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Written Question
Internet: Crimes of Violence
Thursday 20th October 2022

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

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 prevent online violent images being used as a form of cyber bullying.

Answered by Damian Collins

The Online Safety Bill will require all in-scope platforms to assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content appearing on their sites, or of their sites being used to facilitate illegal activity. All in-scope platforms will need to design their services to prevent exposure to illegal content and will need to set out in their terms of service how individuals will be protected from illegal content online. In-scope platforms will also need to ensure that they quickly take down illegal content once it has been reported or they become aware of its presence on their services.

Platforms which are likely to be accessed by children will also need to assess the risks their service poses for children, including from harms such as cyberbullying and content depicting or encouraging violence, put in place measures to protect them, and monitor these to ensure they are keeping children safe on their services.

Users will be able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform.

If major platforms don’t fulfil their own standards to keep people safe, they could face an investigation and enforcement action.


Written Question
Internet: Crimes of Violence
Thursday 20th October 2022

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

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 remove violent images of assault from online sites.

Answered by Damian Collins

The Online Safety Bill will require all in-scope platforms to assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content appearing on their sites, or of their sites being used to facilitate illegal activity. All in-scope platforms will need to design their services to prevent exposure to illegal content and will need to set out in their terms of service how individuals will be protected from illegal content online. In-scope platforms will also need to ensure that they quickly take down illegal content once it has been reported or they become aware of its presence on their services.

Platforms which are likely to be accessed by children will also need to assess the risks their service poses for children, including from harms such as cyberbullying and content depicting or encouraging violence, put in place measures to protect them, and monitor these to ensure they are keeping children safe on their services.

Users will be able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform.

If major platforms don’t fulfil their own standards to keep people safe, they could face an investigation and enforcement action.


Written Question
Internet: Crimes of Violence
Thursday 20th October 2022

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

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 prevent violent images of assault being (a) uploaded, and (b) distributed on online sites.

Answered by Damian Collins

The Online Safety Bill will require all in-scope platforms to assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content appearing on their sites, or of their sites being used to facilitate illegal activity. All in-scope platforms will need to design their services to prevent exposure to illegal content and will need to set out in their terms of service how individuals will be protected from illegal content online. In-scope platforms will also need to ensure that they quickly take down illegal content once it has been reported or they become aware of its presence on their services.

Platforms which are likely to be accessed by children will also need to assess the risks their service poses for children, including from harms such as cyberbullying and content depicting or encouraging violence, put in place measures to protect them, and monitor these to ensure they are keeping children safe on their services.

Users will be able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform.

If major platforms don’t fulfil their own standards to keep people safe, they could face an investigation and enforcement action.


Written Question
Professional Footballers Association: Conduct
Friday 14th January 2022

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had sight of the independent QC-led review into the conduct of the Professional Footballer’s Association; and whether her Department plans to take any actions as a result of that review.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is a trade union and has private membership. It is for the relevant National Governing Body of sport to take action in this area, but the government will take a keen interest in the findings.

We will continue to work closely with these bodies across the sports sector more broadly to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm.


Written Question
Film and Television
Wednesday 28th March 2018

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the UK television and film production sector.

Answered by Margot James

Government has been working closely with the creative industries, including the UK television and film sector, to understand the impacts and opportunities presented by our decision to leave the EU.

We will continue to engage the creative industries as the UK prepares to leave and ensure any future relationship best serves the UK’s national interest, including helping the UK screen sectors to continue to thrive.


Written Question
Arts: Finance
Thursday 22nd March 2018

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to increase funding from the public purse to the creative industries.

Answered by Margot James

Government recognises the importance of the creative industries and directly supports them in a number of ways, including tax credits, regional development programmes and other funding programmes. Future spending will be determined through normal budgetary processes.


Written Question
European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production
Thursday 22nd March 2018

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production applies to the UK after it leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Margot James

The UK is a Party to the 1992 European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production. This is not affected by the UK’s departure from the European Union.


Written Question
Entertainers: Free Movement of People
Thursday 22nd March 2018

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

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 potential effect of the loss of freedom of movement on the UK entertainment sector.

Answered by Margot James

Government is continuing to work closely with stakeholders from across the creative industries to fully understand the potential impacts and opportunities of the UK’s exit from the European Union, which includes the ability of the UK entertainment sector to work and tour across Europe.

We are working closely with the Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) to ensure that they are well informed of the issues for the creative industries.

We want to continue to build on the success of the UK entertainment industry and are committed to supporting industry performance across the world.


Written Question
Arts: EU Grants and Loans
Thursday 22nd March 2018

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has plans to replicate Creative Europe funding for UK creative industries after the UK leaves the EU.

Answered by Margot James

In her Mansion House speech the Prime Minister made clear that the UK is committed to continuing cultural and educational participation with the EU. This would enable the UK to participate in key programmes alongside our EU partners to promote our shared values and enhance our intellectual strength in the world.

We have agreed a fair financial settlement with the EU enabling us to move to the next stage of negotiations, and will continue to benefit from EU programmes under this budget plan. Organisations that receive European funding can continue to bid for and receive funding until the end of their projects.


Written Question
Sports: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Wednesday 5th April 2017

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy have been reported by (a) sports national governing bodies and (b) national medical services in the last five years.

Answered by Tracey Crouch

The Government takes player safety seriously in all sports. I expect National Governing Bodies, as the designated authorities with responsibility to regulate their sport, to monitor and act upon player safety as their highest priority, and be able to demonstrate how they are complying with all the relevant health and safety regulations and practices.

The department does not provide advice to medical services on concussion or on the comparative health risks resulting from taking part in major sports.

Medical research into injuries sustained in certain sports is being carried out by staff at the English Institute of Sport, and work in this area is to be published in the near future. However, this will not focus specifically on chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

National Governing Bodies with significant risk of this type of injury in their sport put appropriate plans in place, issue guidance across their membership such as recent RFU and FA publications, and set elite level protocols, as the designated authorities with responsibility to regulate their sport.

In addition, the department is a member of the Sport and Recreation Alliance’s Forum on Concussion which aims to raise awareness and support professionals, students, parents and volunteers to be able to deal better with incidents of concussion.