Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to limit children's exposure to gambling advertisements on popular streaming platforms.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to protecting children and young people from harmful gambling. There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children and young people. As part of the advertising codes which cover both broadcast and non-broadcast advertising, including on Video on Demand (VOD) or streaming platforms, operators are required to ensure advertising is not targeted at children, and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) university students and (b) other young people have access to education on gambling harms.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Since 2020, children have been taught about the risks relating to gambling as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England. There are also a range of initiatives in place to inform university students about gambling-related harm. For example, the independent charity YGAM provides free CPD training on gaming and gambling for university students.
The government is introducing a statutory levy charged to licensed operators raising £90 to £100 million each year for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. 30% of this funding will be allocated to prevention activity, including education and early intervention to help raise awareness of harmful gambling and the support available.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of whether there is an association between video game loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours in young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Loot boxes in video games are not classed as gambling as individuals are unable to cash out their purchases as currency. However, we are aware of the challenges posed by the blurring of boundaries between gambling and video games and, where products do amount to unlicensed gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown that it will take swift action. The Gambling Commission’s annual Young People and Gambling survey monitors awareness and prevalence of purchasing loot boxes among secondary school pupils in Great Britain.
In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.
In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling advertising on (a) children under 18, (b) adults and (c) people with a gambling addiction.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over illegal gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. Some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and those who are already experiencing problems with their gambling.
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. The Gambling Commission is also introducing new requirements for operators to allow customers to have greater control over the direct marketing they receive, and have also consulted on measures to ensure that incentives such as free bets are constructed in a socially responsible manner.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle homophobia in boxing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport must be open to everyone. There is absolutely no place for homophobia, or discrimination of any kind, in sport or society.
The Government expects sports bodies, including the boxing authorities, to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on protecting sport participants from (a) concussion and (b) chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government takes the issue of head injuries very seriously. The first national guidance for concussion in grassroots sport was introduced in 2023, developed by international experts on concussion and acquired brain injury to better identify, manage and prevent the issue. We continue to encourage National Governing Bodies to adapt the guidance to their own sport where appropriate.
The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with relevant stakeholders and the sports sector in the coming months to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to support Welsh National Opera.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have held a series of very productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, I can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.
The core point of commonality across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - for the people of England as well as for the people of Wales. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.
I was pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to burnish and sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on helping to reduce the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy amongst sportspeople.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports, and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to help ensure the safety of all participants in sport.
The Sports Concussion Research Forum, established by DCMS and chaired by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, published its independent report into the key research questions in this important area in September 2024 - https://www.ukri.org/publications/concussion-in-sport/
The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has undertaken research into the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in (a) professional athletes and (b) recreational players of sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports, and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to help ensure the safety of all participants in sport.
The Sports Concussion Research Forum, established by DCMS and chaired by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, published its independent report into the key research questions in this important area in September 2024 - https://www.ukri.org/publications/concussion-in-sport/
The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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.