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, what recent steps she has taken to improve regional diversity in public service broadcasting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises the role that both regional and local broadcasting can play in delivering types of public service content highly valued by local communities.
On a local level, the BBC, local TV providers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news and local information, strengthening pride of place, reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve, connecting communities, and helping to address social issues like loneliness and mental health.
These local services are supplemented by further services delivered at a regional level by broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, STV, and commercial radio providers. Regional services continue to be highly valued by audiences, particularly in relation to their news and current affairs programming, though the Government recognises that they are unable to offer the same type and range of targeted content as genuinely local services.
Public service broadcasters (PSBs) are obliged to deliver against quotas to ensure that public service content meets the needs of a diverse range of viewers - this includes regional production quotas, requiring PSBs to produce a proportion of programmes outside the M25.
Ofcom is required to undertake regular analysis of key trends in the media sector, particularly how audiences are served across, and in different parts of, the UK. That data is used by Ofcom to inform their ongoing regulation of public service media providers, and also informs DCMS’s policy around the ongoing provision of local and regional media.
Reforms announced in the Government’s draft Media Bill will ensure that PSB obligations are delivered via on-demand services for the first time, and will seek to deliver regional prominence for certain designated online services, maximising the social benefits of PSB content to all audiences.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the UK Men's Shed Association on loneliness rates among older men.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Many older men experience loneliness and social isolation. Having strong social relationships play an important role in our physical and mental wellbeing, and there are a number of local voluntary and community sector organisations, such as the UK Men’s Shed Association, that are playing an important role in tackling this.
The Government is also taking action to tackle loneliness and social isolation, particularly among older men. This includes investment in our national loneliness campaign, building the loneliness evidence base, and supporting the Tackling Loneliness Hub. In March 2023, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund of up to £30 million, with £19 million of funding from Government, to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. The fund will run until 2025.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to develop public transport infrastructure in rural areas; and what assessment they have made of the impact this will have on the mental health of people living in rural communities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are providing £300m funding for buses until April 2025. £150m will be available from July 23 to March 24, and a further £150m from April 24 to March 25.
Almost half of the additional funding will be provided to bus operators based on the distance of the routes that they operate. This will allow us to focus funding on longer routes, such as those in rural areas, where some services are less likely to be commercially sustainable without additional funding.
In 2021, we launched a £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) to trial more demand responsive minibus services in rural and suburban areas. 16 pilots are taking place across 15 different local authorities, including one in Warwickshire. The RMF provides us with an opportunity to better understand the challenges associated with introducing bookable bus services in rural and suburban settings.
Through our Tackling Loneliness with Transport fund, we’ve supported twelve projects with over £5 million of investment targeted at those most likely to suffer from loneliness.
Findings from these pilot schemes are being evaluated and will be used to build an evidence base which will inform how future transport schemes can contribute to reducing loneliness in communities.
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, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the importance of (a) local and (b) regional television and radio broadcasts for local communities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the role that both regional and local broadcasting can play in delivering types of public service content highly valued by local communities.
On a local level, the BBC, local TV providers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news and local information, strengthening pride of place, reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve, connecting communities, and helping to address social issues like loneliness and mental health.
These local services are supplemented by further services delivered at a regional level by broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, STV, and commercial radio providers. Regional services continue to be highly valued by audiences, particularly in relation to their news and current affairs programming, though the Government recognises that they are unable to offer the same type and range of targeted content as genuinely local services.
Ofcom is required to undertake regular analysis of key trends in the media sector, particularly how audiences are served across, and in different parts of, the UK. That data is used by Ofcom to inform their ongoing regulation of public service media providers, and also informs DCMS’s policy around the ongoing provision of local and regional media.
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, what assessment she has made of the role of local radio services in addressing loneliness.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Radio plays a vital role in helping to address loneliness, offering companionship and connection to listeners across the UK. Local radio from the BBC, commercial radio and community radio stations plays a unique role in connecting listeners and providing local information, entertainment and support. This was recognised by the joint government and industry Digital Radio and Audio Review, which highlighted evidence from WaveLength (a charity which gives media technology to lonely people living in poverty) showing that people feel less lonely after receiving a radio.
In December 2020, as part of a £7.5 million funding package to help those most at risk of loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic, and in recognition of the value of local radio in particular in addressing loneliness, the Government provided £500,000 of support to local radio stations. £200,000 was made available through the Community Radio Fund to support community radio stations that were taking steps to tackle loneliness and isolation within their localities. £300,000 was made available through the Audio Content Fund to support independent producers making programmes targeted at alleviating loneliness for commercial and community stations.
We will continue to explore ways in which we can continue to support the valuable work done by local radio broadcasters within their communities.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the income gap between workers with special educational needs and disabilities and those without.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the noble Baroness’ Parliamentary Question of 28 February is attached.
The Baroness Eaton DBE BL
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
2 March 2023
Dear Lady Eaton,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the income gap between workers with special educational needs and disabilities and those without (HL5984).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not currently hold estimates of the total income gap specifically. However, the ONS has published relevant analysis on the average earnings of disabled and non-disabled employees in the UK.
