Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timescale is for responding to the Ofcom recommendations in the report entitled Making on-demand services accessible: What should regulations look like?, published in December 2018.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As part of a digitally inclusive society, television content should be accessible for all UK audiences. That is why in December 2017, DCMS asked Ofcom to provide recommendations on making on-demand services more accessible. This is part of the implementation of the new power given to the Secretary of State to impose accessibility requirements on on-demand service providers.
Ofcom published its report in December 2018 and my department has been considering the report and engaging with stakeholders to develop the future legislative framework. We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister and his advisers concerning centralisation of data collection in Government.
Answered by Simon Hart
The details of meetings between Ministers and their advisers are confidential.
Having a comprehensive anonymised view of how people interact with government services online is an important part of developing services which provide information in a way users understand.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in his Department on (a) reform of electoral law and (b) data protection.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Cabinet Office is taking a cross-Government approach to the safeguarding of our electoral processes through the Defending Democracy programme and we continue to work closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This work is led within the Cabinet Office by the Minister for the Constitution, under the oversight of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
The Government remains committed to ensuring our electoral law is fit for purpose, now and into the future. In May this year, the Government announced we would be launching a consultation on electoral integrity. As part of that, we are considering measures to strengthen the regulatory framework around elections and ensure they are fully up to date for a modern electoral system. We are also awaiting the publication of the final report from the Law Commission on their review of electoral law, which we understand will be published early next year, and will look at their recommendations and comments with interest.
DCMS is responsible for data protection policy and sponsors the independent regulator of the Data Protection Act 2018, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO are consulting on a draft framework code of practice for the use of personal data in political campaigning, which concluded on 04 October.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on (a) data protection and (b) electoral reform.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Cabinet Office is taking a cross-Government approach to the safeguarding of our electoral processes through the Defending Democracy programme and we continue to work closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This work is led within the Cabinet Office by the Minister for the Constitution, under the oversight of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
The Government remains committed to ensuring our electoral law is fit for purpose, now and into the future. In May this year, the Government announced we would be launching a consultation on electoral integrity. As part of that, we are considering measures to strengthen the regulatory framework around elections and ensure they are fully up to date for a modern electoral system. We are also awaiting the publication of the final report from the Law Commission on their review of electoral law, which we understand will be published early next year, and will look at their recommendations and comments with interest.
DCMS is responsible for data protection policy and sponsors the independent regulator of the Data Protection Act 2018, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO are consulting on a draft framework code of practice for the use of personal data in political campaigning, which concluded on 04 October.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) meetings and (b) subject matter of each such meeting he has attended on matters relating to his ministerial responsibilities since his appointment.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will place in the Library the correspondence between the BBC and his Department from the date of the 2017 General Election on the Conservative Party's Election Manifesto pledge to maintain pensioner benefits and the policy of transferring responsibility for free TV licences for over 75s to the BBC.
Answered by Nigel Adams
There is no plan to place such correspondence in the library but the Government is clear that the future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC.
The Government is disappointed with the BBC’s decision. People across the country value television as a way to stay connected, and the Government has asked the BBC to look at further ways to support older people.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the sharing of information between the two Departments to inform decisions on recall following breach of licence conditions.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Probation services supervise offenders on licence and, if offenders breach their conditions, the Offender Manager will assess their level of risk and, if the conclusion is that the offender cannot be safely managed in the community, will recall the offender to prison. Officials in the Public Protection Casework Section in HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) will then formally revoke the offender’s licence. Public protection is our priority.
HMPPS engagement about information sharing is primarily with the Police as it is the Chief Constable of each police force who is responsible for operational policing decisions. Police officers will sometimes receive or obtain information about an offender on licence which is relevant for the purposes of determining whether the offender has breached his licence conditions. I have asked my officials to work with the Police to ensure that police officers have a sound understanding of the system of licensed supervision and of the importance of sharing information with probation services as soon as possible whenever an offender on licence comes to their attention.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the sharing of information between (a) police forces, (b) probation services and (c) community rehabilitation companies on the decision-making process for (a) bail and (b) release from custody.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Secretary has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on a range of topics.
Decisions about pre-charge bail and release from custody must be made according to the criteria set out in relevant legislation, and where information from other agencies is used to inform such decisions it must be processed in accordance with relevant legal parameters.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department has issued to police forces in England and Wales on the use of algorithms in decision-making for (a) bail and (b) release from custody.
Answered by Nick Hurd
All decisions around the application of pre-charge bail and release from custody must comply with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 its associated Codes of Practice.
The use of pre-charge bail must be necessary and proportionate, and all persons in custody must be dealt with expeditiously, and released as soon as the need for detention no longer applies, as set out in PACE Code C.
The Home Office has not published guidance specifically on the use of algorithms for pre-charge bail and release from custody.
However, the Home Office recognises that emerging data enabled technologies have the potential to transform policing, creating a more efficient and effective service. The Government set up the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) as an advisory body set up by Government and led by an independent board of expert members to investigate and advise on how we can maximise the benefits of these technologies.
The CDEI is conducting a review into the issue of algorithmic bias in various sectors, including crime and justice. The review will aim to support the development of technical means for identifying algorithmic bias that have scope to be applied across different sectors and produce recommendations to government about how any potential harms can be identified and minimised.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) probation services and (b) community rehabilitation companies on the use of algorithms in relation to recall decisions following a breach of licence conditions.
Answered by Robert Buckland
All probation providers must adhere to the published Policy Framework on Recall, Review and Re-Release of Recalled Prisoners, including on the steps Responsible Officers must take to satisfy themselves that a recall request is appropriate. The Policy Framework also contains the ‘Recall Best Practice Guide: Working with Recalled Prisoners’ for use by all probation and prison staff involved in the recall process.
The Policy Framework is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recall-review-and-re-release-of-recalled-prisoners