Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1580286

registered interest
date	24/01/2023
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	Gambling: Internet
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 her Department has made on the potential role of open banking technology in helping to tackle problem online gambling.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	131319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2023 answer text <p>The government is exploring how technology and data can be harnessed in a number of areas to better prevent harmful gambling online. We are reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 and will publish our white paper in the coming weeks.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 31/01/2023 09:24:49 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1566517

registered interest
date	12/01/2023
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	Digital Technology: Wales
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 levels of digital connectivity in rural areas of Wales.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	122221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2023 answer text <p>At present, 96.7% of premises in Wales can access a superfast (&gt;=30Mbps) broadband connection, with 57.4% able to access a gigabit-capable connection.</p><p>As part of the UK Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit, a Public Review was conducted last year to establish broadband suppliers build plans across Wales, and the results were published in November. We are working closely with the Welsh Government and plan to launch procurements in Wales in the coming months.</p><p>In addition to our procurements, nearly 2,800 vouchers have been issued under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to help communities in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Wales.</p><p>In December 2022, DCMS also launched a series of Alpha trials to test the use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to improve broadband connectivity in very hard to reach locations. Up to 15 sites will be selected to trial the technology across the UK and to date four sites have been announced, including two in Snowdonia National Park.</p><p>The £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme is already delivering 4G coverage uplifts in Wales and across the whole of the UK. Currently, 4G coverage in Wales stands at 62% from all four operators and will rise to a minimum of 80% through the SRN. Coverage from at least one operator currently stands at 90% and will increase to 95% in Wales once the programme completes. For further details on the SRN and how it will enable rural businesses and communities to thrive please visit <a href="https://srn.org.uk/forecast-coverage-improvements/" target="_blank">https://srn.org.uk/forecast-coverage-improvements/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 17/01/2023 11:04:13 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1490287

registered interest
date	18/07/2022
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	Listed Events: Welsh Language
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for the Media Bill, as announced in the Queen's Speech 2022; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring Welsh language free-to-air coverage of national sporting events.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	38803
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2022 answer text <p>The Government will introduce the Media Bill when Parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The listed events regime is designed to ensure that the nation’s favourite sporting events – like Wimbledon and the Olympics – are available to be shown on free to air television and can be enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible.</p><p>In its <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/up-next-the-governments-vision-for-the-broadcasting-sector/up-next-the-governments-vision-for-the-broadcasting-sector" target="_blank">Broadcasting White Paper</a>, the government announced its intention to make qualification for the listed events regime a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) specific benefit. This will more clearly enshrine the important role our PSBs, including S4C the Welsh language public service broadcaster, play in distributing important and valuable content to UK audiences.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 25/07/2022 14:08:50 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1462851

registered interest
date	13/05/2022
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: Voucher Schemes
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 projects have been submitted to the Gigabit Voucher Scheme in the Broadband Upgrade Fund pilot areas since that scheme began.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	1535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2022 answer text <p>A total of 37 projects were submitted to the Broadband Upgrade Fund across the pilot areas of Cornwall, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Cumbria and Northumberland.</p><p>The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund concluded in January 2021.</p><p>Since the closure of the Broadband Upgrade Fund, the government has launched a £210m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 23/05/2022 12:22:12 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1462852

registered interest
date	13/05/2022
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: Ceredigion
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 projects have been submitted for Gigabit Voucher Scheme funding in Ceredigion constituency as part of the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	1536
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2022 answer text <p>A total of 11 projects were submitted in the Ceredigion constituency as part of the Broadband Upgrade Fund.</p><p>The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund concluded in January 2021.</p><p>Since the closure of the Broadband Upgrade Fund, the government has launched a £210m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.</p><p>Seven premises in the Ceredigion constituency have claimed and received payment for a voucher through the scheme, with a further 338 premises awaiting completion, for a combined value of over £490,000.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 23/05/2022 12:32:51 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1419595

registered interest
date	03/02/2022
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: Lotteries
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 discussions his Department has held with charity lottery operators on the positive impacts of the charity lottery reforms which came into effect in July 2020.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	117876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>The Government legislated to increase society lottery sales and prize limits in March 2020, and these reforms came into effect in July 2020. The changes were:</p><ul><li><p>to increase the individual per draw sales limit from £4 million to £5 million;</p></li><li><p>to increase the individual per draw prize limit from £400,000 to £500,000 (retaining the rule that the maximum prize is the greater of £25,000 or 10% of proceeds);</p></li><li><p>to increase the annual sales limit from £10 million to £50 million.</p></li></ul><p>The aim of these changes was to allow both society lotteries and the National Lottery to thrive, by enabling society lotteries to continue to grow, whilst ensuring the unique position of the National Lottery is maintained.</p><p>We are currently reviewing the impact of these changes, and have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including society lotteries, to gain an understanding of how they have benefited from the new limits.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 09/02/2022 12:18:35 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1419601

