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1246979

registered interest
date	29/10/2020
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	Football: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent comments by the chairman of Accrington Stanley Football Club that "clubs below the Premier League have never been at higher risk", what plans they have to encourage the Premier League to provide financial support to struggling clubs in the English Football League.
tabling member printed	Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court
uin	HL9787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Football clubs are often the bedrock of our local communities and it is vital they are protected. That is why the Government has provided an unprecedented financial support package for businesses, which many football clubs have benefitted from.</p><p>We have worked closely with football throughout the pandemic, including getting the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) back behind closed doors, which released vital broadcasting revenue. Having spent heavily in the recent transfer window, professional football has the means to support clubs through the pandemic and we continue to urge the EFL and Premier League to finalise a deal as soon as possible.</p><p><strong><p><p></strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 15:48:54 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4586 label Biography information for Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court

1246891

registered interest
date	28/10/2020
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	Public Libraries: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide more funding for public libraries.
tabling member printed	Lord Dubs
uin	HL9715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government is providing local councils with unprecedented support during the pandemic with a £4.3 billion package, including £3.7 billion which is not ringfenced and £600 million to support social care providers. This is part of a wider package of almost £28 billion which the Government has committed to support local areas, with funding going to councils, businesses and communities. The 2020 Spending Review will look at pressures facing the sector and provide them with the certainty they need to aid financial planning.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:24:20 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	805 label Biography information for Lord Dubs

1246892

registered interest
date	28/10/2020
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	Public Lending Right: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide increased funding for the Public Lending Right during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Dubs
uin	HL9716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government has recently completed a consultation on the Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme rate per loan for the 2019 -20 PLR scheme year. The consultation sought views on the proposal to increase the rate per loan. We intend laying a Statutory Instrument to vary the rate per loan later this year to ensure eligible authors can receive payments by the end of this financial year.</p><p>There are no plans to increase the overall amount of the PLR central fund. The British Library administers the PLR Scheme on behalf of the Government and the funding level of the PLR would form part of the consideration of British Library’s overall funding at a future spending review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:10:58 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	805 label Biography information for Lord Dubs

1246802

registered interest
date	27/10/2020
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	Newspaper Press and Radio : Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support local independent (1) newspapers, and (2) radio stations, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL9668
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Local news coverage provides a vital service - supplying information about local public affairs, holding local decision-makers to account, and providing a forum for community discussion. The Government’s manifesto recognises their role, committing to “support local and regional newspapers, as vital pillars of communities and local democracy”.</p><p>It has been an absolute priority to ensure we do all we can to support local news outlets during this crisis, as well as supporting commercial and community radio. This includes bringing forward the commencement of zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers to May 2020, and reaching agreement with Arqiva, the UK’s TV and radio transmission provider, to provide six months discount charges which has benefited small local commercial radio stations.</p><p>Government also worked to ensure local media could operate during the Covid-19 lockdown period. We designated journalists and other key media ancillary staff as ‘key workers’; issued guidance to local authorities on the importance of newspaper delivery; took steps to ensure the use of ‘keyword blocklisting’ technology was not disproportionately limiting news publishers’ online advertising revenues for Covid-19 related stories; and implemented a significant public information campaign, using local and national press and commercial radio to extend the reach of these campaigns.</p><p>We continue to work closely with local news organisations to assess the effectiveness of our media support measures and the impact of Coronavirus-related government policy, including the current tiered restrictions, on their ability to continue supporting their communities.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 15:47:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1246805

registered interest
date	27/10/2020
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	Gyms and Swimming Pools: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of swimming pool and gym closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL9671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of lockdown - and why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.</p><p>As announced by the Prime Minister on Saturday from Thursday until Wednesday 2 November there will be significant restrictions on some sectors of the economy including the closure of indoor and outdoor leisure. Outdoor gyms and playgrounds will remain open. Exercise and recreation outdoors will be allowed with your household or on your own with one person from another household.</p><p>It is not possible to isolate the specific impact of swimming pool and gym closures on physical activity levels because people can substitute this with other activities such as running and cycling.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:24:44 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1246806

registered interest
date	27/10/2020
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	Sports: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial position of the grassroots sports sector.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL9672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.</p><p>Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. An income scheme announced in July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aims to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for. On 22 October, the Government announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.</p><p>We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:35:31 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1246814

