Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Ofcom’s proposed revisions to rules on the quantity and scheduling of television advertising on public service channels on the (a) number and (b) diversity of television channels.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ofcom has a statutory duty to maintain standards in broadcast advertising, working in a co-regulatory partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority. Ofcom also has general duties under the Communications Act 2003 in relation to audience impact, including the plurality and diversity of television services.
This is therefore a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator that administers the Code on the scheduling of television advertising.
Ofcom's consultation on proposed revisions to the rules governing the quantity and scheduling of television advertising on public service broadcasting channels was announced on 19 April and closed on 31 May. In their consultation document, Ofcom set out how it considers its proposals fit with its duties under the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom will publish their final decision after they have considered the responses and evidence, including on the impacts to audiences, as well as Public Service Broadcasters and other broadcasters.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she had made of the potential effect of Ofcom's decision on BT and Equinox 2 on competition in the broadband wholesale and consumer markets.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting competition in the UK’s fixed telecoms market. Our strategy aims to support market entry and expansion by making it as easy and attractive as possible for people to invest in, and build, networks. The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, requires Ofcom to set stable and long-term regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. Ofcom must take this strategic priority into account when reaching its decisions, such as when considering offers from Openreach.
The Government has noted Ofcom’s decision to allow the Equinox II offer to proceed. Ofcom’s conclusion is that Equinox II is consistent with promoting network investment and competition, thereby delivering better consumer outcomes. Regulation of the fixed telecoms market remains a matter for Ofcom which is an independent regulator.
More broadly, competition is thriving in UK fixed telecoms, with over 100 companies now building gigabit-capable networks thanks to the Government’s policies to prioritise competition and investment.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department’s White Paper New world leading approach to AI in the UK, published on 29 March, how much and what proportion of the budget of each existing regulator is spent on regulation of artificial intelligence; how many staff in each regulator work (a) wholly and (b) partly on these issues; and whether those regulators plan to increase the resources for work on artificial intelligence.
Answered by Paul Scully
The different applications and uses of AI technologies are becoming increasingly central to many UK regulators within their domains, noting the faster adoption rates in some sectors - such as Finance, Information Technology, Media and Telecoms.
As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, we are engaging closely with regulators across the landscape and their sponsoring government departments to understand their relative levels of capability - noting that it is not a straightforward exercise to identify distinct 'AI resource'. We will continue to work closely with regulators to ensure that our regulatory framework for AI can be implemented effectively, including by exploring regulatory capability gaps and possible solutions or mitigations.
We are also developing a range of functions, outlined in the White Paper, to support regulators to undertake their regulatory activities. The proposed monitoring and evaluation function, along with other central functions designed to support implementation by regulators, including by supporting coordination between regulator, will allow us to quickly identify if regulator capability is a barrier to implementation and leverage existing AI expertise across government to build capability where necessary.
Alongside this, our regulators are already coordinating and working together to share expertise and ensure that AI innovations have efficient and safe regulatory routes to market, for example using forums like the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum and the NHS AI and digital regulations service; or initiatives like the ICO’s award-winning AI and Data Protection Risk Mitigation Toolkit, or the MHRA’s ground-breaking Software and AI as a Medical Device Change Programme Roadmap.
We will be providing further details as part of the publication of the White Paper Consultation Response in the autumn. We encourage responses to the consultation - including in the context of regulators’ capabilities - before the 21 June deadline.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether it remains her Department's policy to conduct a review on the future funding of the BBC.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the licence fee for the rest of the current Charter. However, the BBC's funding model faces major challenges due to changes in the way people consume media. It is therefore necessary to look at ways to ensure the BBC’s funding model is sustainable in the long-term.
The Government wants to see the BBC continue to succeed, which is why we need to consider the most fair and appropriate funding mechanism to be introduced at the end of the current Charter period.
The Department is considering all possible future funding options to ensure the BBC’s long-term sustainability in a rapidly changing, digital world.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on taxis in each week of 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The following table provides the total spend for taxis for the core Department covering the calendar year 2022. We are unable to provide a weekly breakdown of the spend.
