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1581969

registered interest
date	30/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Television Licences: Solihull
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many black and white television licenses were issued in the Solihull constituency in 2022.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	135334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>Under the Communications Act 2003 a fee for a television licence is payable to the BBC. The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the Government. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations and therefore does not hold the data requested.</p><p>The BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2021/22 states that 4,000 black and white (monochrome) licences were in force as of 31 March 2022. The report does not break down this figure on a regional basis, so I recommend that you raise your query directly with the BBC if you wish to request further information about black and white television licences.</p><p>TV Licensing can be contacted by telephone on 0300 790 0368 or in writing at TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL. Other methods of contacting TV Licensing are set out on its website: <a href="https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/contact-us/index.app" target="_blank">https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/contact-us/index.app</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 09:59:09 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1581508

registered interest
date	27/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Music Venues: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will extend social investment tax relief to grassroots music venues.
tabling member constituency	Bolton West
tabling member printed	Chris Green
uin	134011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) was introduced in the Finance Bill in 2014. It aims to incentivise individuals to invest in organisations (‘social enterprises’) whose trading activities seek to generate profit and bring social or community benefit.</p><p>Eligibility criteria and guidance on how to apply for the relief scheme can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-apply-to-use-social-investment-tax-relief#trades." target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-apply-to-use-social-investment-tax-relief#trades.</a></p><p>Most profit seeking commercial trades qualify for the relief, and the criteria do not explicitly rule out grassroots music venues from receiving it. However, if your trade includes things like including property development or leasing activities, your enterprise may not qualify for SITR on the basis certain trades are often asset backed or have predictable or guaranteed revenue streams, making them lower risk. In turn, this could divert capital away from higher-risk enterprises that genuinely struggle to raise finance.</p><p>The Government keeps SITR under review in order to ensure it continues to meet its policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 06/02/2023 17:00:34 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4398 label Biography information for Chris Green

1581510

registered interest
date	27/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Musicians: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) support new and emerging talent performing at grassroots music venues and (b) improve funding opportunities.
tabling member constituency	Bolton West
tabling member printed	Chris Green
uin	134013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting emerging musical talent and our grassroots music venues, which are the lifeblood of our world-leading music sector.</p><p>The Government is supporting grassroots music through Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Live Music (SGLM) ring fenced fund of £1.5m. The fund is designed for organisations - including venues and promoters - with little or no prior experience of public funding applications. <br> <br>DCMS supported culture, including grassroots music, during Covid-19 through the unprecedented £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). In England, the CRF provided immediate assistance to prevent 136 of our most loved and enduring grassroots music venues closing their doors for good.</p><p>In addition, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme has provided support to all businesses across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including grassroots music venues, protecting all non-domestic consumers from soaring energy costs, cutting the cost of power bills and providing them with the certainty they needed to plan through the acute crisis this winter. We will continue to do so through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme until Spring 2024.</p><p>The Government also supports new and emerging talent through a range of export support programmes, including the successful Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund.</p><p>DCMS and the Department for Education jointly published the National Plan for Music Education in June 2022, which sets out the Government’s vision to enable all children and young people in England to have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally.</p><p>Finally, DCMS is also developing a Creative Industries Sector Vision that will set out this Government’s ambitions, shared with industry, to support this high-growth sector to 2030.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 06/02/2023 16:59:34 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4398 label Biography information for Chris Green

1581511

registered interest
date	27/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Prices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received representations from (a) industry representatives and (b) consumers on BT Openreach’s proposed increase in the price of wholesale broadband; and what steps Ofcom can take under the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review to alter the level of the increase.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	133972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>Price regulation in the telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom as an independent regulator. Openreach’s prices are fixed by Ofcom as part of their five-year Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) process and have been allowed to increase by CPI in order to reflect the significant additional costs faced when deploying new physical infrastructure. There are no plans to change the WFTMR until 2026. This is in line with industry requests for long-term stable regulation that incentivises competition and investment in the fixed telecoms market in order to increase the coverage of gigabit-capable networks as quickly as possible. This approach has been successful, with over 80 companies investing approximately £35 billion to connect premises across the UK.</p><p>The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, states that we want to see regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. The Department regularly meets with Ofcom at all levels to discuss progress against its strategic priorities. My officials also regularly engage with representatives across the telecoms sector. On wholesale price increases specifically, the Department has received representations from both industry members and consumer groups.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 06/02/2023 17:02:00 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1581016

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Copyright: Artificial Intelligence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to review support for the creative industries in the context of the proposed text and data mining copyright exception for artificial intelligence.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	903264
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>The Government has heard a range of reactions to the text and data mining (TDM) proposal, including concerns raised by rights holders. The Minister for Intellectual Property welcomed the additional evidence and the Government has now launched a period of stakeholder engagement on implementation options, taking into account the evidence received.</p><p>We are confident that together we can design a balanced approach which supports the Government’s ambitions on AI innovation without critically undermining value for rights holders. In parallel, we are also working with industry to develop the Creative Industries Sector Vision to set out our ambitions for the sector. We will publish this in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 26/01/2023 16:14:33 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1581017

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Recording Studios: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the financial viability of recording studios.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
uin	903265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>In August 2021, DCMS commissioned the consultancy firm, Sound Diplomacy, to assess the state of the music studio market in England.</p><p>Evidence found challenges, but showed the market is responding to changes, such as technological innovation, and is maintaining or growing sources of income.</p><p>As a result, the report found the music studio market was not in need of specific government intervention.</p><p>Since then, the Government announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme to help support businesses, like recording studios, to tackle rising energy costs.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 26/01/2023 14:38:46 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1581019

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Television
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the continuity of terrestrial television coverage.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	903267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television, which we expect will continue to be an important way of watching for years to come.</p><p>That is why we have already legislated domestically to ensure terrestrial television broadcasting can continue until at least 2034, and will continue to make the case in international fora too.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 26/01/2023 14:38:03 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1581020

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Tatton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on the rollout of superfast broadband in Tatton constituency.
tabling member constituency	Tatton
tabling member printed	Esther McVey
uin	903268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2023 answer text <p>Over 95 per cent of premises in the constituency of Tatton are already able to access a superfast connection. Further non-superfast premises are gaining access to gigabit-capable connections through continued delivery under the Connecting Cheshire programme.</p><p>Later this year we will launch a Project Gigabit procurement in Cheshire, covering an estimated 74,000 premises, including those that still do not have access to superfast broadband.</p><p>More immediate support for premises in rural areas is also available through our Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 26/01/2023 14:37:21 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey

1581219

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Prices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on the ability of customers to cancel fixed term broadband contracts without penalty when suppliers increase prices during the contract period.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	133791
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2023 answer text <p>My Department engages regularly with Ofcom on a range of telecoms consumer matters. Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor ongoing household affordability in the sector, and its General Conditions require telecoms companies to provide clear information about their contracts.</p><p>In June 2022, at a roundtable attended by Ofcom, leaders from broadband and mobile operators agreed a set of industry <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/telecoms-industry-agrees-to-new-cost-of-living-plan-following-government-summit-led-by-digital-secretary-nadine-dorries" target="_blank">commitments </a>to support people through the global rise in the cost of living. These include manageable payment plans and allowing households, who may be mid-contract but struggling with their bills, to switch to cheaper packages without penalty.</p><p>In November, DCMS convened a further ministerial roundtable with the industry, Ofcom, and consumer charities, to discuss further steps to support customers who may be struggling with their monthly bills.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 01/02/2023 10:20:29 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna

1581220

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Social Tariffs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on the number of broadband customers in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales who were on social tariffs for the period in which the latest figures are available and how this compares with other regions in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	133792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2023 answer text <p>My Department does not hold data relating to the number of broadband customers on social tariffs broken down across the nations of the UK. Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor and report on customer affordability in the telecommunications sector across the UK. Social tariffs are available across 99% of the UK from a range of broadband, mobile and landline providers. Ofcom’s latest <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/244513/2022-september-affordability-of-communications-services.pdf" target="_blank">Affordability Report</a> showed that 136,000 households across the UK were taking up a social tariff. We encourage anyone who is struggling to pay to contact their provider to see what support is available.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 01/02/2023 10:21:08 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna