Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to continue the £1 million-a-year of support it provides to the Audio Content Fund as part of the Government’s creative industries investment programme.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The three-year pilot phase of the Audio Content Fund is due to end in March 2022. There will be a full evaluation of the pilot to determine its impact on the provision and plurality of public service content on commercial and community radio, and any future action in this area will be informed by that evaluation.
The Government is committed to ensuring that audiences benefit from a modern system of public service broadcasting that remains relevant and can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences in the future. The potential of further investment of public funding will be assessed against the Fund evaluation and alongside future public service broadcasting needs.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2021 to Question 80988, for what reason advertising on online services and broadcast services is regulated differently with regard to length of adverts.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
For television, the restrictions on the amount and scheduling of advertising are set out in Ofcom’s Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA). No such restrictions apply to commercial radio stations.
COSTA places no limits on the amount of advertising an on-demand programme service can show. Regulation designed for broadcast services has not always been directly transposed to apply to online services. This reflects the more complex, non-linear nature of online advertising. The regulation of online advertising is currently under review.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 protect television signal infrastructure following the Bilsdale transmitter fire and the time taken to restore television services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Arqiva - a private infrastructure company - operates the UK’s terrestrial broadcast transmitter sites which carry BBC and commercial operators’ TV services. We remain in close contact with Arqiva and broadcasters who are working as fast and as safely as they can to restore TV and radio services in the areas served by Bilsdale by using existing and new alternate transmission sites.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
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 implications for its policies of the recommendations of the Senedd’s Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee’s report, Exploring the devolution of broadcasting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government responded to the recommendations made by the Senedd Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee report on 6 April.
In the response, the government reaffirmed its manifesto commitments to continue to support S4C and support the Welsh Government’s ambition for one million Welsh speakers by 2050.
However, the response made clear that broadcasting policy will remain a reserved matter and that there are no plans to establish an independent funding commission for the TV licence.
In addition, the government continues to consider carefully the future of the public service broadcasting landscape, including the regional Channel 3 licences, and the appropriate regulatory structure for commercial radio.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 10 December 2020 (HL10934), what assessment they have made of whether UK ocean-going merchant ships will be able to use the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) in the event of the failure of satellite-based communications, and whether those ships will be able to use the GMDSS to communicate in the event that commercial coast stations are closed.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
UK-registered ocean-going merchant ships operate under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention which contains common rules for radio equipment installations. The International Maritime Organization’s view is that it is important to maintain medium frequency (MF)/ high frequency (HF) communication systems in case of failure of satellite systems.
The UK relies on the IMO’s assessment of the availability of maritime HF communications in its ongoing review and modernisation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The availability of coast stations for general communications is considered adequate.
Should a coast station close, nation State search and rescue services will continue to respond to HF GMDSS Distress, Urgency and Safety radio traffic. Should the IMO consider the provision of service through HF GMDSS coast stations to be a concern and that could only be addressed at the international level, then it would take action.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support hauliers transporting goods internationally.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
A number of measures are in place to support hauliers transporting goods internationally. These include the haulier border readiness campaign, which advertises across digital, radio, trade press, online and outdoor areas, including billboards and advertising vans. This is supported by 46 Information and Advice Sites which provide training on use of the Check an HGV service. 35 of these sites are also providing drivers of HGVs and vans with free COVID-19 tests.
The haulier handbook is readily available on GOV.UK and translated into 13 languages to ensure EU hauliers are aware of requirements to cross the border. The government also delivered seminars at EU industry days and has had exhibition stands at physical and virtual events and conferences across the EU, targeting commercial drivers and haulage firms.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data and information his Department holds on trends in the level of (a) original programming hours and (b) broadcast hours produced as (i) Programmes for schools and colleges and (ii) other educational content for school-age children by (A) the BBC, (B) ITV and (C) other broadcasters.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The department does not hold this information.
Ofcom data indicates that in 2018, public service broadcasters (PSBs, in this context the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) collectively broadcast 125 hours of content in 2018 meeting the description of “formal education”. Of this, 65 hours were considered original content.
This output was supplemented by content available on-demand, online, on podcasts and radio, as well as less formal educational content such as documentaries and broader children’s content.
Between 2010 and 2018, the total amount of educational content broadcast by PSBs fell considerably (2010: 725 hours). Over the same period, the amount of original educational content broadcast by PSBs remained relatively constant (2010: 70 hours), albeit with considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Data covering 2019 and 2020 is not yet available.
Ofcom data suggests that commercial multi channels broadcast 40 hours of original content classified as ‘other’ in 2018 (2014: 0 hours). This classification includes formal education.
Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on trends in the level of (a) original programming hours and (b) broadcast hours of (i) programmes for schools and colleges and (ii) other educational content for school-age children on (A) the BBC, (B) ITV and (C) other broadcasters.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The department does not hold this information.
Ofcom data indicates that in 2018, public service broadcasters (PSBs, in this context the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) collectively broadcast 125 hours of content in 2018 meeting the description of “formal education”. Of this, 65 hours were considered original content.
This output was supplemented by content available on-demand, online, on podcasts and radio, as well as less formal educational content such as documentaries and broader children’s content.
Between 2010 and 2018, the total amount of educational content broadcast by PSBs fell considerably (2010: 725 hours). Over the same period, the amount of original educational content broadcast by PSBs remained relatively constant (2010: 70 hours), albeit with considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Data covering 2019 and 2020 is not yet available.
Ofcom data suggests that commercial multi channels broadcast 40 hours of original content classified as ‘other’ in 2018 (2014: 0 hours). This classification includes formal education.
Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government has spent since March 2020 on advertising regarding the need for public vigilance during the covid-19 outbreak on (a) local and national commercial radio, (b) local and national commercial television, (c) national newspapers, (d) regional, provincial or local newspapers, and (e) commercial online platforms.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon. member to the answers given to PQ 33512 on 23 March 2020, PQ 40655 on 27 April 2020, and to PQ 45460 on 11 May 2020.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
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 provide financial support to (a) smaller and (b) independent media organisations during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Small and independent media organisations provide a vital service - supplying information about local public affairs, holding decision-makers to account, and helping to ensure the healthy plurality of our media.
It has been a priority for the government to support such organisations during this crisis, including local newspapers and commercial and community radio. In terms of financial support, the government brought forward the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers to May 2020 and we have also brokered significant support from the transmission operator, Arqiva, for small local commercial radio stations. We have also made available a small grant scheme for commercial stations that do not use Arqiva’s networks. In addition to these financial support measures, some media organisations have benefitted from government advertising campaigns, which is designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens on coronavirus. Over 100 independent newspaper titles are included in the partnership, and the majority of expenditure, 60%, is allocated to regional, local and BAME titles. Government messaging has also been delivered through a targeted partnership with small commercial and community radio stations serving BAME communities.
In addition, small and independent media organisations may have been able to receive support from wider government measures, such as the job-retention scheme which the Government has extended until the end of March 2021.
We continue to work closely with stakeholders from across the media landscape regarding the ways in which the Government can support them through the current crisis and beyond.