Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 ratify the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government values the profound contribution of the UK’s craft workers, artisans and artists to the preservation of our unique intangible heritage. We are exploring the merits of ratifying the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, as a potential addition to the broad range of support measures which already exist for this vital aspect of our nation’s life.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 introduce proposals on the regulation of people who act as advisers to professional boxers.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
While fit and proper persons tests do exist within other sports to ensure propriety of ownership in club structure, these are a matter for the national governing bodies, concerning corporate ownership, and in line with company law.
We do not intend to intervene in this autonomy at this time but we expect national governing bodies and competition structures to put adequate levels of protections in place.
This Government takes the matter of tackling corruption in sport seriously, and this is why we have played a leading role in developing the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 introduce a fit and proper person test for those involved in professional boxing consistent with such tests used in other professional sports.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
While fit and proper persons tests do exist within other sports to ensure propriety of ownership in club structure, these are a matter for the national governing bodies, concerning corporate ownership, and in line with company law.
We do not intend to intervene in this autonomy at this time but we expect national governing bodies and competition structures to put adequate levels of protections in place.
This Government takes the matter of tackling corruption in sport seriously, and this is why we have played a leading role in developing the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 bring forward legislative proposals on improving the regulation of professional boxing in the UK or associated with the UK.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
While fit and proper persons tests do exist within other sports to ensure propriety of ownership in club structure, these are a matter for the national governing bodies, concerning corporate ownership, and in line with company law.
We do not intend to intervene in this autonomy at this time but we expect national governing bodies and competition structures to put adequate levels of protections in place.
This Government takes the matter of tackling corruption in sport seriously, and this is why we have played a leading role in developing the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 ensure that professional boxing in the UK or associated with the UK is not influenced by people alleged to be involved in organised crime.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
While fit and proper persons tests do exist within other sports to ensure propriety of ownership in club structure, these are a matter for the national governing bodies, concerning corporate ownership, and in line with company law.
We do not intend to intervene in this autonomy at this time but we expect national governing bodies and competition structures to put adequate levels of protections in place.
This Government takes the matter of tackling corruption in sport seriously, and this is why we have played a leading role in developing the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on the regulation of the sport of boxing of the allegations made in the BBC's Panorama programme on the role of Daniel Kinahan in that sport, broadcast on 1 February 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
While fit and proper persons tests do exist within other sports to ensure propriety of ownership in club structure, these are a matter for the national governing bodies, concerning corporate ownership, and in line with company law.
We do not intend to intervene in this autonomy at this time but we expect national governing bodies and competition structures to put adequate levels of protections in place.
This Government takes the matter of tackling corruption in sport seriously, and this is why we have played a leading role in developing the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what further steps the Government needs to take to achieve data adequacy recognition from the EU.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We continue to talk to the Commission about their plans to finalise their adequacy assessment of the UK.
Once draft decisions are published by the Commission, the process will then move into an EU procedural phase before they are adopted. The European Data Protection Board of Member State regulators will issue a non-binding opinion on the decisions, and the European Parliament also has the right to scrutinise them. The draft decisions will then be subject to approval by the relevant EU Council working group (the Article 93 Committee) and the College of Commissioners. The UK will continue to engage constructively where necessary throughout the process until it reaches its conclusion.
The EU’s adequacy assessments, underway since March 2020, ascertain whether UK data protection standards are ‘essentially equivalent’ to the EU’s. Given we have an existing data protection framework that is equivalent to the EU’s, we see no reason why the UK should not be awarded adequacy and we expect the process to be concluded promptly.
The EU left insufficient time to adopt data adequacy decisions for the UK before the end of the transition period. We have therefore agreed with the EU a time-limited ‘bridging mechanism’ which will allow personal data to continue to flow as it did previously whilst EU adequacy decisions for the UK are adopted.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 secure Data Adequacy recognition from the EU before the end of the transition period.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Continuing the free flow of personal data is an important objective for both the UK and the EU.
We have been in formal talks with the Commission since March 2020 to secure data adequacy decisions under both the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive.
Adequacy decisions would allow personal data to continue to flow freely from the EU/EEA to the UK. We have already legislated to enable, on a transitional basis, the free flow of UK personal data to Europe.
The EU’s adequacy assessments ascertain whether UK data protection standards are ‘essentially equivalent’ to the EU’s. Given we have an existing data protection framework that is equivalent to the EU’s, we see no reason why the UK should not be awarded adequacy.
Throughout the adequacy assessment we have engaged proactively and constructively, doing all we can to expedite our assessment. This included preparation of a technical pack of explanatory materials, which was shared formally with the Commission at the start of the adequacy assessment in March 2020 and published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what processes his Department has in place to respond to requests for repatriations of colonial artefacts and human remains from UK museums, universities and other institutions; and what plans the Government has for an audit to be undertaken of such items.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Decisions relating to museum collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum, who operate independently of the government. This includes the institutions’ responses to requests for repatriation or restitution for colonial artefacts and human remains.
The Department is committed to supporting museums in dealing confidently with all aspects of restitution. This includes supporting ongoing work led by Arts Council England on creating new guidance for the museum sector. This will create a comprehensive and practical resource for museums to support them in dealing with all aspects of restitution.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress is being made on the repatriation from the UK to Zimbabwe of the remains of (a) Mbuya Nehanda, (b) Sekuru Kaguvi and (c) the 25 First Chimurenga fighters.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
It is not confirmed that the remains of Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kaguve and the 25 First Chimurenga fighters are held in an UK institution. If it was determined that they were in the UK, and a request for their return was received, the decision to do so would be a matter for that institution to consider.