The publication Disability pay gaps in the UK: 2021 [1] provides the latest available information from the Annual Population Survey (APS) comparing earnings of disabled and non-disabled employees up to 2021.
In 2021, disabled employees earnt an average (median) of £12.10 per hour and non-disabled employees £14.03 per hour, a difference of 13.8%. This difference has widened slightly since 2014 when disabled employees earnt an average 11.7% less than non-disabled employees.
This publication looks at the impact of some of the factors that may affect disabled employees pay such as their impairment type or severity. For example, in 2021 disabled employees with autism as their main impairment had a wider difference in average pay than disabled people with other types of main impairment, having an average pay 33.5% less than non-disabled employees. Disabled employees who were limited a lot in their day-to-day activities had a wider difference in average pay to non-disabled employees (19.9% less) than disabled employees whose day-to-day activities were limited a little (12.1% less).
This publication also shows that after controlling for the differences in personal characteristics such as age, where they live and occupation type, differences in average pay between disabled and non-disabled employees were narrower but persisted.
The largest narrowing was seen for disabled employees with autism as their main impairment, where the difference in average pay to non-disabled employees was estimated to be 9.9% after accounting for differences in personal and job characteristics between disabled and nondisabled employees, compared with 33.5% before doing so.
For further context, other ONS data, such as that published within Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 20212 , provides the latest available information on outcomes for disabled people across a range of areas of life including employment, education, social participation, housing, well-being, loneliness and crime. We will of course take your question into account as we continue to produce analysis relevant to the experiences of disabled people, working to ensure that it is inclusive and highlights the experiences of different groups.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/disability paygapsintheuk/2021
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/outcome sfordisabledpeopleintheuk/2021
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department is allocating to tackle (a) loneliness and (b) support volunteering.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Volunteering is vital for society and Government recognises this. It benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on beneficiaries and their communities. Government aims to remove barriers to getting people involved.
We are supporting efforts to tackle loneliness and in the current financial year (2022/23), DCMS has invested almost £800,000, including for our national loneliness campaign, building the loneliness evidence base, and supporting the Tackling Loneliness Hub.
We have invested £7.4 million to support people to overcome barriers to volunteering since 2021. DCMS’ Volunteering Futures Fund opened up volunteering opportunities for thousands of young people, people with disabilities, those experiencing loneliness and other barriers. DCMS is also supporting the Vision for Volunteering, a ten-year initiative that aims to make volunteering more equitable, diverse and inclusive. In March 2023, DCMS launched the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund of up to £30 million, with £19 million of funding from Government, to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. The fund will run until 2025.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce isolation of elderly people in local communities.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working with partners to support local areas to share and learn from best practice examples. This includes working with the Local Government Association to provide guidance on how local councils can tackle loneliness and providing a space for organisations to share resources on the Tackling Loneliness Hub.
The Levelling Up White Paper set out ambitions to improve wellbeing and pride in place across the country. We know that connected communities that provide people with opportunities to develop strong social relationships are an important part of delivering those ambitions.
In addition, social prescribing is a key component of the National Health Service Universal Personalised Care and is a way for general practitioners or local agencies to refer people to a link worker. Link workers connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Social prescribing can work well for those who are socially isolated or whose wellbeing is being impacted by non-medical issues.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact on levels of loneliness and social isolation among affected people of workplace (a) harassment and (b) discrimination and bullying; and if he will take steps to encourage employers to introduce policies on harassment and bullying which aim to reduce those levels.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is evidence that discrimination, bullying and disrespect are triggers of loneliness. In the coming months the Government will publish the fourth annual report on the loneliness strategy, including a commitment to engage with the APPG for Tackling Loneliness and Connecting Communities on their recent inquiry into workplace loneliness.
The Government has published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has published useful guidance on how to deal with bullying in the workplace. This is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/if-youre-treated-unfairly-at-work/being-bullied.
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) conservation and (b) other charities on (i) creating more volunteering opportunities for people with (A) dementia, (B) mental health challenges and (C) disabled people and (ii) the establishment of social prescribing programmes to help support people with health requirements volunteer.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Volunteering is critical to a vibrant and resilient civil society. It benefits volunteers and the organisations involving them and has transformational impacts on beneficiaries and their communities. We want to see as many people getting involved and taking action on the causes that mean the most to them.
DCMS is an active partner in the sector-led Vision for Volunteering, a ten-year initiative that aims to make volunteering more equitable, diverse and inclusive. We regularly engage with a range of charities and other volunteer-involving organisations to understand both the challenges and opportunities in relation to volunteering.
In addition, we are specifically investing to support people to overcome barriers to volunteering. In 2021, DCMS launched the Volunteering Futures Fund which provides over £7 million, including match funding, to improve the accessibility of volunteering. As a result, thousands of young people, people with disabilities, those experiencing loneliness and other barriers have the opportunity to volunteer and help others.
Social prescribing also has an important part to play in supporting people into volunteering. In 2021 and 2022, a number of DCMS arms length bodies, including Arts Council England, Historic England and Sport England, partnered with the National Academy for Social Prescribing to deliver the £1.8m Thriving Communities Programme, which supported 37 projects across England. Projects used the power of culture and heritage alongside nature, sport, health and financial support to benefit the wellbeing of communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.