Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent discussions the Committee has had with the Electoral Commission on the security of postal votes.
Answered by Cat Smith
The Speaker’s Committee has not had discussions with the Electoral Commission on the matter referred to.
The Commission has highlighted that voting by post is a safe and popular method of voting, with safeguards in place to protect against from fraud. Postal voters are required to provide their signature and date of birth when applying for a postal vote, and again when casting their vote. Returning Officers are responsible for checking these match.
The Commission also encourages campaigners to follow the voluntary Code of Conduct, which makes clear that political parties and campaigners should not assist in completing a ballot paper, or handle completed ballot papers.
The Elections Act also included additional measures intended to further strengthen protections around postal voting at future elections.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Biometric Residence Permits issued in each month since 1 January 2022 have been subsequently reissued to correct errors in visa conditions.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect that freezing the TV licence fee has had on the BBC’s funding in arts and culture.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Licence Fee Settlement, announced in January 2022, means the BBC will continue to receive around £3.8 billion in annual public funding. We believe this is a fair settlement for the BBC and for licence fee payers across the UK, that allows the BBC to continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes and keep doing what it does best while not placing immediate additional financial pressure on households.
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and it is up to the BBC to determine how to use its funding to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes. It should prioritise using its £3.8 billion annual licence fee income as necessary to deliver that remit.
Ofcom as the BBC’s regulator will ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its Mission and Public Purposes.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the United States on that Government's proposals to increase the cost of visas for touring performers.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst US immigration policy is ultimately a matter for the US authorities, the UK Government has engaged with the US authorities on this matter to make clear the concerns that the UK music industry has about the proposed increase in US visa costs.
We are continuing to engage our counterparts in the US on this matter at official and Ministerial level. Most recently, I raised this issue with the US Embassy on 16 March to make clear the concerns that the UK music industry has about the proposed increase in US visa costs. We will continue to engage the US authorities on this matter.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to prioritise visa applications for the relatives of UK citizens and residents affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK government continue to support British nationals with relatives impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Where family members do not have a current UK visa, they can apply online via one of our standard visa routes, which remain available, and biometrics can be submitted at the nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC).
UKVI will aim to process any compassionate cases as quickly as possible in line with current guidance.
Should individual circumstances require a quicker decision, customers should flag this with visa application centre staff when submitting their biometrics and UKVI will consider this as part of their wider application.
If customers have an existing visa application and have been impacted by the earthquake, then they should please contact the UKVI Contact Centre, details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prioritise visa applications for the relatives of UK citizens and residents affected by the recent earthquake in Syria.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK government continue to support British nationals with relatives impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Where family members do not have a current UK visa, they can apply online via one of our standard visa routes, which remain available, and biometrics can be submitted at the nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC).
UKVI will aim to process any compassionate cases as quickly as possible in line with current guidance.
Should individual circumstances require a quicker decision, customers should flag this with visa application centre staff when submitting their biometrics and UKVI will consider this as part of their wider application.
If customers have an existing visa application and have been impacted by the earthquake, then they should please contact the UKVI Contact Centre, details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of making representations to US counterparts on their proposals to increase the costs of short- and long-term visas for touring performers.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My Department regularly engages across Government, and with the music sector, on issues concerning touring professionals. This engagement includes issues such as US visas.
US immigration policy is ultimately a matter for the US authorities, so any decision taken on their visa system will be for them alone. The UK Government cannot interfere in another country’s processes and must respect their systems, just as we expect them to respect the UK’s processes.
The Department for Business and Trade’s Export Support Service (ESS) can provide answers to UK businesses to practical questions about exporting or working abroad. The ESS can be reached by visiting the website: www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Cardiff West of 7 September 2022 on the report entitled Let the Music Move: A New Deal for Touring.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member and will reply to the correspondence as soon as possible.
The Department has engaged with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music on its ‘Let the Music Move – A New Deal for Touring’ report (published in July 2022), including submitting written evidence to the APPG inquiry. The Government continues to engage with the music sector and in Parliament on the important issue of touring.
The Government recognises that the way creative workers work in the EU has changed. We are committed to supporting the sector to adapt to these new arrangements, and we have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do.
The majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers and other creative professionals. We continue to support the UK's brilliant musicians to adapt to the new arrangements and make touring easier.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the financial viability of recording studios.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In August 2021, DCMS commissioned the consultancy firm, Sound Diplomacy, to assess the state of the music studio market in England.
Evidence found challenges, but showed the market is responding to changes, such as technological innovation, and is maintaining or growing sources of income.
As a result, the report found the music studio market was not in need of specific government intervention.
Since then, the Government announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme to help support businesses, like recording studios, to tackle rising energy costs.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on the upcoming 11.1 percent price increase of wholesale broadband in April 2023.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The regulation of wholesale prices in the fixed telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator. Through our Statement of Strategic Priorities we have instructed Ofcom to regulate in a way that encourages both competition and investment in telecoms infrastructure. Following this guidance, Ofcom developed its Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) which allows Openreach prices to increase in line with inflation.
Thanks to this approach, there is now a thriving market of over 80 providers investing £35bn rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK. Today, nearly 73% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019.