registered interest
date	03/02/2022
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	S4C: 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 assessment she has made of the impact of the freeze in the licence fee on the funding allocated to S4C through partnership agreements with the BBC.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	117877
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2022 answer text <p>The UK Government has a strong record of demonstrating its commitment to minority language broadcasting to ensure that our broadcasting sector services all audiences of the UK nations and regions. This has been reflected in the strong settlement for S4C, providing £88.8 million per annum for the first two years, then rising in line with inflation thereafter, which includes a new commitment of £7.5 million per annum to support S4C’s digital development, ensuring S4C’s offering remains sustainable in the digital age.</p><p>The licence fee settlement will also provide the BBC with billions in annual public funding, allowing it to deliver its mission and public purposes and to continue doing what it does best.</p><p>As the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government, how the BBC uses their funding is therefore a question for them, including any partnerships with minority language broadcasters. However, the Secretary of State has been clear she wants to see the BBC deliver the best quality services and output possible with the public funding they receive.</p><p>The BBC’s Royal Charter also contains a general duty to &quot;support the regional and minority languages of the United Kingdom through its output and services and through partnerships with other organisations&quot;.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 08/02/2022 17:09:04 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1418195

registered interest
date	31/01/2022
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	Emergency Services Network: Ceredigion
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 any of the planned Extended Area Services masts in Ceredigion will be made available for use by the Shared Rural Network.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	114901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2022 answer text <p>As part of the government funded element of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme £185m in funding will be made available to the Home Office and the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to upgrade Extended Area Service (EAS) masts being built as part of the Emergency Services Network (ESN). This will help eliminate ‘total not-spots’ - the hard to reach areas where there is currently no coverage from any operator. The Home Office will make sites available, where possible, for the MNOs to deploy on them although we recognise that, in some cases, upgrades may not be possible due to technical, financial or other reasons.</p><p>There are 12 EAS sites in Ceredigion and these are all being considered for commercial connectivity via the SRN. We are currently working with the Home Office and MNOs to facilitate sharing as quickly as possible and the majority of the procurements have now been completed. In addition I am pleased to update that the Home Office and DCMS are exploring the possibility of the site in Llanafan being part of a EAS/SRN pilot scheme which will test the processes we, the Home Office and the MNOs have put in place to allow sharing on these sites to begin.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 07/02/2022 10:59:00 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1380118

registered interest
date	19/11/2021
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: Wales
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 estimate her Department has made of the number of properties connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network that do not have access to a fixed or wireless internet connection in (a) Wales and (b) Ceredigion.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	78493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2021 answer text <p>The upgrade of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is an industry-led initiative which is regulated by Ofcom. Providers are moving from the old PSTN to new digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.</p><p>VoIP landlines do not require fibre broadband to function but simply a stable connection speed of 0.5Mbps. For current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a general internet connection.</p><p>According to Ofcom there are over 16 million lines on the Openreach network which are being upgraded to VoIP services. For more specific information relating to Wales and your constituency, I would advise you to contact Openreach or Virgin Media O2, who are leading the migration process of their networks.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 78494 question first answered 26/11/2021 08:53:03 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1380120

registered interest
date	19/11/2021
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: Wales
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 properties connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network are not included in any fibre broadband network plans that will be implemented before 2025 in (a) Wales and (b) Ceredigion.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	78494
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2021 answer text <p>The upgrade of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is an industry-led initiative which is regulated by Ofcom. Providers are moving from the old PSTN to new digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.</p><p>VoIP landlines do not require fibre broadband to function but simply a stable connection speed of 0.5Mbps. For current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a general internet connection.</p><p>According to Ofcom there are over 16 million lines on the Openreach network which are being upgraded to VoIP services. For more specific information relating to Wales and your constituency, I would advise you to contact Openreach or Virgin Media O2, who are leading the migration process of their networks.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 78493 question first answered 26/11/2021 08:53:03 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake