Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging broadcasters to broadcast remaining Premier League fixtures played this season as free to air broadcasts.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the importance to the country and to the wider football economy of the return of Premier League football matches, played behind closed doors, when it is safe to do so. The Government believes it could be helpful in discouraging people from leaving home to watch matches during the coronavirus emergency if some games and more highlights were available free to air. The Government is in talks with the English Premier League and broadcasters about a safe return to playing out the season, including the potential for free-to-air matches, and will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many contractors working for his Department have had their employment status assessed in relation to the new IR35 rules on off-payroll working; and how many of those staff are subject to those rules.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
DCMS assess employment statuses for tax purposes according to the 2017 IR35 amendment. We are currently engaged with 37 contractors, of which 14 are currently in scope of the IR35 tax legislation.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions the Minister for Digital and Broadband has had with the transparency working group.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with stakeholders including those at the multi-stakeholder Transparency Working Group. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.
The Transparency Working Group includes representatives from a wide range of organisations with an interest in transparency reporting in relation to online harms. The first meeting of the Transparency Working Group was chaired by the Minister for Digital and Broadband. Following the recent change in ministerial portfolios, the group will now be chaired by the Minister for Digital and Culture.
This group will feed into the government’s transparency report, which was announced in the Online Harms White Paper and which we intend to publish in the coming months.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2020 to Question 489, when the Information Commission will provide its final update on the use of personal data in political campaigns to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Information Commissioner’s Office has indicated it will provide the Committee with its final update at the Information Commissioner’s next appearance at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. A date for this has not been confirmed yet.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 prevent the concealed microtargeting of people's data.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Data Protection Act 2018 introduced tighter regulation of the way that personal data is collected, stored and processed and includes safeguards such as the right to be forgotten.
Our future work on online targeting will be informed by independent expert advice, including the review of Online Targeting published by the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation on 4 February 2020. The report includes a set of formal recommendations to the government, which we will respond to within six months.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the governance of premier league football clubs.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Football clubs are the heart of local communities, they have unique social value and many with a great history. It is vital they are protected and fans should have their voices heard.
The governance of football is first and foremost a matter for the relevant authorities, in this case the Premier League and the Football Association. These bodies have a duty to govern the sport and provide assurances to fans, players and indeed employees, that proper protections are in place.
However, we have committed to a fan led review of football governance, which will include consideration of the Owners’ and Directors’ test, to ensure we protect the game for fans.
We will liaise closely with fan representatives and the football authorities as we decide the scope and structure of this work.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of organisations that hold contracts with his Department pay the National Living Wage.
Answered by Margot James
We do not hold the information requested centrally. However DCMS standard terms and conditions ensures that the supplier shall comply with all applicable laws in supplying services to the department.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has paid to hon. Members under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 since 13 July 2016.
Answered by Margot James
Any such payments are published in the department’s audited annual accounts, which can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.
Answered by Margot James
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Government Digital Service has, however, published guidance on gov.uk advising that developing native or hybrid apps is not usually the best way to deliver public services.
https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology/working-with-mobile-technology#native-or-hybrid-apps
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 number of days of sick leave taken by staff in his Department for mental health reasons in each year since 2010.
Answered by Margot James
The number of working days lost to sickness absence relating to mental health for each of the years for which data has been published is:
2014: 227
2015: 82
2016: 259
The department has implemented a number of policies to ensure that staff feel comfortable in taking, and reporting, mental health-related sickness absence including
early referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health and stress,
early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy based counselling support for mental health issues,
workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,
extensive training for managers and employees - including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.
line managers can use the Stress Assessment and Reduction Plan toolkit in identifying and managing stress when required,
a page on the intranet is dedicated to stress management and it contains resources to support line managers and employees identify and manage stress.
Finally, the Department is a signatory to the ‘Time to Change Pledge’ and raises awareness of mental health and coping strategies through national campaigns such as the ‘Time to Talk’ day and the Mental Health Awareness Week. The department also organises ‘Mindfulness’ sessions for employees.