Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sarah Dyke and Chris Bryant(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Chris Bryant
I am happy to look at anything, but we are reluctant to start putting levies on things that close down the British business. My hon. Friend makes a good point about trying to make sure that people have an opportunity to make a career and a living out of the creative industries. It strikes me that with more than 50% of people working freelance in the industry, that is one of the things we definitely have to look at, and I know that my hon. Friend has a large sector in her constituency.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
Somerset is home to some iconic film locations such as Glastonbury Tor, which featured in “The Kid Who Would Be King”; Montacute House, which featured in “Wolf Hall” and “Sense and Sensibility”; and Wells, where “Hot Fuzz” was filmed. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the film industry in the UK thrives and continues to use our iconic locations?
Chris Bryant
The hon. Lady is right: one of the things that brings a lot of people to the UK as tourists—we want to reach 50 million international visitors by 2030—is seeing places where things were filmed. I went to Bath recently and saw many different places where there has been filming for “Bridgerton” and lots of different movies. It is an important part of our business and sometimes we need to make sure that local authorities take up such opportunities.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sarah Dyke and Chris Bryant(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Chris Bryant
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and her constituency exemplifies one of the issues we face, which is that we might have relatively affluent areas cheek by jowl with much poorer areas. That is why, in our digital inclusion action plan, we have tried to ensure that we address all the different forms of digital exclusion, whether it is by virtue of age, ethnicity, educational background or physical geography.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
Lack of access to digital services prevents people from applying for jobs, studying and accessing healthcare, but community interest companies such as Donate IT, based in Wincanton, are helping to bridge the gap by diverting IT equipment that was otherwise heading to landfill. By refurbishing that tech and distributing it to the people, schools and groups who need it, Donate IT is helping to address digital poverty. How does the Minister plan to support such organisations to prevent electrical waste from going to landfill and to tackle digital exclusion?
Chris Bryant
I am really pleased that that is happening in the hon. Lady’s constituency. We were pleased as a Government to be able to say not only that many Government Departments will make sure that we do precisely the same thing, but that many major employers will also do the same. It is crazy to chuck old kit into landfill when, frankly, it could be used much better to provide people with digital opportunities for the future.