Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2020 to Question 54171 on Small Businesses: Cybercrime, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote the uptake of the Cyber Essentials Scheme in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
Cyber Essentials is promoted nationally through partnerships with over 50 amplification partners, including regulatory bodies and trade associations. It is also required for all central government contracts. The government works with law enforcement to engage with local businesses through Regional Organised Crime Units, one of which is run by Police Scotland. Alongside this, Scotland’s Business Resilience Centre offers subsidised, bespoke cyber security advice to SMEs, including about Cyber Essentials certification. There are eight further Regional Cyber Resilience Centres throughout the UK.
The Government’s Cyber Aware campaign shows the public and small businesses how to take up secure online behaviours, including signposting businesses towards Cyber Essentials and other guidance and support.
Up to the end of August 2020, 50,421 Cyber Essentials certificates had been awarded to organisations, including 11,506 since the start of 2020.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2020 to Question 54171 on Small Businesses: Cybercrime, what recent steps his Department has taken to publicise the availability of the UK Government's Cyber Aware advice.
Answered by Matt Warman
Cyber Aware is a cross-government campaign led by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) with support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Home Office. The campaign helps the public and small businesses take up behaviours to stay secure online. The most recent phase of the Cyber Aware campaign started in April 2020 with advice on how to stay secure online during the coronavirus crisis. The campaign included a range of paid-for digital advertising and social media activity, supported by further communications from the NCSC, DCMS and Home Office. In addition, the NCSC published a range of new guidance to help businesses stay secure, including advice on secure home working, secure use of video conferencing and advice on how to move a business online securely in response to the lockdown. Also launched as part of the campaign is the new Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) where the public can flag suspicious emails related to coronavirus or other matters. As of 31 August, the number of reports received stands at more than 2,330,000, with 9,315 scams and 22,237 malicious URLs removed as a result.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help increase levels of revenue contributed through Gift Aid to support the civil society sector.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting charities through Gift Aid; Gift Aid claimed by charities was worth around £1.3billion in 2018-19. Gift Aid already results in full tax relief on the tax paid on donations, with basic rate relief being claimed by the charity and higher rate relief being claimed by the taxpayer where relevant. Increasing the rate at which Gift Aid is paid would break the link with the basic rate of Income Tax paid on qualifying donations. Additionally, less than 20% of UK charities claim Gift Aid, so any increased payments linked to this tax relief would only benefit a small proportion of charities, with most being paid to a very small number of the very largest charities.
There is ongoing work between the Government and charities to improve eligible Gift Aid take-up and ensure that Gift Aid is fit for the future, and we understand the need to raise awareness among charities and donors of the benefits of Gift Aid.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government on the effect of the Channel 4 documentary entitled, Dispatches: The Truth about Traveller Crime, on relations between traveller and non traveller communities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Whittingdale
I have not discussed this matter with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Like all other broadcasters, Channel 4 is editorially independent from the government, and is subject to independent regulation by Ofcom.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many superfast fixed broadband lines there were in Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency in the latest year for which data is available.
Answered by Matt Warman
Utilising Ofcom’s Connected Nations Data (Spring 2020), the constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk has 53,846 fixed broadband lines with speeds above 30Mbps available. This represents 95.7% of all premises within the constituency. It also shows that whilst that figure represents availability of at least 30Mbps, the average download speed is actually 62.1Mbps.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate the Government has made of the number of people in Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency who do not have access to the internet.
Answered by Matt Warman
The House of Commons Library produces an analysis of Ofcom Connected Nations data at constituency level: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/science/technology/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/. For the constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk it shows that:
91% of the constituency is classified as urban and 9% is rural.
Within urban areas, 0.2% of premises are unable to receive decent broadband whilst 97% can receive superfast broadband.
Within the rural areas, 10% of premises are unable to receive decent broadband whilst 83% can receive superfast broadband.
Decent broadband is classified by Ofcom as at least 10Mbps.
Superfast broadband is classified by Ofcom as at least 30Mbps.
The three areas with the poorest connectivity are Braes Villages, Carse & Grangemouth Old Town and Linlithgow South.
The Scottish Government is running the Reaching 100 (R100) programme to ensure that all premises in Scotland can access at least superfast speeds. In lieu of that, DCMS operates the UK-wide Rural Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which provides up to £1,500 for rural homes and up to £3,500 for rural small businesses/sole traders to contribute towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable connectivity. Furthermore, premises currently unable to receive at least 10Mbps could potentially qualify for the Universal Service Obligation (USO) which Ofcom launched in March 2020.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to promote digital inclusion in Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency (a) in general and (b) for hard to reach groups who have never accessed online content.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Skills policy, including digital inclusion is a devolved matter. This is something that Scottish Ministers should be able to provide more information on.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote Gaelic and Welsh language literature in the UK.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Culture is a devolved matter so promoting Gaelic and Welsh language literature in the UK is a matter for the relevant devolved administration.
DCMS does, however, work to support minority languages through its work on the creative industries strand of the British Irish Council. This includes working with devolved administrations to support minority languages, to share best practice, and to nurture more diverse UK audiences, including through minority language publications.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized enterprises protect themselves against cyber-attack.
Answered by Matt Warman
Through the National Cyber Security Strategy the Government is helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the economy and society improve their digital security.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to help SMEs protect themselves, including promoting the uptake of the Cyber Essentials scheme through engagement with industry sectors and via police Regional Organised Crime Units, which engage with businesses locally.
The Cyber Aware campaign encourages the public and small businesses to take up secure online behaviours, including signposting businesses to guidance, such as the Small Business Guide, which helps firms protect themselves from the most common cyber attacks. The NCSC has also published a suite of guidance on home-working and digital business operations to support SMEs during the Covid-19 outbreak.
DCMS also is making sure SMEs have access to the skilled people they need, and the NCSC offers a free online training package, Top Tips for Staff.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the contribution of the horseracing industry to the economy in (a) the UK, and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to British sporting culture and its particular importance to the British rural economy.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) estimates that British racing, the UK’s second largest sports-related industry, is worth £4.1 billion in annual expenditure to the British economy, directly employing over 20,000 people and supporting employment for tens of thousands more in predominantly rural areas, and generating over £350 million in taxation annually.
An economic impact study commissioned by Scottish Racing in 2016 found that the Scottish horseracing industry generated £302 million in revenues, sustains 3,430 jobs, and generates £30m of tax revenues per annum. Further detail is provided in Scottish Racing’s 2016 Annual Review: http://www.scottishracing.co.uk/annual-review/.