Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 March 2018, Spring Statement, HCWS 540, if he will publish a list of where the £26.2 million in EU exit funding for his Department will be allocated.
Answered by Margot James
DCMS has been allocated £26.2m in 2018/19 to fund preparations for leaving the EU. This is designed to cover essential EU exit spending for staff working on the department’s critical areas.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will place minutes and notes of any meetings held between his Department and representatives of Facebook on the potential security breach of UK citizens’ data in the Library.
Answered by Margot James
We do not routinely publish minutes of private meetings to encourage full and frank dialogue within the meetings.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much time her Department spent in compiling impact assessments and other material for the sectoral analyses it provided to the Department for Exiting the European Union; how many FTE staff hours were dedicated to that compilation; and on what date her Department started and concluded its work on that compilation.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government has collated over 800 pages of analysis for the committees. As we have said before, the “58 impact assessments” do not exist in the form Parliament requested. We have taken time to bring together information in a way that meets Parliament’s specific ask.
With regards to how many FTE staff hours were dedicated to the compilation, we do not hold this information in the form requested.
The Department for Exiting the European Union has satisfied the motion passed in the House of Commons by bringing together information for these reports. The Committee on Exiting the EU voted on Wednesday 6 December that the Government’s response to the resolution of the House of 1 November has complied with the terms of that resolution.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which EU legislation within her Department's responsibilities will (a) be incorporated into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and (b) require to be amended under powers in that Bill.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will convert European Union law into UK law as it applies in the UK at the moment of exit. This will ensure that, wherever possible, the same rules and laws will apply the day after exit as they did before.
The Government is still making a detailed assessment of what changes will be required to make that law function appropriately on exit day. The Government’s current estimate is that we will need to make between 800 and 1,000 statutory instruments to make exit a reality in UK law.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect on the UK tech sector of the UK leaving the single market.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ensuring that the UK's digital and technology sector remains strong and at the forefront of international innovation and enterprise are priorities for this Government
Since the 2016 referendum, Her Majesty's Government has carried out extensive and diverse engagement with hundreds of businesses of all sizes across the UK on the potential implications of our withdrawal from the EU, alongside extensive wider analysis and engagement.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in each unit of her Department are in the redeployment pool.
Answered by Matt Hancock
My department does not have a redeployment pool.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on promoting and making funding available for audio as an art form.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government recognises the tremendous economic and social impact of all artforms, including audio based art, and will continue to support arts and culture across the country through Arts Council England (ACE) funding.
For example, this Government has provided £959,174 of grant in aid funding through Arts Council England to the Music Education Hub of the Sutton Music Service between 2012 and 2016.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of which policy areas within his Department's remit will be affected by the outcome of the EU referendum.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain's future relationship with Europe will need to begin under a new Prime Minister, and we have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements. In the meantime, Departments continue working to deliver the Government agenda.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between Ministers in his Department and newspaper editors, executives and proprietors about press regulation policy and Leveson Part 2 since May 2015.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The department does not publish as standard confidential correspondence between individuals or organisations and ministers. A list of ministerial meetings is published in the department's quarterly returns.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on cultural, sporting and media initiatives within the UK currently supported by the EU.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
As the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House on Monday, the Government's view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.