To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Television Licences: Older People
Wednesday 3rd July 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives from the BBC on the BBC's decision to charge people aged over 75 for TV licences.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Since the BBC took its decision, I have met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and I have asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.


Written Question
Technology: Companies
Wednesday 3rd July 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 encourage the growth of technology firms in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Answered by Margot James

We are confident the digital technology sector and its startup community will continue to go from strength to strength. Our ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business - and that ambition remains after we leave the EU. Tech Nation and Dealroom have released figures showing that investment in UK tech reached £6.8 billion ($8.7bn) last year and has already reached £3.8 billion ($4.8bn) in the first half of 2019, showing that the UK tech ecosystem is world-leading and in a strong position.

We are investing in the areas the sector needs: adequate access to both finance and talent. That is why for finance, Government announced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme, which is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment, in order to support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and go global. To continue to attract international talent, we have doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000, and taken doctors and nurses out of the Tier 2 visa cap, freeing up many more skilled worker visas to other sectors, including tech. At the end of March this year, we also launched the new Start-Up and Innovator visa routes for entrepreneurs.

In addition, at London Tech Week in June the PM launched a study into tech competitiveness - this will identify key opportunities and support mechanisms for business growth in the digital tech sector. And Tech Nation supports businesses across the UK to enable continued growth of the digital tech sector. Government funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.


Written Question
Football: Sportsgrounds
Wednesday 3rd July 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 consulted on safe standing in English football stadiums.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We believe that all-seater stadia are currently the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at designated football matches in England and Wales. I meet a wide range of football stakeholders and discuss standing at football with them amongst other issues.

We commissioned an independent review of the existing evidence relating to the all-seater policy and are considering an appropriate date for the report’s release.


Written Question
Sports
Thursday 6th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 encourage the hosting of major sporting tournaments in the UK.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government recognises the wide-ranging benefits that hosting major sports events can bring.

My Department works closely with UK Sport and the national governing bodies of sport, as well as local, regional and devolved partners, to ensure that the UK successfully bids for and stages a wide range of the world’s biggest sporting events.

The 'Gold Framework' publication sets out the processes as to how the Government and UK Sport work together with our sports bodies in bidding and staging major sports events. Our approach has been successful, with over 100 major international sporting events secured for the UK since the London 2012 Games.

We have a strong programme of events to look forward to, including the Cricket World Cup, Netball World Cup and Cycling Road World Championships this year, the EURO 2020 men's Championships next year, and the EURO women's Championships and Rugby League World Cup in 2021.

We are also looking forward to hosting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, welcoming thousands of athletes and officials from around the world and showcasing the best that the UK has to offer to a global audience of 1.5 billion.


Written Question
World War I: Anniversaries
Thursday 6th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Heritage Lottery funding has been allocated to First World War commemoration events in each of the last three years.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The National Lottery Heritage Fund invested £18,429,100 in 863 First World War Centenary projects over the last three financial years. National commemoration events to mark significant events during the First World War were delivered and funded by HM Government.

Financial Year

Projects Awarded

Grant Awarded

2016-17

265

£6,478,100

2017-18

248

£8,174,200

2018-19

350

£3,776,800


Written Question
Broadcasting Programmes
Thursday 6th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with television companies on the risk to participants' mental wellbeing of participating in tv reality shows.

Answered by Margot James

The Secretary of State has been clear that all broadcasters and production companies have a responsibility to the mental health and wellbeing of both participants and viewers and must ensure that they have appropriate levels of support in place. The Secretary of State has recently met with ITV on this subject.

Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, is reviewing whether more can be done to safeguard the people taking part in reality and factual shows. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has opened an inquiry into the duty of care that makers of reality TV shows have to participants and the Government will consider its findings.


Written Question
Mobile Phones: Cybercrime
Wednesday 5th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with phone companies on potential cyber attacks on mobile phone devices.

Answered by Margot James

The security and resilience of the UK's telecoms networks is of paramount importance. The UK government works with telecoms companies to manage cyber security risks while ensuring the UK can continue to benefit from new technology. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with mobile phone companies on a range of matters, including covering potential cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides simple advice and guidance to help individuals and organisations be more resilient to cyber attacks. In addition, The Government advocates for strong security to be built into internet-connected products via the secure by design programme.


Written Question
Mobile Phones: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 6th February 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 improve mobile phone coverage in Northern Ireland for those who cannot receive any phone reception.

Answered by Margot James

We want the UK to have high quality mobile coverage where people live, work and travel. We are committed to extending geographic mobile coverage further to 95% of the UK by 2022, as well as providing an uninterrupted mobile signal on all major roads.

Coverage in Northern Ireland continues to improve. Ofcom report that 98% of the landmass has 4G coverage from at least one Mobile Network Operator, up from 95% a year ago. However, while there have been significant improvements in coverage, the Government recognises there is more to do.

We welcome the proposals set out in Ofcom’s consultation on awarding the 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz spectrum bands to improve coverage in rural areas across the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland. We continue to work with industry to support investment and deliver coverage improvements.


Written Question
Social Media: Data Protection
Wednesday 6th February 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 prevent social media platforms accessing individual's personal data and internet history for the purposes of generating advertising revenue.

Answered by Margot James

The use of personal data for the purpose of targeted online advertising is subject to safeguards found in the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003.

The Data Protection Act imposes strict obligations on organisations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. As part of this, organisations must ensure they have a legal basis for processing data, are clear and transparent about how personal data will be handled, and ensure that the data is processed in a way which individuals would expect. Organisations which fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.


Written Question
Broadcasting Programmes: Children and Young People
Wednesday 6th February 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the BBC on the Corporation increasing the number of programmes it broadcasts on television to appeal to people in the 15-30 demographic.

Answered by Margot James

Ministers have not discussed this issue with the BBC. The BBC is independent of government and editorial decisions such as television content for younger people is a matter for the BBC, not government.