Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has written to her counterpart in the new Irish government on the creation of a unique IP address for Northern Ireland residents.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Further to my response of 14 October 2024 to question 6604, my officials have subsequently discussed the issue of geoblocking with their counterparts in both the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government. Those discussions are ongoing. Following the formation of the new Irish Government on 23 January, I have written to the Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport to seek his views.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a unique IP address for Northern Ireland residents to prevent geo blocking of Irish sports coverage from Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of residents of Northern Ireland being able to access coverage of important sporting and other cultural events that are relevant to communities across the island of Ireland.
While decisions on the coverage of sporting events are for rights holders and broadcasters to make independent of their respective Governments, we would encourage sports rights holders and relevant broadcasters to have in place suitable arrangements to ensure Northern Ireland residents can continue to access sports coverage from Ireland.
Given the cross-border nature of the concerns raised, I have also asked my officials to discuss these issues with their counterparts in the Irish Government.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 help (a) mitigate the risks associated with loot boxes in video games and (b) increase awareness of the potential dangers associated with gambling for younger users.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Following the Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, the Government has welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players.
We are now working closely with the industry and academics to ensure robust evaluation of implementation and the efficacy of new measures in meeting the Government’s objectives that:
purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and,
all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.
We will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period and independent academic scrutiny of the guidance's implementation and efficacy.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Communities Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the use of multi-sport grassroot facilities funding in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK Government has invested £6.99 million in Northern Ireland between 2021-2025 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. This funding has supported 71 projects so far which includes £210,000 for Rosario Youth FC’s grass pitch maintenance equipment and Rathmore Grammar’s upgraded artificial pitch and floodlights in Belfast South.
As noted in the Government's recent Safeguarding the Union publication, I will shortly be visiting Northern Ireland, where I intend to discuss this crucial work with the new Minister for Communities. We also continue to work closely with the Irish Football Association to ensure that this funding targets the communities which need it most, helping increase participation by under-represented groups, and levelling up the provision for high quality pitches and facilities.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 recent discussions with Ofcom on the ability of customers to cancel fixed term broadband contracts without penalty when suppliers increase prices during the contract period.
Answered by Julia Lopez
My Department engages regularly with Ofcom on a range of telecoms consumer matters. Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor ongoing household affordability in the sector, and its General Conditions require telecoms companies to provide clear information about their contracts.
In June 2022, at a roundtable attended by Ofcom, leaders from broadband and mobile operators agreed a set of industry commitments to support people through the global rise in the cost of living. These include manageable payment plans and allowing households, who may be mid-contract but struggling with their bills, to switch to cheaper packages without penalty.
In November, DCMS convened a further ministerial roundtable with the industry, Ofcom, and consumer charities, to discuss further steps to support customers who may be struggling with their monthly bills.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on the number of broadband customers in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales who were on social tariffs for the period in which the latest figures are available and how this compares with other regions in the UK.
Answered by Julia Lopez
My Department does not hold data relating to the number of broadband customers on social tariffs broken down across the nations of the UK. Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor and report on customer affordability in the telecommunications sector across the UK. Social tariffs are available across 99% of the UK from a range of broadband, mobile and landline providers. Ofcom’s latest Affordability Report showed that 136,000 households across the UK were taking up a social tariff. We encourage anyone who is struggling to pay to contact their provider to see what support is available.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what legislation managed by her Department will be affected by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of that Bill on creative industries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The publicly-available Retained EU Law (REUL) dashboard (available here) lists legislation in scope of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, including legislation affecting the creative industries.
Government keeps the impact of legislation under review. The upcoming Creative Industries Sector Vision, due to be published by DCMS in the coming months, will set out how industry and Government actions will support creative businesses across the UK to innovate, invest and grow.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps with (a) governing bodies and (b) other stakeholders to help promote rugby in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is committed to promoting sport at all levels across all the Home Nations. With that being said, sport is a devolved policy area. The Department for Communities and Sport Northern Ireland are responsible for sports policy, including rugby, in Northern Ireland, along with the national governing body the Irish Rugby Football Union.
We work closely with our colleagues in the Home Nations, including through the Sport Cabinet which brings together the Sports Ministers of the four UK home countries to help improve coordinations and the sharing of best practice among each of the devolved administrations and the UK Government.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with his Irish counterpart to help facilitate a reciprocal data sharing arrangement for Credit Reference Agencies between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Julia Lopez
UK and Irish Credit Reference Agencies are able to exchange personal data under currently existing arrangements where required to do so. The UK has already legislated to deem EEA countries as adequate, on a transitional basis, which means personal data can flow freely from the UK to the EEA. The EU adopted data adequacy decisions for the UK in June 2021 which means personal data can flow freely from the EEA to the UK.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a full redress scheme for losses incurred by customers of Football Index affected by its collapse.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The government appreciates the significant impact that the collapse of the novel gambling product Football Index had on former customers. Administration proceedings for BetIndex, the company which operated Football Index, are continuing, and are looking at the assets and liabilities of the operator and what is owed to customers. It is likely that this process will result in some amounts being reimbursed to creditors. There is no compensation scheme for losses caused by a gambling firm ceasing to operate and the government does not think it would be appropriate to use public funds for these purposes.