Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the UK Visa and Immigration portal for social care workers visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The accessibility statement for the social care visa online application can be found through the following link: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/accessibilityStatement.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of attempts to log into the UK Visas and Immigration portal failed in each of the past six months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office only retains the data for 30 days.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the average Wi-Fi (a) download and (b) upload speed per passenger provided by each of the train operating companies.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department last commissioned Transport Focus to conduct this research in July 2020. The data is available online in a report titled ‘Keeping Connected: passengers’ experience of internet connectivity on Great Britain’s railways’
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect small digital technology and online news companies from competition from big technology digital companies.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth and dynamism of the digital technology sector and the sustainability of the online press sector. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will establish new, faster and effective tools to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms.
The new legislation will equip the Competition and Markets Authority to address both the causes and consequences of market power in digital markets, and make sure tech start-ups are able to enter and grow in new markets. It will also help rebalance the relationship between major platforms and those who rely on them, including press publishers, through tailored conduct requirements and pro-competition interventions. We anticipate the Bill will receive Royal Assent in spring this year. This is subject to Parliamentary time and scrutiny.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had discussions with cellular network providers in Gaza on the adequacy of telecommunication services in that region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are deeply concerned about the severely damaged telecommunications and internet networks in Gaza, which are causing repeated near total communications blackouts. This is limiting the ability of Palestinians in Gaza to communicate and greatly hampers the humanitarian response. Officials are in regular contact with Paltel, the leading telecommunications company in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We recognise the strenuous efforts of Paltel's staff in Gaza to make repairs and maintain services, at great risk to themselves. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the OPTs is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching and being delivered across Gaza.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Sri Lankan Online Safety Act on freedom of expression and religion in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Despite concerns expressed by civil society, opposition parties and international internet providers regarding the potential negative impacts of the Online Safety Act, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed it into law on 24 January. The UK also raised concerns about the impact of this Act on freedom of expression and economic growth, including when I met Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe in October, and when Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on 25 January. The UK will continue to closely follow developments on this Act.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of big technology digital companies on the online news media market.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, more and more aspects of society are played out online, and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models. The Cairncross Review further concluded that some of the biggest technology companies are able to impose unfair terms on publishers, which limits publishers’ ability to monetise their content and threatens the sustainability of the press. We have introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest technology firms. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help to rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely.
We have also supported news publishers through the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers, and the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8 million it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, which was expanded in 2020 to fund the placement of 165 journalists in newsrooms across the UK.
Separately, Ofcom is exploring the possible impacts of the growth of online news, and the role of online intermediaries in particular, on media plurality, and what, if any, regulatory changes may be necessary to maintain and secure it. We will consider Ofcom’s recommendations when its findings are published.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Online Advertising Taskforce action plan, published on 30 November 2023, what her Department's expected timeline to publish its further consultation on the online advertising programme policy package.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the Government response to the Online Advertising Programme consultation, published in July 2023, we committed to bringing forward online advertising legislation when Parliamentary time allows. We will consult further on the details of proposed regulation in due course.
The Online Advertising Taskforce, which brings together industry and government to drive non-legislative action, met for the first time in the same month and will run for at least a year. Taskforce members are working to progress commitments in its action plan, including building the evidence base and promoting and expanding industry initiatives and good practice. As outlined in the action plan, the Taskforce will publish a progress report following the end of the 12-month period.
To support the aims of the Online Advertising Programme and Taskforce to improve the evidence base around illegal advertising harms, the Government has also commissioned research to understand the prevalence and range of online users’ experiences of these, as well as other advertising harms. We expect that it will be completed by the end of this year.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made implementing the objectives set out in its online advertising taskforce action plan, published on 30 November 2023.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the Government response to the Online Advertising Programme consultation, published in July 2023, we committed to bringing forward online advertising legislation when Parliamentary time allows. We will consult further on the details of proposed regulation in due course.
The Online Advertising Taskforce, which brings together industry and government to drive non-legislative action, met for the first time in the same month and will run for at least a year. Taskforce members are working to progress commitments in its action plan, including building the evidence base and promoting and expanding industry initiatives and good practice. As outlined in the action plan, the Taskforce will publish a progress report following the end of the 12-month period.
To support the aims of the Online Advertising Programme and Taskforce to improve the evidence base around illegal advertising harms, the Government has also commissioned research to understand the prevalence and range of online users’ experiences of these, as well as other advertising harms. We expect that it will be completed by the end of this year.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Online Advertising Taskforce action plan, published on 30 November 2023, what her Department's expected timeline is to undertake research on online users’ experiences of advertising harms.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the Government response to the Online Advertising Programme consultation, published in July 2023, we committed to bringing forward online advertising legislation when Parliamentary time allows. We will consult further on the details of proposed regulation in due course.
The Online Advertising Taskforce, which brings together industry and government to drive non-legislative action, met for the first time in the same month and will run for at least a year. Taskforce members are working to progress commitments in its action plan, including building the evidence base and promoting and expanding industry initiatives and good practice. As outlined in the action plan, the Taskforce will publish a progress report following the end of the 12-month period.
To support the aims of the Online Advertising Programme and Taskforce to improve the evidence base around illegal advertising harms, the Government has also commissioned research to understand the prevalence and range of online users’ experiences of these, as well as other advertising harms. We expect that it will be completed by the end of this year.