Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to restrict TV advertising relating to the gambling industry.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including broadcast adverts and online. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not target or appeal particularly to children or young people, or exploit vulnerable people. TV adverts must be pre-cleared by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts on complaints and proactively checks the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.
Our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures set out a package of measures to strengthen protections further. These include tougher guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people, with further guidance on children and young people due soon, tougher sanctions for operators who breach advertising codes and a multi-million pound safer gambling advertising campaign.
The Industry Group for Responsible Gambling has announced that it will extend its commitment not to advertise on TV before 9pm to include advertising during sporting events. It has announced that the changes are expected to come into effect in summer. Its industry-wide code for socially responsible advertising also requires all TV adverts to feature a responsible gambling message for the duration of the advert. Separately, Sky will offer customers the option to opt out of TV gambling adverts from 2020. These are welcome steps by industry to respond to public concerns, and it is important that all those who benefit from gambling advertising think about how they can be socially responsible. We will continue to monitor issues around advertising and consider any new evidence carefully.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to protect mobile phone users from being signed up to PayForIT services without consent or knowledge.
Answered by Margot James
The regulation of premium rate services, including those offered via the PayForIT payment method, requires that consumers must not be charged for such services without their consent or knowledge. The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), the UK’s regulator of premium rate services, is continuing to work with the industry to tackle this issue, by improving security standards and updating consent to charge guidance. The PSA also takes robust enforcement action against breaches of its regulation and this includes imposing substantial fines, ordering refunds to be made to affected consumers and prohibiting service providers and individuals from providing phone-paid services for a period of time.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to reduce its use of single-use plastics .
Answered by Margot James
In our 25 Year Environment plan the Government outlined a range of measures on how we will reduce the amount of plastic in circulation through reducing demand for single-use plastic. This included a commitment to removing all consumer single use plastics from the central government estate offices.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of banning gambling adverts on television shown prior to the watershed of 9pm.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including television adverts. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not appeal particularly to children or young people or exploit those who are vulnerable. Gambling adverts must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. The Committees for Advertising Practice recently published guidance setting out tougher standards for interpreting the rules on gambling advertising, focusing on protections for those vulnerable to problem gambling and on free bets and bonuses. Further guidance on protecting children and young people will be published later this year.
Through the Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising there is an industry-wide voluntary commitment not to advertise on television before 9pm, with the exception of lotteries, bingo and advertising around live sporting events. This code also bans free sign up offers targeted at new customers before 9pm.
We sought evidence on protections around advertising as part of the Government's Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, and outlined a package of measures in our consultation. The consultation closed in January and we will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support her Department provides to support the creative industries in (a) Kirklees and (b) Yorkshire.
Answered by Margot James
Government recognises the role played by creative businesses, including media, right across the UK in local economic growth. Government supports this growth via tax credits, regional development programmes, relocation of Arms Length Bodies associated with the sector, rebasing of public sector broadcasters and putting ‘place’ at the heart of the Industrial Strategy. The department does not collect data on creative industries investment on a region-by-region basis.
DCMS funds Arms Length Bodies that have regional objective and invest in arts and culture, which develop future skills and talent for the Creative Industries. According to Arts Council England and British Film Institute data, Kirklees has received grant-in-aid and lottery support of almost £17m, since 2012. Yorkshire and the Humber received over £396m in the same period.
Employment in Yorkshire and the Humber’s film and TV industries increased by 40 per cent in 2016, outstripping every other UK region. A driver of this growth is Screen Yorkshire’s ‘Yorkshire Content Fund’, a public-private investment fund for the TV, film, video games and digital sectors, The fund is open to producers either based in Yorkshire or wishing to film or establish a base in the region. Screen Yorkshire has worked extensively with the British Film Institute and received regional support for its Screen Hub, which is also supported by 14 local partners, including 8 local authorities and 6 universities.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of his Department's budget was spent on increasing the number of visitors to Yorkshire in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Ellis
VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, which they do through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. One of the current projects in the £40m Discover England Fund supports attracting visitors to the Yorkshire area: the adrenaline-fuelled city breaks scheme, led by Marketing Sheffield received £500, 000.
VisitBritain ran a £500,000 marketing campaign to support the Tour de Yorkshire in 2016/17.
Yorkshire will also host the Road World Cycling Championships in 2019 which DCMS is supporting with funding for event delivery, through UKSport.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Education on ensuring young people from diverse backgrounds can succeed in the creative industries.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ministers for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Education on a range of issues relating to the creative industries, including ensuring young people from diverse backgrounds can succeed in the sector. The Department also supports a wide range of initiatives to diversify talent in the creative industries, including the Creative Industries Council’s Create Together strategy, which sets diversity targets for the sector; the BFI’s Three Ticks, which requires films receiving public funding to meet diversity standards; and Project Diamond, which monitors diversity in the broadcasting sector.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to improve superfast broadband coverage in Colne Valley constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Colne Valley constituency falls within the area of BDUK partner 'Superfast West Yorkshire'. It is this local body who are responsible for managing superfast rollout in West Yorkshire. For further details of their plan, please contact the project directly https://www.superfastwestyorkshire.co.uk/
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the gender pay gap at the BBC.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The government is committed to eliminating the gender pay gap. As a public service broadcaster funded by the licence fee, the BBC has a responsibility to set an example for others and lead the way in promoting equality in the workplace. It is for the BBC to determine how to close its gender pay gap and we expect to see improvement in next year's disclosure.