor ice rinks.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to enable the re-opening of swimming pools as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased; and if he will estimate the date on which swimming pools may re-open.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.
The Government is committed to reopening facilities as soon as it is safe to do so including indoor gyms and sports centres. The Sport Working Group, led by myself, feeds into the Secretary of State’s Cultural Renewal Taskforce and ensures strong sector and expert support for the co-development of guidelines and will help leisure facilities become Covid-secure and re-open as early as possible in July.
As with all aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19, we will be guided by the science to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to enable the re-opening of indoor gyms and sports venues; and and if he will estimate the date on which indoor gyms and sports centres may so re-open.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.
The Government is committed to reopening facilities as soon as it is safe to do so including indoor gyms and sports centres. The Sport Working Group, led by myself, feeds into the Secretary of State’s Cultural Renewal Taskforce and ensures strong sector and expert support for the co-development of guidelines and will help leisure facilities become Covid-secure and re-open as early as possible in July.
As with all aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19, we will be guided by the science to ensure that as restrictions are eased people can return to activity safely.