Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Digital Media and Sport, into which step of the Government's covid-19 recovery strategy does the re-opening of public libraries fall.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Although physical library locations are closed, library services have continued to provide and deliver services to their users throughout the lockdown period. Digital services have been sustained, as well as other elements of library services, such as no- or low-contact home library services.
The restoration of public libraries in England will be considered through the Recreation and Leisure taskforce, primarily as part of Step 3 of the government roadmap. The current planning assumption is that general reopening of library buildings will be no earlier than 4 July.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
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 effect on opportunities for swimming for (a) club members and (b) the general public of the Royal Parks' plans for the Serpentine Lido.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State has made no such assessment. This is an operational matter for the Chief Executive of The Royal Parks, who I have asked to write to you directly regarding this matter. We will place a copy in the House Library.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the changes in rents payable by communication network providers as a consequence of recent reforms to the Electronic Communications Code; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The Electronic Communications Code (ECC) was recently reformed as part of the Digital Economy Act 2017. These reforms were intended to reduce the cost of providing communications infrastructure and make it easier for operators to deploy such infrastructure. The new Code came into force on 28 December 2017.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment published by Government estimated that the ECC reforms could lead to a reduction in average market rents (as compared to rates agreed before reforms to the ECC). However, the eventual impact is difficult to predict during this period of transition in which operators and site providers adapt to the new legislation.
During this period, where the market is adjusting and settling, good working relationships between site providers and code operators are critical, and we encourage all parties to continue their efforts to reach mutually acceptable agreements. The joint statement released in August is significant, as it reaffirms a commitment made by DCMS, industry, CLA and RICS to work collaboratively to implement the ECC.
My Department will continue to work with stakeholders, including representatives from industry, landowners, representative bodies and Ofcom, to inform the implementation of the new Code. I will monitor developments carefully and, as outlined in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, will consider a formal review of the impact of the ECC reforms.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps (a) Government Departments and (b) agencies of his Department have taken to restrict internet access to the Vkontakte website.
Answered by Margot James
Government has taken no action to restrict access to this website. We remain concerned about the spread of disinformation and malicious activity on social media sites, especially from hostile states. We are working across Whitehall and with agencies to tackle this, including considering legislative and non legislative measures.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the implementation of a £2 limit on fixed-odds betting terminals.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The Government published its response to the consultation on changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures on 17 May. The Government will deliver the reduction in stake through secondary legislation in due course. We are currently preparing draft regulations needed to make the change, alongside engaging with the gambling industry to ensure they are given sufficient time to implement and complete the technological changes for the reduction in maximum stake for Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons 10mbps was chosen as the broadband speed for the universal service obligation.
Answered by Margot James
10Mbps is the minimum download speed that Ofcom says is needed to meet the typical needs of an average family. This will enable simultaneous live streaming of television, video calling, emailing and basic web browsing. Consumers on connections of less than 10Mbps tend to use less data, suggesting that internet usage is constrained below this speed.
Download speed is not the only quality requirement to be included in the proposed Universal Service Obligation (USO) specification. We have also proposed to include within the specification requirements for upload speed, contention (how many premises are using the network), latency (delays) and data capacity, which can all impact on what a consumer can do online.