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1233159

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
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	Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with media regulators, including Ofcom and IPSO, on the reporting of suicide; what assessment they have made of the impact of reporting relating to assisted suicide; and what plans they have to review their guidance to ensure that public broadcasters include details of the Samaritans or other support services when reporting on suicide and assisted suicide stories.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL7956
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>Every suicide is a tragedy which has a devastating and enduring impact on families and communities. The Government is taking action in this area, including launching the first Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, which sets out an ambitious programme across national and local government and the NHS.</p><p>The Government does not review editorial content, as broadcast regulation is a matter for Ofcom. Ofcom has the power to set rules in its Broadcasting Code for broadcasters to meet in order to ensure UK audiences are adequately protected from harmful content. Ofcom’s Guidelines, which advise broadcasters on meeting the rules, includes advice on providing specific helplines where a programme has dealt with a particularly sensitive issue.</p><p>The government is committed to a free and independent press, and does not, therefore, seek to intervene in the decisions or activities of newspapers or regulators, including IPSO. IPSO’s Editors’ Code of Practice sets out the rules that newspapers and magazines regulated by IPSO have agreed to follow, including on reporting suicide.</p><p>In response to COVID-19, the Government announced £9.2 million of additional funding to support mental health charities, including Samaritans and CALM. Samaritans published updated media guidelines resources at the beginning of August and created a new online hub of resources, covering additional topics to help journalists and programme makers further understand the issues surrounding suicidal behaviour and offering practical tips on covering these topics.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 16/09/2020 15:48:23 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1228027

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
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	Huawei
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in establishing how BT verify Huawei’s denials of (1) the use of slave labour, and (2) the use of Huawei technology in oppressing Uighur people.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL7319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2020 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 made the UK the first country to require large businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery, including forced labour, in their operations and supply chains. BT are subject to, and comply with, those requirements.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Act does not require organisations to certify that their supply chains are slavery free but asks businesses to be transparent about their assessment of modern slavery risks and measures taken to mitigate these. To improve reporting quality, we are developing a government-run registry of modern slavery statements to make it easier for consumers, investors and civil society to hold businesses to account. We have also consulted on proposals to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act and increase transparency and improve compliance.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We have been clear that China’s approach in Xinjiang is wrong and must stop. We regularly raise our concerns directly with our Chinese counterparts and are playing a leading role to increase international attention to the situation, including leading a Joint Statement at the UN Human Rights Council in June supported by 27 other countries, highlighting arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly those targeting Uyghurs and other minorities, and urged China to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights meaningful access to the region.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 03/08/2020 12:13:43 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1220448

registered interest
date	02/07/2020
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	Telecommunications: Huawei
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when Huawei was first given access to the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure; what assessment was made of any security, defence and human rights implications of that decision at that time; whether Parliament was consulted; and which Ministers had to approve that access.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6395
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2020 answer text <p>The details of Huawei’s entry into the UK market and associated decision making were subject of an inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee into ‘Foreign involvement in the Critical National Infrastructure - The implications for national security’. The findings of which were published in June 2013 followed by the government response in July 2013.</p><p><strong><br></strong>The government response accepted the Committee’s conclusion that the processes of considering national security issues at the time in 2003-06 were insufficiently robust and that Ministers should have been informed.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 16/07/2020 16:35:10 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1049556

registered interest
date	28/01/2019
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	Internet: Self-harm and Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they have taken, prior to the announcement on 27 January that they would consider banning websites promoting self-harm and suicide, to protect young people from harmful online content.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL13145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>Government is taking a range of measures to protect children and young people from harmful online content.</p><p>Through the Digital Economy Act 2017, the government is introducing a requirement for commercial providers of online pornography to have robust age verification controls in place to prevent children and young people under 18 from accessing pornographic material.</p><p> </p><p>In addition we have worked with Internet Service Providers to introduce a rigorous and comprehensive system of family-friendly content filtering, through which parents can help protect their children from viewing harmful content over home broadband networks.</p><p> </p><p>Through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety we have produced a practical guide for providers of social media and interactive services, in which we set out best practices for preventing children from encountering harmful content.</p><p>Furthermore, the Data Protection Act 2018 introduced a new requirement for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to produce a statutory code of practice on age-appropriate design. This code will ensure that websites and applications are designed in a way that makes clear what data is being collected on children, how this data is being used, and how both children and parents can stay in control of this data.</p><p>Nevertheless there is still more to do, which is why we will shortly be publishing an Online Harms White Paper, which will set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures detailing how the Government will tackle the full range of online harms and set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 11/02/2019 15:43:57 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1002206

registered interest
date	05/11/2018
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	Charities: Lobbying
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether public funds are used to support charities which lobby government departments; and if so, to what purpose.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL11227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government's Grant Standards include a requirement for grant agreements to provide a clear description of how funding should be spent which precludes the use of government funding for paid for lobbying, where lobbying is not a requirement of the grant.</p><p> </p><p>Providing feedback to a department on a funded programme, or responding to public consultations, where the topic is relevant to the objectives of the grant scheme, for example, would be permitted, as described in the guidance which supports the Grant Standards.</p><p> </p><p>Grant Standards do not restrict how charities spend their non-government funding.</p><p> </p><p>This ensures public funds are used as intended and protects charities independence, freedom of speech and their ability to contribute their expertise to policy development.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 15/11/2018 16:18:36 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

804732

registered interest
date	12/12/2017
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	Charities
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last conducted a review of registered charities that perform state commissioned services; and whether that review covered (1) value for money, (2) executive pay, and (3) lobbying operations.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL4065
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2017 answer text <p>It is the responsibility of the authorities commissioning services to conduct appropriate due diligence on service providers and ensure value for money for the commissioned service. Government is committed to supporting the continuous improvement of commissioning practice, for example through a range of Commissioning Academies.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 22/12/2017 12:35:12 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

804733

registered interest
date	12/12/2017
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	Charities: Pay
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last conducted a review of the remuneration of chief executives and senior managers of registered charities.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL4066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2017 answer text <p>Executive pay is a matter for a charity’s trustees to determine, acting in the best interests of their charity. The Government has not undertaken a specific review but notes a 2014 review of executive pay by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations which found that senior executives in charities were on average paid substantially less than for similar roles in the public or private sectors.</p><p> </p><p>The Charity Commission regulates charities in England and Wales and is an independent, non-ministerial department. The Charity Commission has recently consulted on whether charities should report further on executive pay in their annual return, and if this information should be published for the public to view on the Charity Commission’s charity search tool. The Charity Commission is analysing consultation feedback and will set out next steps in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The Government and Charity Commission have regular meetings to discuss the legal and regulatory framework for charities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde grouped question UIN HL4067 question first answered 22/12/2017 12:34:13 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

804734

registered interest
date	12/12/2017
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	Charities: Pay
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Charity Commission about levels of remuneration for chief executives and senior managers of registered charities.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL4067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2017 answer text <p>Executive pay is a matter for a charity’s trustees to determine, acting in the best interests of their charity. The Government has not undertaken a specific review but notes a 2014 review of executive pay by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations which found that senior executives in charities were on average paid substantially less than for similar roles in the public or private sectors.</p><p> </p><p>The Charity Commission regulates charities in England and Wales and is an independent, non-ministerial department. The Charity Commission has recently consulted on whether charities should report further on executive pay in their annual return, and if this information should be published for the public to view on the Charity Commission’s charity search tool. The Charity Commission is analysing consultation feedback and will set out next steps in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The Government and Charity Commission have regular meetings to discuss the legal and regulatory framework for charities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde grouped question UIN HL4066 question first answered 22/12/2017 12:34:13 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

781996

registered interest
date	01/11/2017
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	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 20 March (HL Deb, col 39) that there were some areas that they might want to give further consideration to, such as violence against women, in using the definition in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in the Digital Economy Act 2017, why the issue of definitions is not addressed in the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper published on 11 October; and whether they intend to give this further consideration.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2017 answer text <p>Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act (2017) requires the Secretary of State for Digital Culture, Media and Sport to produce a report on the effectiveness of age verification measures 12 months after the powers come into force. We will use this review to consider wider impact and consult on the definitions used in this part of the Act.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde grouped question UIN HL2764 question first answered 14/11/2017 12:36:41 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

781997

registered interest
date	01/11/2017
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	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of Key Principle 1 of their Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper, published on 11 October, that standards of behaviour online should match those offline, and the proposal that there should be a common framework for media standards, what steps they are taking to ensure that equivalent definitions of prohibited material are applied across different media platforms.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2017 answer text <p>We are currently consulting on the social media code of practice provided for by the Digital Economy Act (2017). The Act requires the code to address conduct that is bullying or insulting to users, or other behaviour that is likely to intimidate or humiliate. Through this code we hope to tackle some of the most pernicious, but legal, online behaviours, including trolling and abuse, that is often disproportionately targeted towards women.</p><p>Such abusive and threatening behaviour online is totally unacceptable. A number of criminal offences may be committed by those abusing others on social media and an action which is illegal offline is also illegal online.</p><p> </p><p>Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act (2017) requires the Secretary of State to produce a report on the effectiveness of age verification measures 12 months after the powers come into force. This review will provide the opportunity to consider impact, identify gaps and consult on definitions used in this Part of the Act, including the definition of extreme pornography.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 14/11/2017 12:38:17 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool