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1582275

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
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	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Conditions of Employment
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 they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	136651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>Whilst there is no legal requirement to publish equality impact assessments, DCMS fulfils its duty as an employer to consider how our policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act. The Department conducts equality impact assessments when introducing new HR policy or making significant changes to existing policy. As part of our policy development process, DCMS engages with its Trade Unions and other stakeholders (such as employee networks) when developing new HR policies or making significant changes to existing policies.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 11:16:35 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1582443

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
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	Vacancies
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 make an estimate of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in (i) broadcast and print media, (ii) theatres, (iii) graphic design, (iv) tourism and (v) sport and leisure.
tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
tabling member printed	Mr Toby Perkins
uin	136592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>While DCMS does not have any estimates on the number of vacancies, the Department has published Experimental Official Statistics for skills shortages (%) in DCMS sectors and sub-sectors. These are for the year 2019, using data from the Employer Skills Survey, carried out by the Department for Education that covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The ESS is a biennial survey, which was delayed by a further year during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with 2022-23 data expected to be published later this year (also currently scheduled to include Scotland).</p><p>Skills shortage vacancies are defined as vacancies unfilled because applicants did not have the necessary skills. Two measures for skills shortages are published:</p><ul><li><p>Percentage of vacancies that are unfilled due to skills shortages</p></li><li><p>Percentage of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy</p></li></ul><p>The “Percentage of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy” estimates are impacted by the fact that some businesses will not have had a vacancy. Therefore the “% of businesses with at least one vacancy” figure was also published to help provide context.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Sector/subsector</p></td><td><p>% of vacancies unfilled due to skills shortages</p></td><td><p>% of businesses with at least one skills shortage vacancy</p></td><td><p>% of businesses with at least one vacancy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Audio Visual (i - Broadcast Media)</p></td><td><p>19.2</p></td><td><p>2.1</p></td><td><p>12.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Publishing (excluding translation &amp; interpretation activities) (i - Print Media)</p></td><td><p>10.9</p></td><td><p>3.2</p></td><td><p>11.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arts (ii)</p></td><td><p>10.1</p></td><td><p>2.3</p></td><td><p>12.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Design and designer fashion (iii)</p></td><td><p>36.8</p></td><td><p>2.9</p></td><td><p>11.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tourism Industries (iv)</p></td><td><p>21.2</p></td><td><p>6.0</p></td><td><p>21.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sport (v)</p></td><td><p>30.1</p></td><td><p>4.4</p></td><td><p>17.2</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Table 1 - Skills shortages in selected sectors. Estimates are not available directly measuring the areas requested. The sectors presented here have been provided as the closest to the requested sectors, for which DCMS have skills shortages data.</p><p>Source: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dcms-sectors-skills-shortages-and-skills-gaps-2019" target="_blank">DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019</a></p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 11:19:26 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

1582567

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
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	Broadcasting: Disability Aids
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, (a) whether she is taking steps to make (i) scheduled and (ii) on-demand broadcast content more accessible via high quality and reliable subtitling; (b) if she will take steps to increase the number of broadcast services which are required to provide subtitling; (c) what progress she has made in working to encourage broadcasters voluntarily to improve subtitling; and (d) what plans she has to bring forward relevant regulations under the Digital Economy Act 2017 following Ofsted's Further Statement: Making on-demand services accessible published in July 2021.
tabling member constituency	Norwich North
tabling member printed	Chloe Smith
uin	136542
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of subtitling and supports television being accessible to all. Under the Communications Act 2003 and Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996, broadcasters are already required to meet targets for access services - including subtitling. Statutory targets are set by Ofcom which include five and ten year targets for licensed television services. Ofcom’s<a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/tv-access-services" target="_blank"> Code on Television Access Services</a> sets out these obligations and provides guidance and best practice on subtitling for broadcasters.</p><p>The regulator Ofcom assesses which broadcasters - including new channels - have a requirement to provide access services and publishes a list on their website annually, according to principles set out in their Code. Some broadcasters already provide television access services such as subtitling on a voluntary basis, and we would encourage broadcasters to continue to do so where possible.</p><p>The Government is committed to legislate to bring in minimum levels of subtitling, audio description, and signing on video-on-demand services and is currently working with Ofcom to develop a legislative framework for these requirements that is clear and fit for purpose. We intend to legislate when time allows and will set out a timetable for this in due course.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 11:17:37 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith

1581968

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	Telephone Systems: Rural Areas
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 telecommunication providers transitioning from analogue to digital landlines, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of that transition on rural communities.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	135333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>The analogue landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately owned and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry. That said, DCMS is working closely with industry to ensure nobody is adversely affected by the upgrade, including the small number of rural areas which have limited digital connectivity. I chaired an industry roundtable in January to discuss how best to raise public awareness for the migration.</p><p>The replacement Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services require a minimum stable connection speed of just 0.5Mbps in order to function correctly. As a result, rural communities with limited digital connectivity can also be upgraded to digital telephony services. For current landline-only customers, it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a general internet connection. Moreover, the migration from analogue landlines does not affect the universal service obligations set in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 which require the designated providers, BT and KCOM, to offer telephony services throughout the UK.</p><p>Ofcom is responsible for ensuring telecoms providers adhere to their regulatory obligations throughout the migration process. Ofcom has published <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/123118/guidance-emergency-access-power-cut.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a> which states that providers must take steps to identify and protect at-risk consumers, including consumers in rural communities who are dependent on their landline. This guidance states that providers should have at least one solution available that enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage. The solution should be suitable for customers needs and should be offered free of charge.</p><p>DCMS is also working hard to improve rural connectivity through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme and the £1 billion Shared Rural Network.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 10:53:02 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

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

1582070

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	Music Venues: 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, if she will hold discussions with representatives of large (a) arenas, (b) stadiums and (c) festivals on providing financial support to grassroots music venues.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	135177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which are the lifeblood and research and development centres of our world-leading music sector.</p><p>DCMS is in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry, including live venues at every level. We work with industry and across Government to improve the sector's economic resilience to future economic shocks, as we did through the pandemic, and we continue to engage with the sector on the impact of current pressures. We are also supporting the sector through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and will continue to do so through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme until Spring 2024.</p><p>We will shortly be publishing a Creative Industries Sector Vision that will set out this Government’s ambitions, shared with industry, to support all parts of the creative sector to 2030. We look forward to working with the music industry to deliver on these objectives.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2023 11:10:39 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

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