Calendar Year | Expenditure (£’000) |
2022 | 55 |
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services serving Manchester Piccadilly station were p-coded in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department does not routinely collect this information centrally. The latest published data on train cancellations can be found on the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) website.
The Department does not hold all information relating to "p-coded" services, which is a broad term used in the rail industry for planned alterations to the timetable including omissions from the plan of the day as this is the responsibility of the ORR.
Although no data is available by station, the ORR recently published figures for all Train Operating Companies' late notice pre-cancellations "P-code" for resource availability (train crew and rolling stock) in rail period 11.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the details of the contract agreed with Social Investment Business to run applications to the Youth Investment Fund, including the amount of any payment to Social Investment Business for this service.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Youth Investment Fund will fund the construction or redevelopment of up to 300 youth facilities - such as small youth facilities, youth centres and activity centres - targeting investment in left-behind areas, where young people have the greatest need and lowest provision.
The fund is designed to target support towards both upper tier local authority areas and more isolated pockets of need at district ward level. These smaller areas of need are often overlooked because they are masked by other relatively less deprived areas. All eligible areas have been identified and ranked by a combination of youth need and low provision, with detailed methodology underpinning their selection using high quality, robust and publicly available data. The methodology used has been published on GOV.UK.
The main phase of the Youth Investment Fund, which opened on 1 August 2022, has received nearly 500 applications to date.
Following a competitive application process, Social Investment Business were appointed as the intermediary grant maker to deliver the Youth Investment Fund on behalf of DCMS. The grant awarded to Social Investment Business is in line with the typical costs and scope outlined in the IGM specification of requirements published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications to the Youth Investment Fund have been received as of 17 February 2022.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Youth Investment Fund will fund the construction or redevelopment of up to 300 youth facilities - such as small youth facilities, youth centres and activity centres - targeting investment in left-behind areas, where young people have the greatest need and lowest provision.
The fund is designed to target support towards both upper tier local authority areas and more isolated pockets of need at district ward level. These smaller areas of need are often overlooked because they are masked by other relatively less deprived areas. All eligible areas have been identified and ranked by a combination of youth need and low provision, with detailed methodology underpinning their selection using high quality, robust and publicly available data. The methodology used has been published on GOV.UK.
The main phase of the Youth Investment Fund, which opened on 1 August 2022, has received nearly 500 applications to date.
Following a competitive application process, Social Investment Business were appointed as the intermediary grant maker to deliver the Youth Investment Fund on behalf of DCMS. The grant awarded to Social Investment Business is in line with the typical costs and scope outlined in the IGM specification of requirements published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the Government has set up a second list of areas eligible for the Youth Investment Fund, comprising wards in upper tier local authorities.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Youth Investment Fund will fund the construction or redevelopment of up to 300 youth facilities - such as small youth facilities, youth centres and activity centres - targeting investment in left-behind areas, where young people have the greatest need and lowest provision.
The fund is designed to target support towards both upper tier local authority areas and more isolated pockets of need at district ward level. These smaller areas of need are often overlooked because they are masked by other relatively less deprived areas. All eligible areas have been identified and ranked by a combination of youth need and low provision, with detailed methodology underpinning their selection using high quality, robust and publicly available data. The methodology used has been published on GOV.UK.
The main phase of the Youth Investment Fund, which opened on 1 August 2022, has received nearly 500 applications to date.
Following a competitive application process, Social Investment Business were appointed as the intermediary grant maker to deliver the Youth Investment Fund on behalf of DCMS. The grant awarded to Social Investment Business is in line with the typical costs and scope outlined in the IGM specification of requirements published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has ongoing responsibility for (a) freeholders requiring cladding remediation and (b) other legacy issues at the Olympic Park.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold responsibility for freeholders requiring cladding remediation at the Olympic Park. Responsibility for legacy issues is restricted to government guarantees that concern specific financial losses and costs related to the East Village for which a contractual claims process exists.