Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment they have made of the potential (a) threats and (b) opportunities of artificial intelligence in respect of their Department’s responsibilities.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is aware of a broad range of views on the potential of artificial intelligence but is also informed of the technology’s risks and threats.
The Office for AI (a joint DCMS and BEIS unit) commissioned GDS to conduct a root-and-branch review of AI adoption in the public sector, to identify opportunities to increase productivity and service quality through the application of AI and related technologies.
The findings of the review revealed that leaders across the public sector could benefit from better understanding the technology, the opportunities it presents and the limitations of its use. A guide to using artificial intelligence in the public sector was published to meet this need, drawing on best practice from the commercial sector and public sector.
Accompanying the AI Guide are the Guidelines on AI Procurement co-published in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These guidelines will inform and empower buyers in the public sector, helping them to evaluate suppliers, then confidently and responsibly procure AI technologies for the benefit of citizens.
Furthermore, the Office for AI, co-published with the Central Digital & Data Office, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework for Automated Decision-Making. This is a seven-point framework - aimed at civil servants - to help government departments use automated or algorithmic decision-making systems safely, sustainably and ethically.
To help identify and address the risks and threats of AI the government commissioned the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to review the risks of bias in algorithmic decision-making. The review, which was published at the end of last year, identified a number of potential areas for further action, and I’m pleased that progress has already been made on a number of them.
As we look to ‘Build Back Better’ from the pandemic the government is committed to improving vital public services and driving efficiencies across the public sector through the ethical, safe and trustworthy deployment of responsible AI. Later this year we will publish a new National AI Strategy to help us achieve that ambition. I am pleased that officials from across the civil service and the wider public sector have been contributing to the strategy’s development.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is seeking international regulatory standards and safeguards on the development of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Matt Warman
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform our lives, unlock high-skilled jobs, and increase productivity.
The UK has a history of innovation-friendly approaches to regulation, in areas such as FinTech, HealthTech and online harms, and is committed to ensuring the necessary regulations exist to provide assurance and confidence around the development and use of new and emerging technologies.
The UK is playing a leading role in international discussions on AI ethics and potential regulations, including work at the Council of Europe, UNESCO, the OECD and the Global Partnership on AI , and we will continue to work with international partners including the European Union and the US to support the development of the rules around the use of AI for the benefit of our economies and societies.
Furthermore, the UK recently published Guidelines on AI Procurement in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These guidelines will inform and empower public sector buyers across nations, helping them to evaluate suppliers, then confidently and responsibly procure AI technologies, which meet high ethical standards, for the benefit of their citizens.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 improve data connectivity in the South East.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. It is the Government's view that the best way to achieve this is to create a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable while focussing government funds on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely. As a result of this approach, there is now a thriving market of over 80 providers rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK. We are also investing £5bn to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage through Project Gigabit.
This approach is working. According to ThinkBroadband, in the South East, gigabit connectivity has increased from just 8% at the start of 2020 to 35% today. Average download speeds have also increased by 40% in the same period, from below 40 megabits per second to over 56 megabits per second.
There are 23 Superfast projects in the Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme in the South East, which have already provided coverage to 497,000 premises. Local Full Fibre Network projects have been completed in both Mid and West Sussex. 94 Rural Gigabit Connectivity hub sites have been contracted in the South East area and 48 sites, including schools have been delivered. The South East has benefited from the Voucher scheme which has seen 6,466 voucher connections with a value of over £13m invested in connectivity in the area coupled with a further £8.8m Top Up Vouchers issued. There are also a further 11,069 issued vouchers that are pending connections, totalling more than £19m.
Areas in the South East will also be amongst the first to benefit from our £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are in Phase 1b of the delivery plan, with Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, East and West Berkshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex, Kent and Surrey all currently in line for Gigabit-capable rollout through Phase 2.
Furthermore, on 9 March last year, the Government agreed a £1 billion deal with the Mobile Network Operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network. This will see the operators collectively increase 4G mobile phone coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of the programme, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments. The South East will benefit from the operator-led element of the Shared Rural Network which will see operators collectively invest over £530 million in a shared network of new and existing phone masts. This will help tackle partial not spots - areas where there is currently coverage from at least one, but not all operators. There have already been 700 new and upgraded sites announced by the operators this year and they are on track to eliminate the majority of these partial not spots by mid-2024.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 increase participation and representation of people from Asian backgrounds in football (a) nationally and (b) within their local communities.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ sets out a clear ambition to increase levels of physical activity amongst under-represented groups, working closely with our arm’s length and national bodies to achieve this. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including increasing diversity.
We support the efforts of The FA in their work with Asian communities, as the largest ethnic minority group in the country, through the FA Asian Inclusion Plan. The plan focuses on tackling Asian underrepresentation at all levels of the game, both locally and nationally. The five pillars of the strategy work to ensure that intersectional participation, and representation, is occurring from grassroots all the way through to elite pathways and governance. Further details about the plan can be found here: https://www.thefa.com/news/2021/may/06/fa-asian-inclusion-strategy-update-20210506
We also welcomed the launch of The FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ last year, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted for the National League System and grassroots clubs this year.
Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The Government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £25m announced at Budget for this year as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.
However, there is still progress to be made and the Government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what further financial support seasonal businesses in the exhibition industry that are affected by the covid-19 outbreak will receive from April 2021 to the end of 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Events and exhibition businesses will continue to be able to apply for Government support during this period, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until September. Events businesses can apply for a variety of generous Government backed loan schemes, including the Recovery Loan scheme from 6 April. In addition, the discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant guidance for Local Authorities specifically refers to mobile businesses and suppliers in the events sector.
We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing the sector.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to provide financial support for businesses within events and exhibitions sector that will be affected by the covid-19 outbreak over the next 12 months.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Events and exhibition businesses will continue to be able to apply for Government support during this period, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until September. Events businesses can apply for a variety of generous Government backed loan schemes, including the Recovery Loan scheme from 6 April. In addition, the discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant guidance for Local Authorities specifically refers to mobile businesses and suppliers in the events sector.
We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing the sector.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to (a) expand the eligibility criteria and (b) increase the funding available for Arts Council England grants.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
There are no current plans to change the eligibility criteria or increase funding for Arts Council England grants.
Alongside regular Arts Council England funding, such as National Portfolio and Project Grants funding, last year the government announced the unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the culture sector. Over £1.2 billion worth of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund has already been allocated across all four nations of the UK. A further £300 million of support was announced by HM Treasury at the Spring Budget and criteria for applicants will be announced shortly.
Rigorous criteria have rightly been applied to all applicants to the first and second rounds of the Culture Recovery Fund, to ensure support is provided to organisations that have national and local importance. Our Arms Length Bodies, including Arts Council England, have the delegated authority to take decisions on grant applications due to their long established grant delivery role, their expertise and understanding of the sectors in which they operate.
DCMS works closely with the sector, Arm’s Length Bodies, the Culture Recovery Board, HM Treasury and the National Audit Office to keep the progress of fund allocations and the level of need in the sector under close review.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to tackle online misinformation on covid-19.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously and DCMS is leading work across Government to tackle it. In response to the harmful disinformation and misinformation relating to Covid-19 we stood up the Cross-Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit on 5 March 2020, which brings together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities.
We are working with social media platforms to support the introduction of systems and processes that promote authoritative sources of information, and to help them identify and take action to remove incorrect claims about the virus, in line with their terms and conditions. We have also launched a toolkit with content designed to be shared via Whatsapp and Facebook community groups, as well as Twitter, Youtube and Instagram, to tackle false information spread through private channels. The campaign is fronted by trusted local community figures such as imams, pastors and clinicians in short, shareable videos which include simple tips on how to spot misinformation and what to do to stop its spread. This toolkit is based on the core principles of the SHARE checklist, which aims to increase audience resilience by educating and empowering those who see, inadvertently share and are affected by false and misleading information.
The Online Safety Bill will be ready this year. As set out in the full government response, the Online Safety Bill will introduce a duty of care requiring companies to address harms on their online platforms, such as misinformation and disinformation. The new laws will have robust and proportionate measures to deal with misinformation and disinformation that could cause significant physical or psychological harm to an individual, such as anti-vaccination content and falsehoods about COVID-19. However, we are clear that companies should not wait for legislation to be in place to take action against online harms.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support is available to events and exhibition businesses (a) currently and (b) between 15 April 2021 and the end of 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has extended a number of financial support schemes, which events businesses can continue to access well into 2021.
Events and exhibition businesses will continue to be able to apply for Government support during this period, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until September. Events businesses can apply for a variety of generous Government backed loan schemes, including the Recovery Loan scheme from 6 April. In addition, the discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant guidance for Local Authorities specifically refers to mobile businesses and suppliers in the events sector.
We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing the sector.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on news outlets in Slough.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the vital role of local newspapers in supporting communities and local democracy through their provision of reliable, high-quality information. The government has been engaging closely with the sector, including publishers present in Slough, and with market experts to continue to inform our understanding of the financial pressures the industry has been facing, including with respect to the reduction in advertising revenues, and the impact of this on business continuity. Many local newspapers have been able to benefit from a unique and unprecedented government advertising partnership, designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens. Newspapers received up to £35 million additional government advertising revenue as part of the first phase of our coronavirus communications campaign. The campaign has subsequently been extended with at least 60% funding going to smaller regional and local titles.
We are aware that the pandemic has had a significant effect on many local newspapers and, in some cases, has led publishers to make difficult decisions with regard to title closures or suspensions and staff redundancies. We will maintain our dialogue with the sector as the situation continues to develop, ensuring that we have the information needed to inform the development of effective support measures.