Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Venezuelan counterpart on the release of (a) Guillermo Zarraga, (b) Emirlendris Benítez, (c) Gabriel Blanco, (d) Maria Auxiliadora Delgado, (e) Juan Carlos Marufo, (f) Dario Estrada and (g) Robert Franco.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to call for the unconditional release of all those unjustly detained in Venezuela. We regularly raise the human rights situation in Venezuela at the UN Human Rights Council, and our Embassy in Caracas supports local non-governmental organisations working on human rights. We continue to encourage the implementation of the Venezuelan-led political agreement reached on 17 October in Barbados, including the release of political prisoners. The regime's practice of regularly targeting those engaged in human rights work stands in the way of democracy and a resolution to Venezuela's humanitarian crisis. Human rights violations must stop.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of journalists on the sustainability of local media reporting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry.
This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between online platforms and those who rely on them – including local press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his oral contribution of 19 September 2023, Official Report, column 1253, whether new Afghan people arriving in the UK on approved schemes will be placed in bridging accommodation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme which was formally opened on the 1 April 2021 , has already relocated thousands of Afghans who have worked for or alongside the UK government, and their families, and who are deemed eligible.
In addition, the UK formally opened the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) on 6 January 2022. The scheme prioritises those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and rule of law.
We take seriously our commitment to resettling Afghans yet to arrive in the UK, including those eligible for our schemes still in Afghanistan. But our efforts to move people out of hotels has shown how vital it is that they are moved into long-term settled accommodation, so, they can put down roots in the community.
Once in the UK eligible Afghans have the right to live, work and study, and can apply for benefits and other local authority support.
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 Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the capacity of local news media in the context of the withdrawal of funding for that sector by Facebook.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. Our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide support to local press organisations affected by proposed reductions in BBC funding for local news and radio.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional news outlets as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
To date the Government’s support for the sector has included:
Introducing legislation for a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets, which among many other things will help to rebalance the relationship between news publishers and dominant online platforms;
The delivery of a £2 million pilot innovation fund - the Future News Fund;
The zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers;
The extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025;
The publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy.
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent of the Government, and decisions about how it delivers its services are ultimately a matter for the Corporation. However, the Government has been clear that the BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK. These services are a key part of the BBC’s public service remit and an example of how the BBC can use its licence fee funding to provide content that is directly relevant to audiences, particularly in areas that may be underserved by the market.
The Government expects Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken recent steps to help support the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
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 Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the potential impact of Meta's reduction to the Community News Project on local journalism.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry, and our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Verma (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address religious extremism in faith schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All children must be safe wherever they are educated, and the department is committed to ensuring that children are safe from extremism and radicalisation.
The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 introduced a statutory duty for education providers to have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism'. The full act is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/6/contents. Faith schools are subject to the same duty and responsibilities as non-faith schools. To comply with the 'Prevent duty', providers must demonstrate that they have effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard individuals susceptible to radicalisation.
In addition, every school, including faith schools, should actively promote the ‘fundamental British values’ (FBVs) of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. Promoting these values is a way of building pupils’ resilience to radicalisation and enabling them to identify and challenge extremist views.
The department has taken a number of steps to prevent extremism from gaining a foothold in our schools across the country, including:
The department keeps its work under regular review to ensure we continue to provide effective support to the sector. This includes implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of Prevent, which was published on the 8 February 2023. As part of this response, the government published updated statutory guidance for the Prevent duty in September 2023, providing further clarity and good practice for the education sector. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Verma (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further plans they have to stop radicalisation within faith schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All children must be safe wherever they are educated, and the department is committed to ensuring that children are safe from extremism and radicalisation.
The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 introduced a statutory duty for education providers to have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism'. The full act is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/6/contents. Faith schools are subject to the same duty and responsibilities as non-faith schools. To comply with the 'Prevent duty', providers must demonstrate that they have effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard individuals susceptible to radicalisation.
In addition, every school, including faith schools, should actively promote the ‘fundamental British values’ (FBVs) of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. Promoting these values is a way of building pupils’ resilience to radicalisation and enabling them to identify and challenge extremist views.
The department has taken a number of steps to prevent extremism from gaining a foothold in our schools across the country, including:
The department keeps its work under regular review to ensure we continue to provide effective support to the sector. This includes implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of Prevent, which was published on the 8 February 2023. As part of this response, the government published updated statutory guidance for the Prevent duty in September 2023, providing further clarity and good practice for the education sector. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance.