Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found within their Department's estate.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Survey work is underway. For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member was not agreed to by (a) a Minister and (b) their office on behalf of a Minister in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers regularly engage hon. Members on a wide range of issues, whether on their request or proactively. The department does not keep a central record of meetings that are declined.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many sewage leaks have been recorded within their Department's estate in the last twelve months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport can confirm that there have been no recorded sewage leaks within the Department’s estate in the last twelve months.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of regulations governing prize draws compared to those regulating (a) charity lotteries and (b) the National Lottery.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are aware of concerns, including those raised by the DCMS Select Committee in its recent report What next for the National Lottery?, about the different approaches to society lotteries (regulated under the Gambling Act 2005) and prize draws (which are not). The Gambling Act 2005 generally defines a lottery as requiring payment to participate, an outcome determined wholly by chance, and the allocation of prizes. Large society lotteries operate under a licence issued by the Gambling Commission. There are limits on ticket sales and prizes and a minimum return to good causes. The National Lottery, with its unique status, has its own separate legal framework under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
Prize draws may resemble lotteries but not meet the Gambling Act 2005 definition of a lottery because there is a free entry route or because there is an element of skill involved. Where prize draws do not meet the definition of a lottery, they are not considered gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for them. It does however monitor the boundary between them and society lotteries to ensure that products are regulated when required by the Act.
We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age, and will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions in the coming weeks. We are also carefully considering the Select Committee’s recommendation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 ensure that prize draws return an appropriate percentage of sales income to good causes.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are aware of concerns, including those raised by the DCMS Select Committee in its recent report What next for the National Lottery?, about the different approaches to society lotteries (regulated under the Gambling Act 2005) and prize draws (which are not). The Gambling Act 2005 generally defines a lottery as requiring payment to participate, an outcome determined wholly by chance, and the allocation of prizes. Large society lotteries operate under a licence issued by the Gambling Commission. There are limits on ticket sales and prizes and a minimum return to good causes. The National Lottery, with its unique status, has its own separate legal framework under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
Prize draws may resemble lotteries but not meet the Gambling Act 2005 definition of a lottery because there is a free entry route or because there is an element of skill involved. Where prize draws do not meet the definition of a lottery, they are not considered gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for them. It does however monitor the boundary between them and society lotteries to ensure that products are regulated when required by the Act.
We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it is fit for the digital age, and will publish a white paper setting out our conclusions in the coming weeks. We are also carefully considering the Select Committee’s recommendation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 ensure that charity lottery sales limits do not have a negative impact on the amount of funding received by charities.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what analysis her Department has made of the impacts of charity lottery sales limits on the funds raised by charity lotteries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to update the charity lottery sales limits.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on consultancy fees in the last five years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department has spent the following amount on consultancy services in the past 5 financial years. Values include VAT that is non-recoverable, whilst VAT that is recoverable has been deducted accordingly. The values for FY21/22 are subject to change following audit and the final value will be published in the DCMS Annual Report and Accounts FY21/22.
| FY17/18 | FY18/19 | FY19/20 | FY20/21 | FY21/22* |
Consultancy | £2,700,000.00 | £3,300,000.00 | £3,900,000.00 | £16,600,000.00 | £17,512,000.00 |
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish in full his predecessor's Ministerial diary for 20 May 2020.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers regularly meet with departmental officials and external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.