Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department are taking steps to encourage British television productions to film in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
With world-class facilities and access to a highly-skilled talent pool, Northern Ireland enjoys global recognition as an important production centre for film and television.
Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. Funded by the Department for the Economy and the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland Screen’s production credits include the Academy Award nominated film Belfast.
The British Film Institute NETWORK works to support, develop and champion new and emerging filmmakers across the UK. The BFI will continue to delegate funding to Northern Ireland Screen to lead BFI NETWORK in Northern Ireland, with an award of £480,000 across the three years.
To support independent screen content following the pandemic, including film, to grow internationally the government launched the UK Global Screen Fund in April 2021. DCMS has committed a further £21 million to develop, distribute and promote independent UK screen content in international markets. All three strands of the UK Global Screen Fund offer support for Northern Irish companies and projects and several significant awards to Northern Ireland-based companies have been made to date.
DCMS has funded the British Film Commission (BFC) with £4.8 million over three years to support the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK nations. Through this, the BFC has provided ongoing support for Northern Ireland’s expanding studio infrastructure initiative, including design support and general guidance to four key studios: Belfast Harbour, Titanic, Loop and Silverwood.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have also all commissioned critically acclaimed television programmes set and produced in Northern Ireland. This includes Bloodlands, The Secret and Derry Girls.
At Spring Budget 2023, the government went further to support and boost the competitiveness of the TV industry across the UK, through the creative industry tax reliefs. The government announced that the film, high end TV, children’s TV and animation tax reliefs will be reformed to a single Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, which will provide a greater benefit than the current reliefs.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals arrived in the UK across the English channel in small boats and entered the National Referral Mechanism between 2018 and 2022; and what was the breakdown of these individuals by (1) gender, (2) age, (3) nationality, and (4) location of claimed exploitation, where such a claim was made.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes statistics on small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK statistics’ report on GOV.uk. Data on NRM referrals from small boat arrivals are published in the ‘Potential victims of modern slavery’ section of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ publication. The latest data relates to the end of December 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.uk
The Home Office does not publish data on NRM referrals from small boat arrivals by gender, age, nationality, or location of claimed exploitation. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much from the public purse her Department spent on its proposals to privatise Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the Department’s answer of 14 November 2022 to Question 80659, in the 2021-22 financial year DCMS’s costs for policy development related to Channel 4, including staff activity, external research and advice, public consultation and stakeholder engagement, were approximately £600,000. For the 2022-2023 financial year to November, these activities are estimated to have costs of £1.4 million.
This work has supported the development of the sustainability package recently announced by DCMS which will help address the challenges that Channel 4 is facing to its long-term success and sustainability.
It is right that when planning for the sale of an asset the government pursued appropriate specialist advice. Now that the decision has been taken not to proceed with a sale, all contracts with specialist external advisors have been terminated.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on the privatisation of Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants it to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness.
As set out in our recent white paper, Up Next - the government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, Channel 4 - along with all broadcasters - is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing, streaming platforms.
The Secretary of State is reviewing the business case for a sale of Channel 4 and will set out further detail in due course.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much money her Department has spent on (a) staff activity, (b) external research and advice, (c) public consultation and (d) stakeholder engagement related to the proposed privatisation of Channel 4 since the start of the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the 2021-22 financial year, the department's costs for policy development related to Channel 4, including staff activity, external research and advice, public consultation and stakeholder engagement, were approximately £600,000. For the 2022-2023 financial year to date, these activities are estimated to have costs of £1.4 million.
This work has supported the development of options to help address the challenges that Channel 4 is facing to its long term success and sustainability. The Secretary of State has said that she is reviewing the business case for a sale of Channel 4 and will set out more detail in due course.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they are reviewing the business case for the sale of Channel 4 prior to the conclusions of their review of public service broadcasting.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to ensuring that the public service broadcasting system can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences, now and in the future.
The principal conclusions of the public service broadcasting review were outlined in our broadcasting white paper, Up Next – the Government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, which was published in April this year. The white paper set out that Channel 4 – along with all broadcasters – is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing streaming platforms.
Channel 4 is a great UK success story. In a rapidly changing media landscape, the Government wants it to thrive in the long term while maintaining its distinctiveness. The Secretary of State is reviewing the business case for a sale of Channel 4 and will set out more detail in due course. In doing so, she will be able to draw on the conclusions of the strategic review as set out in the White Paper.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they still intend to privatise Channel 4.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants it to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness.
As set out in our recent White paper, Up Next - the Government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, Channel 4 - along with all broadcasters - is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing, streaming platforms.
The Secretary of State will set out more detail once she has carefully considered the business case for a sale of Channel 4.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for publishing the reassessment of the business case to privatise Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants it to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness.
As set out in our recent white paper, Up Next - the government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, Channel 4 - along with all broadcasters - is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing, streaming platforms.
As the Secretary of State has said, she is carefully considering the business case for a sale of Channel 4 and we will set out more detail in due course.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arrived in the UK by small boats across the Channel in each month since January 2019; and how many and what proportion of those people subsequently applied for asylum.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on small boat arrivals and subsequent asylum claims in the Irregular Migration to the UK quarterly report. Data on small boat arrivals by month are published in table Irr_02a of the Irregular migration to the UK data tables. Data on asylum claims from arrivals are published in section 4 of the most recent Irregular migration to the UK release. The latest data go up to the end of June 2022.
Statistics on small boats include individuals who were detected on arrival to the UK, detected in the Channel and subsequently brought to the UK, and those encountered in the UK who were suspected of having arrived on a small boat. They do not include any persons who arrived on larger vessels (such as on a ferry), those prevented from departing France or intercepted by French authorities and returned to France, or those who arrived in the UK undetected.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how old each the 116 unaccompanied migrant children missing from Home Office funded hotels are; and for how long each of those children (a) were housed in hotels before they went missing and (b) have been missing.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the number of people making life-threatening journeys to cross the Channel. These boats are often carrying unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and this has placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme. Out of necessity and with the children’s best interests in mind, we have arranged for them to be accommodated on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels whilst placements with local authorities are being vigorously pursued.
We have safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in emergency interim hotels are as safe and supported as possible, whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.
The Home Office has no power to hold children in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave. To minimise the risk of a child going missing, records of children leaving and returning to the hotel are kept and monitored. Support workers accompany children off site on activities and social excursions, or where specific vulnerabilities are identified.
Any child going missing is extremely serious, and we work with the police and local authorities to seek to urgently locate them and ensure they are safe.
Since July 2021 to 19 October this year, there have been 391 missing episodes of young people from the Home Office UASC Hotels (the term missing episodes is used as the same young person may go missing on more than one occasion).
As of 19 October, 222 young people are missing - please see table below. Please note that the data is taken from a live information database and therefore is subject to change as that system is updated.
Age When Went Missing | No Of Days Accommodated in Hotels for Before They Went Missing | No of Days They Have Been Missing For |
|
17 | 7 | 339 |
|
17 | 0 | 333 |
|
15 | 9 | 331 |
|
17 | 4 | 330 |
|
16 | 9 | 272 |
|
17 | 1 | 234 |
|
17 | 0 | 231 |
|
17 | 1 | 212 |
|
16 | 1 | 210 |
|
17 | 1 | 185 |
|
17 | 1 | 185 |
|
16 | 0 | 186 |
|
17 | 0 | 186 |
|
17 | 1 | 185 |
|
17 | 1 | 185 |
|
17 | 4 | 181 |
|
16 | 3 | 181 |
|
17 | 0 | 170 |
|
17 | 1 | 169 |
|
17 | 0 | 169 |
|
17 | 0 | 165 |
|
16 | 2 | 155 |
|
17 | 0 | 153 |
|
17 | 5 | 151 |
|
17 | 2 | 147 |
|
17 | 5 | 144 |
|
17 | 1 | 139 |
|
16 | 0 | 138 |
|
17 | 5 | 136 |
|
16 | 2 | 121 |
|
16 | 5 | 120 |
|
17 | 6 | 118 |
|
17 | 4 | 116 |
|
17 | 1 | 113 |
|
17 | 4 | 109 |
|
15 | 5 | 107 |
|
17 | 17 | 107 |
|
17 | 1 | 105 |
|
17 | 2 | 100 |
|
17 | 1 | 97 |
|
17 | 1 | 97 |
|
17 | 1 | 97 |
|
17 | 0 | 95 |
|
17 | 1 | 92 |
|
17 | 1 | 92 |
|
15 | 3 | 91 |
|
17 | 5 | 89 |
|
17 | 1 | 90 |
|
15 | 0 | 86 |
|
16 | 1 | 85 |
|
17 | 8 | 84 |
|
16 | 10 | 82 |
|
16 | 1 | 80 |
|
16 | 1 | 80 |
|
17 | 0 | 78 |
|
17 | 2 | 78 |
|
17 | 2 | 77 |
|
17 | 4 | 76 |
|
16 | 2 | 76 |
|
17 | 2 | 76 |
|
17 | 3 | 76 |
|
17 | 1 | 76 |
|
16 | 1 | 76 |
|
17 | 2 | 74 |
|
16 | 3 | 72 |
|
17 | 2 | 71 |
|
17 | 5 | 71 |
|
16 | 2 | 71 |
|
16 | 2 | 71 |
|
17 | 3 | 69 |
|
16 | 6 | 69 |
|
15 | 5 | 70 |
|
17 | 3 | 68 |
|
15 | 3 | 68 |
|
17 | 2 | 66 |
|
17 | 1 | 66 |
|
16 | 10 | 66 |
|
16 | 2 | 65 |
|
16 | 1 | 64 |
|
17 | 2 | 64 |
|
17 | 2 | 64 |
|
17 | 3 | 64 |
|
17 | 1 | 63 |
|
17 | 3 | 63 |
|
17 | 0 | 63 |
|
17 | 3 | 62 |
|
17 | 1 | 59 |
|
17 | 15 | 60 |
|
17 | 1 | 60 |
|
16 | 1 | 60 |
|
17 | 15 | 60 |
|
16 | 4 | 58 |
|
17 | 4 | 58 |
|
17 | 4 | 57 |
|
17 | 18 | 57 |
|
17 | 1 | 56 |
|
15 | 0 | 56 |
|
17 | 1 | 56 |
|
17 | 0 | 56 |
|
17 | 0 | 56 |
|
17 | 1 | 55 |
|
17 | 3 | 55 |
|
17 | 3 | 55 |
|
17 | 2 | 55 |
|
17 | 9 | 55 |
|
17 | 21 | 55 |
|
17 | 2 | 55 |
|
16 | 3 | 54 |
|
17 | 2 | 54 |
|
17 | 2 | 54 |
|
17 | 2 | 54 |
|
17 | 7 | 53 |
|
17 | 1 | 53 |
|
17 | 3 | 53 |
|
16 | 3 | 53 |
|
16 | 3 | 53 |
|
17 | 2 | 52 |
|
17 | 2 | 52 |
|
17 | 3 | 52 |
|
17 | 3 | 52 |
|
17 | 4 | 52 |
|
17 | 1 | 52 |
|
17 | 2 | 52 |
|
17 | 3 | 52 |
|
16 | 10 | 52 |
|
17 | 1 | 53 |
|
15 | 4 | 51 |
|
15 | 4 | 51 |
|
16 | 4 | 51 |
|
16 | 2 | 51 |
|
16 | 3 | 51 |
|
16 | 6 | 50 |
|
17 | 3 | 50 |
|
17 | 3 | 50 |
|
17 | 3 | 50 |
|
17 | 3 | 48 |
|
17 | 3 | 48 |
|
17 | 15 | 48 |
|
17 | 15 | 48 |
|
16 | 3 | 48 |
|
17 | 0 | 45 |
|
17 | 5 | 45 |
|