Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on the future of Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government set out its plans to deliver a new golden age of British TV and to and to help the nation’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) thrive in a White Paper, published on 28 April 2022.
Channel 4 is a major pillar of these plans to safeguard the future of public service broadcasting. Following an extensive consultation, the Secretary of State has come to the conclusion that, in today’s intensely competitive broadcast economy, public ownership is holding Channel 4 back.
Channel 4 is and will remain a free-to-air PSB, just like ITV, Channel 5 and STV which are privately-owned and hugely successful. But the government will remove the restriction which effectively prohibits Channel 4 from producing and selling its own content so it can diversify its revenue streams and improve its long-term sustainability.
Whoever buys the broadcaster will inherit equivalent obligations to what it is subject to now as a Public Service Broadcaster - a requirement to support regional production outside London and England, commission a minimum volume of shows from independent producers, and to provide news as well as the original, innovative and risk-taking content it is known and loved for.
The Government will look to use some of the proceeds from the sale of Channel 4 to deliver a new creative dividend for the sector.
The Government will bring forward legislation to enable a change of ownership of Channel 4 through the Media Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish details of (a) planned changes to the Communications Code; and whether that will include mitigations to help ensure that telecoms companies cannot demand rent reductions from landowners for mast infrastructure.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Our consultation on Electronic Communications Code closed on 24 March 2021, and we are analysing the responses received. The government’s response will be published once this process is completed.
The consultation made clear that the government continues to believe the valuation regime introduced in 2017 strikes the right balance between the public need for digital communications and the rights of landowners to receive fair payments for allowing their land to be used. The valuation regime is therefore not being revisited, but the consultation did ask whether changes were needed to support more collaborative negotiations and help disagreements to be dealt with more quickly and cheaply.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 advisory bodies on identifying the type of businesses which require different types of covid-19 support in the live events industry.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We recognise that the live events industry and its supply chain has been severely impacted by Covid-19. The ministerially-chaired Events and Entertainment Working Group ensures we understand the issues facing all our Creative Industries sectors and that we are helping them as effectively as possible. The membership of the Working Group includes live events industry trade bodies such as the Production Services Association, the Music Venue Trust, the Concert Promoters Association and the National Arenas Association.
In addition, officials are in regular contact with live events industry stakeholders, ensuring that the needs of the industry are fully understood.
We will continue to work with the representatives of the live events industry to understand the difficulties the different parts of the sector faces and support the industry through these challenging times.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 plans to take to assist companies in the live entertainment industry that are unable to take on more debt and are at risk of insolvency as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to the live entertainment events sector. As you are aware, the Government has provided unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the Bounceback Loan Scheme and business rates reliefs.
The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing SEISS and CJRS come to end. From November, the Jobs Support Scheme will provide further support to returning workers, while the extended Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will aid the self-employed who are currently actively trading but are facing reduced demand.
We are also offering businesses who face a drop in demand for their services and possible cash flow issues generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans, and are extending the application window of the government-backed loan schemes and continuing reduced VAT (from 20% to 5%) on concert tickets to March 2021.
We will give all businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years. This will reduce their average monthly repayments on the loan by almost half. We also intend to allow CBILS lenders to extend the term of a loan up to ten years, providing additional flexibility for UK-based SMEs who may otherwise be unable to repay their loans.
In addition, the Secretary of State provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This support package will benefit the events sector by providing support to venues and many other organisations to stay open and continue operating.
We recognise that the live entertainment events industry and its supply chain has been severely impacted by Covid-19. We continue to meet with the stakeholders to discuss the specific issues facing the industry.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to take to further steps to support the live entertainment industry during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises that the pandemic presents a significant challenge to the live entertainment industry.
We have provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them stay open. The Cultural Recovery Fund is devolved. Northern Ireland received £33 million from the Fund under the Barnett formula.
In England, we have supported 135 grassroots music venues at the risk of imminent closure through £3.36m of emergency funding from the £1.57bn Fund.
The Government has also provided unprecedented financial assistance worth over £100billion, which many organisations in the live entertainment sector have been able to access. This financial support includes a years' business rates holiday, a reduction in VAT for concert tickets from 20% to 5% for 6 months, and the Bounce Back Loans scheme.
The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme come to end.
On rent liabilities, the Government has extended temporary tenant protections, meaning businesses, including those in the live entertainment sector, will be protected from the threat of eviction until the end of the year, providing commercial tenants with greater security and protecting vital jobs.
We will continue to work with the sector to find other ways to provide support.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 ensure that funding for the live entertainment industry is made available to all parts of the sector.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises that the pandemic presents a significant challenge to the live entertainment industry.
The £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund will secure the future of the performing arts and live events, protect jobs in the industry and ensure work continues to flow to other parts of the sector, such as freelancers, the self employed and people who work in production services.
The Cultural Recovery Fund is devolved. Northern Ireland has received £33 million from the Fund under the Barnett formula.
To complement the funding for organisations made available by Government, Arts Council England have announced £95m of additional support for individuals in England, including freelancers.
ACE will also be adding £2m into relevant benevolent funds to support those less well supported by the existing programmes, including stage managers and technicians.
The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme come to end.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 enable the return of in-person events without social distancing.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We want to see live venues open their doors to full audiences as soon as it is safe to do so, and we are working extensively with these sectors on how to achieve this.
Indoor performances to socially distanced audiences have been permitted since 15 August, and I am happy to see a number of organisations have opened successfully in this way. Any further steps to continue to open up the sector will understandably be dependent on the pandemic and the number of cases at that time.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) role and (b) responsibilities his Department has apportioned to the Department of Communiites in Northern Ireland in relation to the Tampon Tax Fund; and if he will publish documentation on that role and those responsibilities.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The Tampon Tax Fund is a UK-wide fund. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport works in consultation with the government of the devolved administrations, including the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, to deliver the Tampon Tax Fund.
The 2020/21 round of the Tampon Tax Fund was launched on 16th March 2020. The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland will be asked to provide additional feedback on how applications looking to deliver projects in Northern Ireland fit within their priorities, as part of a wider assessment process. The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland also holds the grant agreements for Tampon Tax Fund projects that are delivered predominantly in Northern Ireland and will continue to do so for the 2020/21 round of funding.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 bring forward the Online Harms Bill.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Online Harms Bill is a key legislative priority for this Government. Last month we published our initial government response to the White Paper consultation and we are working at pace on our legislative proposals, which will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will reduce Government funding to the BBC in proportion to the amount of compensation paid in out-of-court to victims of malpractice by that organisation in any given year.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.