Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Welsh National Opera.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have held a series of very productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, I can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.
The core point of commonality across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - for the people of England as well as for the people of Wales. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.
I was pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to burnish and sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department made of the affordability of quoted excess costs for consumers who have requested a universal service connection in Dwyfor Merionnydd since January 2020.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Department is aware that some BT quotations for connection under the Universal Service Obligation (USO) are significantly above the Reasonable Cost Threshold of £3,400 per premise. In September 2020, I wrote to Ofcom’s Chief Executive, Dame Melanie Dawes to outline my concerns with some of the quotes and how BT was aggregating demand from USO eligible premises.
In October 2020, Ofcom opened an investigation into BT’s compliance with its obligations as a Universal Service Provider. In January 2021, Ofcom issued a statement, stating that they had completed their initial information gathering, would be gathering additional evidence and expected to provide an update by the end of March.
Alongside the USO, the government is investing £5 billion to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to the hardest to reach 20% of premises in the UK. The government recognises that the UK has some very remote places - around 0.3% of the country or less than 100,000 premises - that may be too expensive to build a gigabit-capable broadband network to, even with substantial public subsidy. These premises are also likely to be significantly above the USO’s Reasonable Cost Threshold. On 19 March, the government launched a call for evidence to explore the barriers to improving the broadband of these premises and how innovative new technologies could help.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on the continuation of the top-up to the gigabit broadband voucher scheme in Wales for 2021-22.
Answered by Matt Warman
Building Digital UK has regular discussions with all Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme Top-Up partners, including the Welsh Government, and during the development of the UK Gigabit Voucher these discussions have included options for topping up the new voucher.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 for (a) the heritage sector, (b) the Welsh economy and (c) rural jobs of lifting the cap on Sideways Loss Relief for heritage attractions for the 2020-21 financial year.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The UK’s heritage assets are important to tourism and are internationally admired, but any change in the current Sideways Loss Relief system, such as an increase in the cap to £100,000, must be thoroughly considered and protected against abuse.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been working hard to support our sectors through this period of uncertainty, including the heritage sector. DCMS will continue to explore this proposal with HMT as we move forward into future fiscal events.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 cutting VAT on the repair and maintenance of listed buildings.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
My officials are in contact with Her Majesty's Treasury regarding cutting VAT to repairs and maintenance to Listed Buildings. I understand that many in the heritage sector regard the current system as a negative incentive to demolish existing buildings entirely and start again. As with all tax matters, this is something which HMT keeps under regular review. My officials and I will continue to engage with the heritage sector to build a robust evidence base and develop targeted interventions that might benefit listed buildings in this space.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many broadband cabinets in the constituency of Dwyfor Meirionnydd are not enabled for fibre or their locations.
Answered by Matt Warman
The release of information regarding cabinets is a matter for Openreach due to commercial sensitivity. However, Open Market Review data suggests that in Dwyfor Meirionnydd there are 38,285 properties which can either access superfast broadband speeds or are in plans to receive it within the next two years. These may be commercial or public sector plans. There are 4,439 properties which both cannot receive superfast broadband speeds and are not in any plans to receive it. Although not a devolved matter, this specific data is captured by Welsh Government and can be found at https://gov.wales/next-generation-access-broadband-2019.
For queries about coverage, please refer to Ofcom Connected Nations data. Ofcom published the Connected Nations 2020 data on 17 December, which includes a table of data aggregated to parliamentary constituency level - Dwyfor Meirionnydd: 82.9% of premises have at least Superfast, of which 16.4% have full fibre. Constituency data is available from the HoC library, that does some constituency level aggregations: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/
We would also draw your attention to this web site. Whilst the “official data” is the Ofcom Connected Nations report, the ThinkBroadband data tends to be slightly more up to date and is easier to search at National or Constituency level.https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/W07000061
It also has a useful map facility so you can see geographical information about speeds and not-spots in your area. We have centered this map over your constituency and turned on the layers for BT Openreach connectivity https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/broadband-map#10/52.8152/-3.9970/openreach/adsl/geafttp/virgin/gfast/
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many broadband cabinets in Wales are not enabled for fibre or their locations.
Answered by Matt Warman
Around 95% of properties in Wales can receive a superfast broadband service. The UK and Welsh Governments have invested over £200 million of public funding to roll out fast, reliable broadband to around 733,000 properties under the Superfast Cymru programme. This included funding from UK Government, Welsh Government, and the EU. There are now around 79,000 properties in Wales which cannot currently access superfast broadband speeds and are not in any commercial or public sector plans to receive it. Although not a devolved matter, this specific data is captured by Welsh
Government and can be found at https://gov.wales/next-generation-access-broadband-2019.
For queries about coverage, please refer to Ofcom Connected Nations data. Constituency data is available from the HoC library, that does some constituency level aggregations: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/
We would also draw your attention to this web site. Whilst the “official data” is the Ofcom Connected Nations report, the ThinkBroadband data tends to be slightly more up to date and is easier to search. https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/wales
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether IPSO has met the 38 recommendations set out in the Leveson Inquiry report 2012.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.
In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of IPSO’s procedures for processing complaints from individuals affected by press abuse.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.
In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Welsh Government and (b) the Welsh Football Association on providing additional funding for the Welsh Football Association.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Although sport is a devolved matter, the Government continues to liaise closely with its counterparts in the Welsh Government.
As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association (FA), the National Lottery has provided a total of £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National Football League. This is a promotional deal led by the National Lottery and the Football Association. The National League is responsible for distributing funds and determining how and when the clubs receive this funding.
The National Lottery is now working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland FAs to explore similar initiatives.