Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to implement recommendation 13b in Annex G of the Digital Market’s Taskforce’s report entitled A new pro-competition regime for digital markets.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to ensuring digital markets remain competitive and deliver positive outcomes for consumers, small businesses, and society. That is why we have announced funding to establish a new Digital Markets Unit within the Competition and Markets Authority from 2021-22.
We set up the Digital Markets Taskforce in March to offer expert advice. We will now consider the recommendations, including 13b and consult on proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in early 2021.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an online system to submit claims to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of its work on IP enforcement issues the IPO has facilitated a series of working groups over the last year looking at the enforcement framework. The cost and accessibility of court processes for IP disputes was considered as part of this review, and questions on these topics were included in the call for views which closed in November this year. The IPO is currently considering the responses received from that exercise and will carry out further assessment and consult other departments as necessary before any recommendations are taken forwards.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Justice on the publication of judgments from the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of its work on IP enforcement issues the IPO has facilitated a series of working groups over the last year looking at the enforcement framework. The cost and accessibility of court processes for IP disputes was considered as part of this review, and questions on these topics were discussed with Ministry of Justice officials before being included in the call for views which closed in November this year. The IPO is currently considering the responses received from that exercise and will discuss any potential recommendations with other departments and the Judiciary as appropriate.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the Government's new Digital Strategy.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to driving growth in the digital sector and wider economy, and to ensuring that we maximise the benefits of a digital-led economic recovery. We will ensure that the Digital Strategy supports these objectives, both in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and into the future.
We are continuing to consider the best timeframe for delivering the strategy, in light of the broader national context including the Covid-19 pandemic. We are currently working towards publishing in 2021.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the commercial music industry on the difficulties of procuring insurance for live music events.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We are aware of the concerns raised by the music industry about the potential challenges associated with securing insurance for live music events.
Officials have been working closely with the affected sectors to understand the challenges faced. This includes work to build an evidence base on whether there is a clear market failure that demonstrates insurance coverage is the only barrier to live music events taking place.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
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 support music businesses in the event that they cannot reopen when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to the music 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 now announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing SEISS and CJRS come to end. This support includes:
the new Job Support Scheme;
an extension to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme;
an extension of reduced VAT (from 20% to 5%) on concert tickets to March 2021; and
further concessions on repayment terms, payment deferrals and application windows.
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 music sector by providing support to venues and many other organisations to stay open and continue operating.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the DVLA is taking to make the processing of V5 forms (a) more efficient and (b) accessible online during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online which offer the quickest and easiest way to transact with the DVLA. The DVLA’s online services have worked well throughout the pandemic with more than 36 million online driver and vehicle transactions processed since March. Around 97.5 per cent of DVLA’s customer interactions are digital or automated allowing businesses and motorists to transact with DVLA at a time and place that suits them.
For vehicle keepers, the online services include notifying a change of keeper, telling the DVLA that a vehicle has been disposed of to a motor trader as well as removing and adding a personalised number plate from or to a vehicle.
The DVLA continues to add to the extensive range of digital services already available. In June, the DVLA launched a new service allowing vehicle keepers to change their address online. This service was developed and introduced at pace in response to the pandemic and has been very successful with more than 213,000 change of address transactions completed online by the end of August. Further digital service enhancements are underway.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish further information on the potential further extension of visas for people unable to leave the UK to travel home after 31 July 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The latest information in respect of advice for visa holders can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents. This is kept under review.
The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak. We recognise further adjustments are likely to be required to cater for all scenarios, and we are working through these, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the level of reliance of UK creative industries on UK-based trade mark attorneys; what assessment he has made of trends in the level of that reliance after the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK’s highly skilled legal profession play a vital role in advising UK businesses in the creative sector, and indeed across all sectors, on how to make the most from their IP portfolios
Officials at the Intellectual Property Office are having ongoing conversations with representative bodies over how to best address any issues they may face once the transition period ends.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of the intellectual property of people in the creative industries in the event that a UK EU trade agreement is (a) agreed and (b) not agreed after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s approach to negotiations between the UK and the EU aims to secure an Intellectual Property Chapter that includes mutual assurances to maintain high standards of protection for IP rights, including registered IP rights such as patents, trademarks and designs; and unregistered rights such as copyright, and trade secrets. The approach also reflects international agreements such as the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and World Intellectual Property Organisation treaties.
If no further negotiated agreement is reached between the UK and the EU, the arrangements in the intellectual property section of the Withdrawal Agreement take effect at the end of the transition period. These arrangements provide legal certainty and protect the interests of rightsholders and users of the IP framework.