Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available to speedway venues under the Sports Winter Survival Package.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Sports Winter Survival Package aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England over the winter period. The funding process will be overseen by an independent decision-making board and supported by Sport England.
Sport England will publish details about applying to the Sports Winter Survival Package shortly. Speedway, along with other sports, will then be welcome to apply for support from the Package providing they meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions Sport England has had with speedway venues and promoters on applying for funding from the Sports Winter Survival Package.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Sports Winter Survival Package aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England over the winter period. The funding process will be overseen by an independent decision-making board and supported by Sport England.
Sport England will publish details about applying to the Sports Winter Survival Package shortly. Speedway, along with other sports, will then be welcome to apply for support from the Package providing they meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the covid-secure operation of fairgrounds in tiers 2 and 3 under the covid-19 restrictions after the end of the national lockdown on 2 December 2020.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 2 December, as set out in the COVID Winter Plan, we will return to a tiered approach to COVID-19 restrictions in England. Funfairs and fairgrounds - which will be permitted to reopen in all three tiers as they were prior to this period of national restrictions - will need to go through the normal process of requesting permission and any relevant licences from the relevant authority and have the relevant health and safety protocols in place, including a Covid-19 risk assessment.
Local Authorities are responsible for deciding whether to permit outdoor events in their area. Decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, with consideration given to both the risks and the mitigations in place.
In the government's Covid-19 Secure guidance for the Visitor Economy, we have provided guidance for Local Authorities on how to assess applications for outdoor events and how Local Authorities should support event organisers to hold outdoor events safely. We will continue to work closely with Local Authorities and the sector to get outdoor events running safely and successfully once they are permitted.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) holds regular engagement calls with local government sector groups to highlight significant policy updates and holds regular Ministerial calls with local authority leaders and chief executives.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate Building Digital UK has made of the proportion of premises in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council area which are not considered as commercially viable for gigabit-capable broadband rollout.
Answered by Matt Warman
We estimate that over 35% of the premises in King's Lynn and West Norfolk are not commercially viable for gigabit-capable broadband rollout (as shown in the map of page 32 in the National Infrastructure Strategy) This is an indicative estimate, and likely to change over time.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of premises in (a) England, (b) East of England and (c) North West Norfolk constituency have access to superfast broadband.
Answered by Matt Warman
According to Thinkbroadband, currently 97.3% of premises in England now have access to superfast broadband (>24 Mbps) - up from 61% from 2012 (http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/england).
The East of England region currently has 97% of premises with the ability to connect to superfast speeds (>24 Mbps) (http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/east-england).
95% of premises in the North West Norfolk constituency currently can access Superfast broadband (>24 Mbps). This is up from 7% in 2012 (http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/E14000859).
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many covid-19 cases have been as a result of transmission at sporting pilot events approved by his Department.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department does not hold information about covid-19 transmission rates at sports pilot events. However, the sport pilots demonstrated that many risks related to Covid-19 transmission within these events can be mitigated with Covid secure guidance.
We fully understand that fans want to be back watching live sports and other events, and we are continuing to work with the sector on solutions and innovations.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to issue guidance for non-league football clubs in the National League and National Leagues North and South on allowing supporters into grounds to watch matches.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 18th August, the Government amended its guidance to provide extra clarification for organisers of sports events to help them manage and admit spectators safely, adhering to social distancing.
Non-league football clubs from level seven of the pyramid, below the National League North / South, can admit spectators in line with the FA’s definition of non-elite football.
We continue to work closely with all sports, including the interests of football from National League and above, to support the safe return of spectators to stadia more widely from October 1st. As announced by the Prime Minister, this remains subject to successful pilot events, which will now be capped at 1,000 people, and wider prevailing public health factors, both of which remain under active consideration.