Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to require retailers to sell (a) leashes, (b) personal flotation devices and (c) other essential safety equipment alongside paddleboards and kayaks.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government does not provide advice to retailers on how to display products.
National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. They have a responsibility to make the safety and welfare of participants their top priority, including through access to relevant safety equipment, training and education. Both British Canoeing and Surfing England provide safety advice to participants as do organisations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what critical infrastructure her Department is responsible for that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Property Agency (GPA) acts as a landlord to government department clients, including Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Education and others.
I refer the hon. Member to PQ58831.
GPA has started a Net Zero Offices Programme, which seeks to remove fossil fuel boilers (where they have reached end of economic life) and replace them with more environmental forms of heating such as use of air source heat pumps and, in the case of the Whitehall District Heating System, the utilisation of ground source heat pumps. The Net Zero Offices Programmes is seeking funding for its heat decarbonisation projects through applications to the Public Sector Decarbonisation scheme.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to update the House on the purchase of Huawei equipment between July 2020 and the implementation of the ban on buying new Huawei equipment in January 2021.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Secretary of State set out in his statement to the House on ‘UK Telecommunications’ on 14 July that the Government will bring forward the Telecoms Security Bill in the Autumn. During the passage of the Bill, the Government will update Parliament on progress made with respect to telecoms security and high risk vendors.
The Secretary of State also confirmed that he would report regularly to Parliament to update Members on the progress of the measures outlined in his statement. This includes monthly appearances in the House for DCMS questions.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 of the potential effect on the UK audio visual sector in the event that the country of origin principle for broadcasters ceases to apply in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Margot James
As stated by the Prime Minister in her Mansion House speech in March 2018, we are working hard to secure an agreement with the EU which would allow UK-based broadcasting licensees to continue broadcasting freely into the EU.
However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential eventualities, including a scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement on broadcasting can be reached. DCMS Ministers and officials are therefore engaging with individual businesses to understand possible impacts and mitigations to ensure that the UK remains the most attractive destination for doing broadcasting business.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the UK plans to seek observer status at the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The EU Regulation (1211/2009) establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is currently subject to review as part of the recast of the EU Regulatory Framework for Communications. We are seeking a deep and special future partnership with the European Union. The UK’s relationship with the European Union’s agencies and bodies upon exit will be evaluated on this basis. The Government is carefully considering a range of options and no decisions have yet been made on the UK’s future relationship with the EU’s agencies and bodies, including BEREC.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to seek third country participation with the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security under Article 30 of the Regulations (EU) No. 526/2013 after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Our aim is to secure a relationship that provides for practical operational cooperation; facilitates data driven law enforcement; and allows multilateral cooperation through EU agencies.