Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) help build new grassroots football facilities and (b) renovate existing pitches for grassroots football in County Durham.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises that grassroots sports clubs are at the beating heart of communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help clubs to get more people active and, by backing these clubs, the Government will support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live.
To mark the achievements of England’s senior men’s and women’s football teams, and inspire the next generation as we look ahead to hosting UEFA EURO 2028 across the UK and Ireland, we have set out plans to strengthen our support for grassroots clubs. This includes continuing delivery of funding to build and improve pitches and facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme this year, and a commitment to work with the sector to develop a funding package that will support these plans in future years.
Currently in England, the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is delivered through the Football Foundation. The Foundation is working with local authorities (and local football associations and other partners) to refresh Local Football Facility Plans that identify the specific needs of local areas. These are used to inform the pipeline of projects which will receive funding from the Foundation.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England’s newly established Movement Fund offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to ensure that social media companies remove content that (a) bullies and (b) defames people on their platforms in a timely manner.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government published the draft Online Safety Bill in May 2021, which places new legal duties on tech companies, including social media platforms, to protect their users.
All companies in scope will need to tackle illegal abuse by making sure it is taken down quickly when they are aware of it and by using systems and processes to minimise the risk of similar material appearing. Services which are likely to be accessed by children will need to provide safety measures for child users, including from cyberbullying. Major platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content for adults. Ofcom as the regulator will be able to take enforcement action, including large fines, against companies who do not comply with their duties.
The draft Bill has been subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee which reported its recommendations on 14 December. We are considering the Committee’s recommendations and are committed to introducing the Bill shortly.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 use of Tik Tok by pupils in schools to (a) cyberbully and (b) defame (i) other pupils and (ii) teachers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government recognises the serious risks that pupils and teachers face online. The Department for Education’s COVID-19 Parent and Pupil Panel Survey, published in October 2021, found that 6% of pupils in years 6-13 reported that they had experienced online bullying in the 12 months up to July 2021. Furthermore, Ofcom’s Internet Users’ Experience of Potential Online Harms Survey conducted in early 2020 found that 1% of children aged 12-15 who had experienced bullying, abusive behaviour and threats cited TikTok as the platform on which this occurred.
The Government is also deeply concerned by reports related to the abuse of teachers on TikTok. The upcoming Online Safety Bill will ensure that online platforms, including TikTok, do much more to protect their users, including from online bullying and abuse. The strongest protections in the legislation are for children.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to regulate gambling advertising on (a) television, (b) online and (c) sports shirt sponsorship.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is already subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators and their affiliates must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). Breaches of the code can result in the Gambling Commission taking enforcement action. The CAP has recently consulted on strengthening the advertising codes for gambling for the greater protection of children and vulnerable adults. New measures to protect vulnerable adults are already in force and a full consultation outcome, including new protections for children, is expected shortly.
In addition, the gambling industry has its own gambling advertising code – The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising which includes additional requirements, for example, a 9pm television advertising watershed for most forms of gambling and ensuring advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media.
As with advertising, sponsorship arrangements must be socially responsible and must never be targeted at children. If a gambling sponsorship is socially irresponsible or otherwise violates licence conditions, the Gambling Commission can take action against both the operator and the partner organisation.
The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements. We are considering the evidence carefully and will publish a White Paper outlining conclusions and next steps in due course. We are also looking more broadly at how online advertising is regulated through the Online Advertising Programme, which will be launching a public consultation in the coming months.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 May 2021 Official Report 860, what the latest public health guidance is that he referred to; how that guidance takes into account research conducted by Public Health England in summer 2020 that showed that singing was no more dangerous than shouting or exercising in an enclosed space; whether he has made an assessment of the ability of organisations that run choirs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their members compared with informal clubs whose activities have resumed under covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. I can assure you that everyone across Government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.
However, it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions as we wouldn’t want to reverse the progress we are making. There is evidence that singing loudly can increase aerosol and thus increase the risk of coronavirus transmission, particularly indoors. As with any activity, the cumulative effect of aerosol transmission means the more people involved, the higher the risk of transmission.
The Covid context has also changed with the emergence of more transmissible strains. This would include the so-called Alpha variant B.1.1.7 which research suggests may be 70% more transmissible, and now the Delta variant B1.617.2 which looks to be even more transmissible. This means the risks associated with transmission have increased since these studies were undertaken. For these reasons it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions, so that we can see the impact of this before moving to the next step.
We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 has made on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on women’s professional football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Football clubs form an integral part of this country and it is important they are given as much support as possible during these difficult times. In light of this, the Government announced a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support.
I recently wrote to the Football Association, alongside the other major sport governing bodies, to underline the importance of maintaining the momentum of women’s football. We want to see women’s sport continue to thrive, and football is a popular choice for women and girls to get active (being the second most popular team sport in terms of participation for adult women in England). The government is also looking forward to the UK hosting the rescheduled women’s UEFA European Championships in 2022. The Government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on this important matter.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 effect of the covid -19 outbreak on the development of women’s sport at the (a) professional and (b) grassroots level.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
I am keen that we continue to maintain the focus on women’s sport and build on the fantastic progress made in recent years. I am working closely with sports bodies on the return of top level sporting events, and there are a number of major women’s sporting events coming up in the UK to look forward to, for example the women’s Rugby League World Cup next year and the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022.
However, we need to continue championing and raising the profile of women’s sport. That is why on 29 May I wrote to the Football Association, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board to ask about their plans for promoting women’s sport at the elite level, increasing women and girls participation and ensuring covid-19 does not have an impact on either of those things. I will be considering their responses with interest.
At grassroots level, Covid-19 has brought new challenges to the way people are able to engage in physical activity. I welcome initiatives like Sport England’s “Join the Movement” campaign which is encouraging everyone to stay active during the lockdown. The latest data from Sport England on activity levels during lockdown shows that 33% of women are doing at least 30 minutes of activity on five or more days in the last week, and that women are doing more walking and home-based physical activity.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timescale is for the introduction of the Online Harms Bill.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online. DCMS and the Home Office are working at pace to develop the legislation. We will publish a full government response later this year, and legislation will be ready this session.