registered interest
date	27/10/2020
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	Music: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support self–employed and freelance workers within the live music industry.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL9680
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Our world-beating live music industry would be nothing without the people who work in it, and we are working hard to help provide financial support to freelancers in this sector.</p><p>Over two thirds of eligible people in the cultural sectors have benefitted from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). We’ve supported the self-employed with over £13 billion in grants and the Chancellor has increased the generosity of the scheme from 40% to 80% of people’s profits for November, in order to reflect recent changes to the furlough scheme. This also increases the total level of the grant from 40% to 55% of trading profits for 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2020.</p><p>In addition, more businesses will be able to access additional support as deadlines for applications for government-backed loan schemes and the Future Fund have been further extended until 31 January 2021.</p><p>The Arts Council England has made £119 million available to individuals, with £23.1 million already distributed and £95.9 million currently available to apply for via open funds.</p><p>The £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund will benefit freelancers, because it will invest in organisations and help them to reopen, and restart performances. So far, over £500m has been announced from the Culture Recovery Fund to protect cultural organisations across England, almost a fifth of which has gone to the music sector.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:25:03 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1246853

registered interest
date	27/10/2020
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	Telephone Services: Fraud
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop older people from being targeted by scam telephone calls.
tabling member printed	Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown
uin	HL9657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that nuisance and scam calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of nuisance calls including banning cold calls from pension providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. We have been working with National Trading Standards to supply call blocking devices to some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p>The Government has been running the Take Five fraud awareness campaign designed to urge the public and businesses to take time to consider whether a situation they find themselves in is genuine. The campaign equips the public to more confidently challenge fraudulent approaches – be they face-to-face, on the telephone or online. Specific advice on phone scams and phishing can be found at <a href="http://www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk" target="_blank">www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk</a>.</p><p>With regards to fraud more generally, the government has recently launched a gov.uk page that contains easy-to-follow steps to spot potential frauds and to avoid them. It also signposts advice and support to those who may unfortunately have fallen victim. This page can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-</a><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-" target="_blank">covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:25:31 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	655 label Biography information for Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

1246722

registered interest
date	26/10/2020
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the voluntary and community sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL9571
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>Charities play an invaluable role in this country, which is why we have committed an unprecedented £750 million in targeted funding so that they can continue their vital work through the coronavirus outbreak. This included £60 million which was distributed via the Barnett formula to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support charities on the frontline of the response.</p><p>The Government also matched public donations to the BBC’s “Big Night In” charity appeal, with over £70 million being distributed by Comic Relief, Children In Need and the National Emergencies Trust to charities on the frontline. Our £85 million Community Match Challenge has secured an additional £85m of match funding from charities, funders and philanthropists for good causes.</p><p>An additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts has been unlocked to help charities, social enterprises and individuals in vulnerable financial circumstances during the coronavirus outbreak.</p><p>Charities, social enterprises and other types of civil society organisations, have benefited from wider Government support such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and are eligible for the new Job Support Scheme.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:07:01 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1246726

registered interest
date	26/10/2020
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	Broadband
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are on track to meet their target of full-fibre, gigabit-capable broadband by 2025.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL9575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our ambition is to deliver this by 2025. We recognise that this is a challenging ambition. We support industry’s plans to deliver gigabit broadband to the most commercial parts of the UK (c.80% of the country) and will continue to take action to remove barriers to deployment to help them deliver this by 2025.</p><p>Building Digital UK (BDUK) is currently in the process of mobilising the new £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme which was announced in the Spring Budget. Procurements will commence in 2021.</p><p>According to Thinkbroadband (<a href="https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/" target="_blank">https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/</a>) as of 27 October, coverage at UK premises for different broadband speeds is currently:</p><ul><li><p>Superfast (30Mbps) = 96.50%</p></li><li><p>Ultrafast (100Mbps) = 63.27%</p></li><li><p>Gigabit (1,000Mbps) = 27.52%</p></li><li><p>Full Fibre (Gigabit+) = 17.49%</p></li></ul><p>Virgin Media are in the process of activating gigabit services across their entire network by the end of 2021, and this currently covers over 52% of the UK. BT Openreach and CityFibre also have multi-billion pound fibre rollout programmes underway so a leap in gigabit coverage during 2021 is anticipated. This planned build predominantly covers urban areas so DCMS’s focus is on stimulating build in the more rural and disadvantaged areas of the UK where the commercial market will not build unaided.</p><p>The government has invested significant amounts in digital infrastructure over the last decade. The DCMS portfolio of active projects is currently c.£4 billion (detailed below) and in the Spring Budget, a further £5 billion of investment was announced for the hardest to reach areas of the UK. More details regarding the programme will follow in the Autumn Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2020 16:10:29 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick