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1235771

registered interest
date	18/09/2020
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	Communications: Coronavirus
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 he has made of the role of communication workers in maintaining communications services during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	91773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government recognises the importance of the telecommunications industry at this critical time in keeping communities and businesses connected. Communications workers, including but not limited to engineers, network operations and call centre staff, have all played, and continue to play an essential part in maintaining the availability of telecommunications networks during the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 23/09/2020 15:02:32 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1235565

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
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	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Apprentices
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 progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. DCMS has achieved 1.9% apprentices of the total staff employed within the department. We are reviewing our departmental apprenticeship strategy and are working to achieve the target for 2020/21 through a mixture of new appointments and development opportunities for existing staff. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank"> here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on<a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank"> gov.uk</a> by the end of September 2020.</p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 24/09/2020 15:05:23 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235071

registered interest
date	16/09/2020
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
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 TV licences have been issued in each of the four regions of the UK in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	91046
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold this information. Administration of the TV licence, including issuing licences to all parts of the UK, is a matter for the BBC as an independent body.</p><p>The BBC’s licensing arm, TV Licensing, says on its website that it does not collect information on specific licence fee revenue by location as ‘it has no reason for doing this’. However, the BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20 provide an estimate of the income from each nation of the UK from TV licence revenues for 2019 and 2020.</p><p>The report can be found on the BBC website here: <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 23/09/2020 14:53:00 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1235240

registered interest
date	16/09/2020
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	BBC: Pay
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 he has made for the implications of his policies of the BBC's publication of salaries paid to presenters this year.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	91011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li><p>The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government, and therefore talent pay is a matter for the BBC.</p></li><li><p>However, we expect to see the BBC using its substantial licence fee income in an appropriate way to ensure it delivers value for money for UK audiences.</p></li><li><p>The public deserves to know how their licence fee is being spent, which is why in the Royal Charter the government required the BBC to publish the salary details of all BBC staff and talent paid over £150,000. This was published for the first time as part of the BBC 2016/17 annual report.</p></li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 23/09/2020 15:00:26 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1234424

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
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	Revenue and Customs: Software
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2020 to Question 83792 and with reference to his statement of 9 July 2020 in his Computer Weekly article that Open banking models have allowed those in financial need to share their income to HM Revenue & Customs, fast-tracking their applications for new welfare entitlements, whether he was describing an application neither commissioned nor used by the Government.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	90126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p>The reference to Open Banking in the Computer Weekly article of 9 July 2020 was a reference to the Open Banking use case identified by the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) as part of their COVID repository. The repository is a database for novel use-cases of artificial intelligence and data in public, private and third sectors being used to counter and mitigate the effects of COVID-19 around the world. This innovative application of Open Banking was developed to the beta stage but was neither commissioned nor used by the Government.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 23/09/2020 14:55:19 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1234430

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
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	Civil Society: Coronavirus
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 financial support is available for (a) charities and (b) religious organisations to help them respond to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wolverhampton North East
tabling member printed	Jane Stevenson
uin	90247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government has made available an unprecedented £750 million package of support, specifically for charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector. Religious activities are not eligible for this funding but religious organisations could be funded if their project benefits the wider community and does not include religious content. The funding is being allocated through the following ways:</p><p>£200 million is being distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund through the Coronavirus Community Support Fund which is available to smaller and local VCSE organisations, including religious organisations that provide charitable services in response to the outbreak.</p><p>£360 million has been allocated by central government departments with £200 million of this directly supporting hospices.</p><p>To support the BBC’s 'Big Night In', the Government matched the generous donations of the public across the country with grants for £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust who is working in Partnership with the UK Community Foundations and a further £17 million split between Comic Relief and Children in Need to issue grants to grassroots, local and community organisations providing charitable services during the outbreak.</p><p>£85 million has been allocated to the ‘Community Match Challenge’ which is matching funds raised by philanthropists, foundations and grant making organisations to further support organisations from across the country who are working with those who are most vulnerable and have been hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak. This Fund closed for bids on 2nd August and the outcome will be announced shortly.</p><p>A further £4.8 million was allocated to the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership - a group that comes together to improve national and local coordination before, during and after emergencies - to help strengthen the voluntary sector’s response to coronavirus and future emergencies.</p><p>In addition to the £750million, a further £150m has been unlocked from dormant bank and building society accounts which are being directed to charities, social enterprises and individuals.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 22/09/2020 12:02:40 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4750 label Biography information for Jane Stevenson

1234543

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
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	Youth Investment Fund
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 the timescale is for the launch of the Youth Investment Fund.
tabling member constituency	Hyndburn
tabling member printed	Sara Britcliffe
uin	90291
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>DCMS officials are working at pace on plans for the Youth Investment Fund, and continue to assess how COVID-19 is impacting on young people and youth services. We continue to engage with the youth sector as plans develop, and will publish further details in due course.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 22/09/2020 12:08:38 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4838 label Biography information for Sara Britcliffe

1234611

registered interest
date	15/09/2020
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	Data Protection: EU Law
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 82137 on Data Protection: EU Law, what assessment he has made of the cost to businesses of accessing alternative legal mechanisms; and what plans the Government has in place to support businesses in accessing those mechanisms.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	90152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>The UK is seeking data adequacy decisions from the EU under the GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED) and the EU’s adequacy assessment of the UK is underway. The UK remains confident that an adequacy agreement can be reached by the end of the transition period. However, we are taking sensible steps to prepare for a situation where this has not been achieved.</p><p>In such a scenario, organisations would be able to use alternative legal mechanisms to continue receiving personal data from the EU. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are the most common legal safeguard and will be the relevant mitigation for most organisations.The implementation cost for SCCs would vary between different organisations, in part depending on the size of the business in question.</p><p>DCMS is working with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to ensure that all available guidance is simple, straightforward and actionable. The ICO has created an interactive SCCs tool for businesses to use and further guidance can be found on GOV.UK and the ICO’s website regarding steps organisations may be required to take relating to data protection and data flows by the end of the transition period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 22/09/2020 12:04:36 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1234036

registered interest
date	14/09/2020
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	Loneliness: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the news story, Chancellor sets out extra £750 million coronavirus funding for frontline charities, published on 8 April 2020, how much of the £5 million allocated to the Loneliness Covid-19 Grant Fund has been (a) allocated to and (b) received by organisations.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	89780
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2020 answer text <p>On 13 May 2020, government launched the £5 million Loneliness Covid-19 grant fund to enable national organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections to continue and adapt their critical work. On 15 June 2020, nine grants, totalling £4,920,000, were announced. Further details on successful organisations, including project descriptions and grant amounts, can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/loneliness-minister-write-letters-to-people-isolating-at-home" target="_blank">here</a>. The remaining £80,000 has been set aside for an independent evaluation of the Loneliness Covid-19 Fund.</p><p>As of Thursday 17th September, £2,029,599.80 has been disbursed to organisations. The remaining £2,890,400.20 of grant funding will be disbursed to and spent by organisations by end-December 2020. The £80,000 of evaluation costs will be spent by end-March 2021.</p><p><strong><p><p></strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 21/09/2020 14:09:00 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1233640

registered interest
date	11/09/2020
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	Children and Young People: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the report entitled Back on Track supporting young people out of lockdown, published by the YMCA in August 2020, if he will develop a strategy for children and young People’s recovery from covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown which targets (a) education, (b) reducing loneliness, (c) improving mental health, and (d) reducing family strain.
tabling member constituency	Wycombe
tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
uin	88863
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>Ministers have received the YMCA report ‘Back On Track’ and will be carefully considering its contents.</p><p>The department is aware of the impact Covid-19 has had on young people. We have worked closely with both young people and the youth sector to understand the effects of the pandemic, and are considering how the £500 million Youth Investment Fund, alongside other government initiatives, can best support young people with the issues we know to have been exacerbated by the pandemic.</p><p>DCMS has also worked closely with departments across Whitehall to ensure rounded support for young people. The Department of Education has placed a particular focus on wellbeing support for children and young people during the pandemic and as young people return to school and college. This includes investing £8 million in the Wellbeing for Education Return training and advice programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 22/09/2020 12:00:11 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker