Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to help prevent people (a) promoting, (b) encouraging and (c) glorifying terrorism at universities.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Higher education (HE) providers must comply with the statutory Prevent duty to have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism'. The statutory Prevent duty can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance/prevent-duty-guidance-for-england-and-wales-accessible.
HE providers should have effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard individuals susceptible to radicalisation. This includes assessing the risk of learners becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Office for Students has delegated responsibility from the Secretary of State for Education for monitoring compliance of the Prevent duty in Registered HE Bodies.
The department has a team of Prevent Regional Education Co-ordinators who work directly with HE institutions in England to provide advice, support and training to ensure providers are well equipped to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. Further guidance, including bespoke training material for HE providers, can be found on GOV.UK.
In the 'Independent Review of Prevent: One year on' progress report, the department announced that it is committed to publishing research on the implementation of the Prevent duty in HE, and guidance for universities on managing external speakers on campus. The Independent Review of Prevent can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-prevents-report-and-government-response/independent-review-of-prevent-one-year-on-progress-report-accessible.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the practice of intentionally rendering commercial videogames inoperable when support ends.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises recent concerns raised by video games users regarding the long-term operability of purchased products. Video games publishers must comply with existing consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).
The CPRs protect consumers from being given false or misleading information by businesses. If consumers purchased a game on the understanding that it would continue to be playable, even when support ends, then the CPRs may provide recourse.
Under the CRA, consumers have clear rights when buying digital content, such as video games, supplied in digital form. Any digital content the consumer has paid for must be as described and of a satisfactory quality. If digital content does not meet these requirements, the consumer is entitled to a repair or replacement, or a price reduction or refund if the fault cannot be fixed. The CRA has a time limit of up to six years after a breach of contract during which a consumer can take legal action.