Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many pensioners have been prosecuted for non-payment of the TV Licence fee in each of the last three years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The requirement to hold, and pay for, a TV Licence is set out in the Communications Act 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004.
The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the number of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for the non-payment of TV licence fees annually as part of their criminal justice statistics quarterly publications, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly
Figures for each year since 2005 up to 2022 are available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, and can be found in the following dataset:
To view the relevant figures in these tables, select ‘191A Television licence evasion’ in the Offence filter. These figures can be refined further by age to identify an age range of 70+, it is impossible to provide the data for 'pensioners' as that is a diverse group that cannot be filtered purely by age.
The data for individuals aged 70+ are the following:
2022 - 260 proceeded against & 217 sentenced
2021 - 238 proceeded against & 207 sentenced
2020 - 329 proceeded against & 288 sentenced
Alternative data does also show no Over 75s have been prosecuted and that none of the prosecutions have resulted in custodial sentences.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Gambling Commission has made an assessment of Entain UK's compliance with online gambling advertising rules.
Answered by Paul Scully
I am unable to comment on specific cases of regulatory action taken by the Gambling Commission. However, I have provided some overarching information on online advertising rules contained in the Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
Licensed operators are required to ensure that advertising of gambling products and services is undertaken in a socially responsible manner and complies with the UK Advertising Codes issued by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). As part of its investigation into Entain Group’s regulatory failures, the Gambling Commission made an assessment of its general compliance with the LCCP, which identified anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures, as reflected in the published press statement. Further detail can be found on the Commission’s website.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether Entain has paid the £17 million fine imposed on it by the UK Gambling Commission in August 2022 for anti-money laundering failures.
Answered by Paul Scully
I am unable to comment on specific cases of regulatory action taken by the Gambling Commission. However, I have provided some overarching information on regulatory settlements.
Regulatory settlements are a possible outcome of Gambling Commission enforcement action, and this may include the operator paying a financial amount for socially responsible purposes. The Commission’s process for the approval of destinations of regulatory settlements ensures that only projects that meet the criteria are able to receive funds. When a project is approved, it is matched with outstanding funds and payment is arranged swiftly, with funds being ringfenced pending the payment. More information on the current process and destinations is available at the Gambling Commission’s website.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to improve the quality of mobile phone signal in (a) Ashfield and (b) Eastwood.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to extending good quality 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass. The Government’s existing 5G ambition for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027 has been delivered five years early through ‘basic’ (non-standalone) 5G.
We have already made reforms to the planning system to support the deployment of 5G and help extend mobile coverage. The changes, which came into force on 4 April 2022, enable operators to upgrade existing sites for 5G and share infrastructure to improve mobile coverage. And the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill, currently before Parliament, amends the Electronic Communications Code to encourage faster and more collaborative negotiations for the installation and maintenance of telecoms equipment.
The Government is developing a Wireless Infrastructure Strategy to set out a strategic framework for the development, deployment and adoption of 5G and future networks.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on the rollout of gigabit broadband in (a) Ashfield constituency and b) Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Gigabit coverage in Ashfield has increased significantly in the past 12 months, with 15.33% of premises able to access a gigabit-capable broadband service, compared with 1.8% in September 2020. Additionally, 99.1% of premises in Ashfield have access to superfast broadband (>30Mbps) in Ashfield, which exceeds the national average of 96.9%
To date, the Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire (BBfN) scheme has delivered 378 gigabit-capable FTTP connections across the constituency. The Hucknall exchange has also been included with Openreach’s latest commercial announcement, with delivery expected to be completed between now and April 2024.
We are backing Project Gigabit with £5 billion so hard to reach communities are not left out. Nottinghamshire falls within Phase 2 (Lot 10) of Project Gigabit. Preparations for Phase 2 are already well underway and following the Open Market Review and Public Review, formal procurement should start in November 2022 in Nottinghamshire.
Concurrently, premises in rural areas may also be in line for funding through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, with up to £210m allocated to the scheme over the next four years to support hard to reach communities. The voucher scheme offers up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses to help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband to people’s doorsteps when used as part of a group scheme. Home and business owners can check the eligibility of their address and then look up suppliers in their area by going to https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/.
Nottinghamshire has made good use of the scheme so far, seeing 135 voucher connections worth £340,030, with a further 372 vouchers to be connected, totalling £948,290.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on delivering the fan-led review into football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Fan Led Review of Football Governance is moving at pace to reform our national game for the better.
The Review has heard over 100 hours of evidence from fan groups, clubs, and stakeholders - including from supporters representing over 130 football clubs; received over 170 submissions from groups, organisations and individuals; and over 20,000 responses from fans to an online survey seeking their views on what needs to change
The Review published its interim findings in July, and will publish its final report in the autumn.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of proposals to temporarily increase Gift Aid to support charities impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the invaluable work of the charity sector for communities across the UK.
There are generous tax reliefs already available for the whole charity sector, including more than £1.3 billion a year in respect of Gift Aid on donations. Increasing the value of Gift Aid would break the link with tax that has been paid; this means it would no longer be a tax relief, but a grant to charities which is based solely on the amount of Gift Aid that they claim. The Government is not convinced this is the most appropriate or practical way to provide support to charities at this time.
We will continue to work with the sector to assess their emerging needs and understand how we can best support them during the current period.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the support available to charity retailers while they are shut during covid-19 lockdowns.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has made available an unprecedented £750 million package of support, specifically for charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector. This will ensure charities at risk of financial hardship can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Government has also made available a package of support across the economy, designed to enable organisations to get through the months ahead. Businesses that are mandated to close by law due to the current national restrictions can access grants of up to £4,500 per 6 weeks of closure through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum.
In addition, closed businesses may be eligible for a one-off payment of up to £9,000 to help them through spring, through the Closed Business Lockdown Payment. Where the business in question, e.g. a charity shop, is mandated to close in the regulations and they meet the other eligibility criteria laid out in scheme guidance, then they would be eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) and variations of that scheme. Local authorities are responsible for determining eligibility for this grant funding on the basis of legislation, guidance and other information submitted by applicants.
We will continue to work with the sector to assess their emerging needs and understand how we can best support them during the current period.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will ensure that the Gambling Act Review (a) focuses on empowering customers, (b) does not propose blanket measures that punish the responsible majority, that does not help people at risk and risks pushing people away from the regulated sector and (c) focuses on tailored measures based on evidence.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Review of the Gambling Act 2005 was launched on 8 December 2020. As set out in the Terms of Reference, the Review is wide-ranging in scope and will be evidence-led. The Call for Evidence will run until 31 March 2021, and we are seeking evidence from a broad range of interested groups and stakeholders.
The Review aims to ensure that the Gambling Act is fit for the digital age, and offers an opportunity to make sure that we have the balance right between protecting vulnerable people from gambling related harm, and respecting the freedom of adults to choose how they spend their money and leisure time.
The Gambling Commission’s consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction discusses the important issues of identifying consumers in vulnerable situations and assessing affordability. The consultation and call for evidence responses will inform the Commission’s next steps for setting Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. It may also inform the Gambling Commission’s advice to government on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to instruct employers to indicate on payslips how much a person will be allowed to spend on gambling.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Review of the Gambling Act 2005 was launched on 8 December 2020. As set out in the Terms of Reference, the Review is wide-ranging in scope and will be evidence-led. The Call for Evidence will run until 31 March 2021, and we are seeking evidence from a broad range of interested groups and stakeholders.
The Review aims to ensure that the Gambling Act is fit for the digital age, and offers an opportunity to make sure that we have the balance right between protecting vulnerable people from gambling related harm, and respecting the freedom of adults to choose how they spend their money and leisure time.
The Gambling Commission’s consultation and call for evidence on Remote Customer Interaction discusses the important issues of identifying consumers in vulnerable situations and assessing affordability. The consultation and call for evidence responses will inform the Commission’s next steps for setting Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. It may also inform the Gambling Commission’s advice to government on the Review of the Gambling Act 2005.