Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an (a) assessment of the impact on the economy and (b) estimate of the number of recipients of (i) audio-visual (A) tax relief and (B) expenditure credit, (ii) museums and gallery exhibition tax relief and (iii) theatres and orchestras tax relief since 2010.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
a) An evaluation of the creative industry tax reliefs covering Film Tax Relief, High-end Television Tax Relief, Animation Tax Relief and Children’s Television Tax Relief was published in 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industry-tax-reliefs-evaluation
An evaluation of the video games tax relief was published in 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/video-game-tax-relief-evaluation
A qualitative evaluation capturing the wider impacts of the Museums and Galleries relief was conducted in 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-relief-for-museums-and-galleries-qualitative-research
The government keeps the tax system under review.
b) The number of recipients of the creative industry tax reliefs is published in HMRC’s Creative Industries Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-august-2023
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department provides support to international game wardens to adapt to new techniques for tackling illegal wildlife activities.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is committed to combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), including by investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to support global efforts.
Our IWT Challenge Fund continues to support projects that benefit park rangers and drive innovative ways to tackle poaching. Projects have included expanding aerial surveillance to support ranger deployments in the Rungwa, Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves in central Tanzania, and enhanced use of innovative techniques to combat poaching and wildlife trafficking at the Ngulia rhino sanctuary in Kenya. More information on these projects and others is available here.
We have also funded the training of rangers (Op CORDED) in partnership with the British Army, helping wildlife parks work together to strengthen law enforcement and share information to disrupt smuggling and poaching across Africa.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support international game wardens in protecting vulnerable wildlife populations.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is committed to combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), including by investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to support global efforts.
Our IWT Challenge Fund continues to support projects that benefit park rangers and drive innovative ways to tackle poaching. Projects have included expanding aerial surveillance to support ranger deployments in the Rungwa, Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves in central Tanzania, and enhanced use of innovative techniques to combat poaching and wildlife trafficking at the Ngulia rhino sanctuary in Kenya. More information on these projects and others is available here.
We have also funded the training of rangers (Op CORDED) in partnership with the British Army, helping wildlife parks work together to strengthen law enforcement and share information to disrupt smuggling and poaching across Africa.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to increase aid to organisations that employ game wardens.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is committed to combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), including by investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to support global efforts.
Our IWT Challenge Fund continues to support projects that benefit park rangers and drive innovative ways to tackle poaching. Projects have included expanding aerial surveillance to support ranger deployments in the Rungwa, Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves in central Tanzania, and enhanced use of innovative techniques to combat poaching and wildlife trafficking at the Ngulia rhino sanctuary in Kenya. More information on these projects and others is available here.
We have also funded the training of rangers (Op CORDED) in partnership with the British Army, helping wildlife parks work together to strengthen law enforcement and share information to disrupt smuggling and poaching across Africa.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulations on the use of snares.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An industry-owned code of practice for the use of snares to control foxes in England sets out clear principles for the legal use of snares, using evidence from snare-use research to improve snare deployment and design.
Anyone using snares has a responsibility under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ensure their activities do not harm protected species or cause any unnecessary suffering. Anyone committing an offence can face prosecution, an unlimited fine or even a custodial sentence.
We are looking at how snares are regulated as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world, and working to ensure the regulated use of the most appropriate trap and cull method which causes the least suffering whilst providing the greatest protection to crops, game birds or endangered species.
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 what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of Electronic Arts remaining a member of the Technical Working Group on Loot Boxes, following the ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority that it breached the CAP Code by failing to disclose the presence of in-game purchases in some of its products.
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 video games can be enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Electronic Arts had breached the Committee of Advertising Practice guidance on two of its adverts by failing to disclose the presence of in-game purchases including random items. We understand that Electronic Arts has responded that the error has been resolved and the adverts removed, which the Advertising Standards Authority has acknowledged.
In July 2023, video games trade body Ukie published new, industry-led guidance on loot boxes to improve player protections. The guidance was developed by a DCMS-convened Technical Working Group which brought together knowledge and expertise from major games companies and platforms operating in the UK, including Electronic Arts. The group met eight times and engaged with academics, the Games Rating Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office, and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions for poaching in England were successful under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004 and the Night Poaching Act 1828 in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for poaching offences. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained through the Outcomes by Offence data tool in the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
A further breakdown of the published data is required to extract figures specific to poaching offences under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004, and the Night Poaching Act 1828. Prosecutions and convictions for all years requested, from January 2019 until data is available up to June 2023, has been provided in Table 1 on a principal offence basis. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to introduce a Football Governance Bill.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Football Governance Bill was introduced to Parliament on 19 March 2024.
This delivers on the Government's longstanding commitment to protect the national game. By establishing an Independent Football Regulator we are safeguarding the future of clubs for the benefit of communities and fans.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Independent Film Tax Credit on the independent film sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) announced at Spring Budget is an enhanced tax credit, designed to boost the production of UK independent films and incubate UK film talent. Under the IFTC, films with budgets up to £15m that meet the criteria of a new British Film Institute test will be able to claim a tax credit of 53% on up to 80% of their UK production costs.
Industry has welcomed the measure, with the British Film Institute Chair describing it as a game changer for UK filmmakers that will create jobs and ensure great British stories continue to be told.
Further information on HMRC’s assessment of the credit can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporation-tax-tax-relief-for-independent-film-productions
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation of (a) girls and (b) women in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation.
We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up cricket in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game, as noted by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s five year plan, Inspiring Generations, launched in 2020 aims to inspire a new generation to believe that ‘cricket is a game for me’. The plan focuses on six priority areas including making cricket gender-neutral with women and girls being properly represented across the whole game.
Initiatives like Chance to Shine, which receives funding from Sport England, play an important role in encouraging girls to play cricket. The project gives all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.
The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report notes that while positive progress has been made in the women’s game, there are still areas of concern where more action is needed.
The ECB has provided a full response to the ICEC report and has committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport, and look forward to receiving updates on this.