Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the BBC’s decision to cut Radio 4’s In Touch show from 20 to 15 minutes on accessibility.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet the BBC’s leadership to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC’s Royal Charter and Framework Agreement sets out what the BBC is required to deliver. The BBC has a range of obligations to ensure its services are accessible. The BBC is obliged to provide output and services which meet the needs of the United Kingdom’s nations, regions and communities, reflects the diversity of the United Kingdom; to observe guidance within Ofcom’s TV Access Services Code in relation to the provision of access services; and in adhering to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom in the BBC’s Operating Licence, to publish in Annual Report, how it has reflected, represented and served the diverse communities of the whole of the United Kingdom, including with regards to disability.
In meeting these obligations, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and BBC programming decisions are a matter for the BBC, not for the Government.
As the BBC’s independent regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding the BBC to account on these regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with the BBC Board on the decision to cut Radio 4’s In Touch show from 20 to 15 minutes.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet the BBC’s leadership to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC’s Royal Charter and Framework Agreement sets out what the BBC is required to deliver. The BBC has a range of obligations to ensure its services are accessible. The BBC is obliged to provide output and services which meet the needs of the United Kingdom’s nations, regions and communities, reflects the diversity of the United Kingdom; to observe guidance within Ofcom’s TV Access Services Code in relation to the provision of access services; and in adhering to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom in the BBC’s Operating Licence, to publish in Annual Report, how it has reflected, represented and served the diverse communities of the whole of the United Kingdom, including with regards to disability.
In meeting these obligations, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and BBC programming decisions are a matter for the BBC, not for the Government.
As the BBC’s independent regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding the BBC to account on these regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many responses her Department received to its letter of June 2023 to football league and competition organisers on guidance relating to the safety of barriers and fences in stadiums.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following serious incidents involving football players colliding with objects and barriers around the perimeter of the playing area, the Government and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) wrote jointly to The Football Association (FA), Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) and the National League setting out our concerns. Of these, The FA, Premier League, and the EFL have responded.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 3.7 of the policy paper entitled Up next - the Government's vision for the broadcasting sector, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the delay in the planned consultation on the renewal or relicensing of individual local television services on local (a) television services and (b) communities.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the important contribution and impact that local TV services make to our broadcasting ecosystem and for those across the UK, particularly in their role disseminating relevant news and engaging with local communities.
In the Broadcasting White Paper, we announced our intention to make changes to the local TV licensing regime to enable the renewal of the local TV multiplex licence – which would otherwise expire in November 2025 – until 2034. We committed to consulting on the conditions for renewal of the multiplex licence, and on our approach to the renewal or relicensing of the 34 local TV services that broadcast from it and whose licences also expire in November 2025.
The Government understands the desire of the sector for clarity on this important issue and intends to publish the consultation shortly. We are confident that this timeline will allow any renewal or relicensing process to complete well ahead of the 2025 deadline.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish the consultation on local television licences.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the important contribution and impact that local TV services make to our broadcasting ecosystem and for those across the UK, particularly in their role disseminating relevant news and engaging with local communities.
In the Broadcasting White Paper, we announced our intention to make changes to the local TV licensing regime to enable the renewal of the local TV multiplex licence – which would otherwise expire in November 2025 – until 2034. We committed to consulting on the conditions for renewal of the multiplex licence, and on our approach to the renewal or relicensing of the 34 local TV services that broadcast from it and whose licences also expire in November 2025.
The Government understands the desire of the sector for clarity on this important issue and intends to publish the consultation shortly. We are confident that this timeline will allow any renewal or relicensing process to complete well ahead of the 2025 deadline.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to provide targeted financial support for voluntary and faith groups in the context of the cost of the living crisis.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
With government support, voluntary and faith groups have shown significant resilience over the past few years, and will again be crucial in supporting communities and households through this challenging period.
Government is supporting all organisations, including those across the civil society sector, with their energy bills. This support has now been extended until March 2024 via the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Wholesale gas prices have now fallen to levels just before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and have almost halved since the current scheme was announced. This scheme provides long term certainty for organisations and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year.
DCMS will keep engaging constructively across the civil society sector and colleagues in government to monitor the impact of rising costs.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the neutrality of the Independent Press Standards Organisation; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new neutrality criteria for that regulator.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since the report of the Leveson Inquiry was published in 2012, we have seen a fundamental reform of the self-regulatory landscape for the press, including the establishment of two new regulators, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS). The majority of traditional publishers - including 95% of national newspapers by circulation - are members of IPSO. A small number of publishers have joined IMPRESS.
IPSO has established strong regulatory standards and codes for its members, and offers individuals a means of redress where these standards are not met.
The Government is committed to protecting the freedom of the press and recognises that a vibrant and free press plays an invaluable role in our cultural and democratic life.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps Department is taking to monitor and ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since the report of the Leveson Inquiry was published in 2012, we have seen a fundamental reform of the self-regulatory landscape for the press, including the establishment of two new regulators, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS).
The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. The majority of traditional publishers—including 95% of national newspapers by circulation—are members of IPSO. A small number of publishers have joined IMPRESS, while others, including the Financial Times and the Guardian, have chosen to stay outside either self-regulator with their own detailed self-regulatory arrangements.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the International Football Association Board on the potential merits of introducing temporary concussion substitution protocols.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The laws of the game of football are a matter for The International Football Association Board (IFAB), as the independent body authorised to decide and agree changes to such laws within the sport. It is for the IFAB to consider the potential merits of introducing new laws for discussion in conjunction with The Football Association and other members of the IFAB as appropriate.
The safety and wellbeing of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount and the Government expects sports to do all they can to protect their players. Our Command Paper on Concussion in Sport published in December 2021 outlines the steps the Government is taking to help reduce risks associated with head injuries by improving understanding, awareness, prevention and treatment of concussion in sport.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish the findings of its review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Review of the Gambling Act 2005 was launched on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. This closed on 31 March and received approximately 16,000 submissions from a broad range of interested organisations and individuals.
We are considering the evidence carefully with the aim of setting out conclusions and any proposals for reform in a white paper by the end of the year.