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  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many representations he has received about levels of local government funding for social care provision in England in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My Department receives representations on a wide range of matters relating to local government. Information regarding the number of representations relating specifically to funding for social care provision is not readily available. Protecting social care is a priority for the Government and so we have ensured local authorities have access to the funding they need to provide it. Provision is ultimately a local decision, based on local priorities.

  • Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Football Association on recent corruption scandals.

    Tracey Crouch

    Both the Secretary of State and I spoke to the FA following the recent allegations made by the Daily Telegraph, and they confirmed they are working across football to investigate. It is important that the FA demonstrates good governance of their sport, and that includes dealing effectively with those that look to tarnish its reputation. All the evidence presented to them must be investigated fully and the Government stands ready to assist in any way we can.

  • Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she made of the value gained for the public of Government funds given to the Football Association in each of the last five years.

    Tracey Crouch

    Football continues to be the nation’s most popular team sport, with over 1.5m more weekly participants than any other team sport. Public funding has gone into programmes delivered by the FA that sustain that interest and also that encourage more people from all ages and backgrounds to take part in the sport.

    Sport England has challenged the FA to deliver results for the public money it receives. In 2014, £1.6million was taken away after the FA failed to reverse a decline in the number of people regularly playing the sport.

    Since then, outdoor 5-a-side football has seen an increase in participation from 744,200 people per week in 2010 (APS4) to 795,700 in 2016 (APS10 Q2) showing changing customer demands which the FA must continue to respond to.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of disabled people participating in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government is committed to increasing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity. Our sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, places a much greater emphasis than before on encouraging under-represented groups, including disabled people, to take part in sport and physical activity.

    Sport England’s new strategy,Towards an Active Nation, which was published in May, sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. It will continue to support people who already play sport but it also has a specific focus on those groups who are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including disabled people.

    Between 2011 and 2017, Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce nuisance calls and (b) give advice to companies on how to contact the public appropriately on inheritance tax issues.

    Matt Hancock

    Companies who wish to make direct marking calls must abide by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations(PECR). The Government has already taken a number of steps to reduce the problem of nuisance calls with further measures to be implemented in the near future. In May 2016, the Government introduced a new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller line identification. In September 2016 we introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Bill that in currently going through Parliament that will make it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to issue a statutory code of practice on direct marketing, which will support the ICO in taking action against those who breach PECR. More recently, we announced the Governments intention to hold company directors to account for breaches of the PECR. In addition, the Government is considering extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to organisations that generate nuisance calls. This measure amongst other measures will provide better consumer protection, from unsolicited telephone calls.

    The Gov.UK website, provides information about inheritance tax and the support available from the Inheritance Tax and Probate helpline. HMRC works with advisers to direct them and the public to this.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the incidence of cyber-fraud and to advise the public of the level of care they should take in transferring money online.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government launched the Joint Fraud Taskforce earlier this year. This partnership between government, law enforcement and the financial sector is working in new innovative ways to deliver a more effective response to fraud. The Taskforce is looking at new ways to ensure individuals have the tools and knowledge to protect themselves from fraudsters, including when transferring money online.

    A Joint Fraud Taskforce partner, Financial Fraud Action UK, recently launched a nation-wide fraud prevention campaign ‘Take 5’ which advises that individuals take five minutes to consider what they are being asked to do, especially if being pressured to take an unusual course of action such as transferring funds to an unknown individual. The Taskforce is also working closely with the financial sector to look at how fraud can be designed out of systems such as internet banking, to stop individuals transferring money to a potential fraudster.

    The Government’s Cyber Aware campaign aims to help small business and individuals protect themselves from cyber criminals by adopting simple secure online behaviours such as having a strong password and always downloading the latest software updates. Cyber Aware works with a range of public and private sector partners to embed cyber security advice into a range of every day touch points, including Get Safe Online, whose remit is to help individuals and small businesses safeguard themselves against fraud and other online data threats.

    The Government is also encouraging all businesses which rely on the Internet to adopt the Cyber Essentials scheme to protect themselves against the most common Internet threats. We know the vast majority of cyber attacks exploit basic weaknesses in IT software and systems. Cyber Essentials shows organisations how to address those basics and get a good level of online security in place which all organisations operating online should aim for as a minimum.

  • Chris Elmore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chris Elmore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to improve television reception in the South Wales valleys.

    Matt Hancock

    Under a 2006 agreement, digital terrestrial, cable and satellite digital television services together cover practically all UK households, so that in all but the most exceptional of cases, everyone should be able to get free-to-air digital television, by one means or another.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the recommendations on improving digital accessibility for disabled people of the Extra Costs Commission, initiated by the disability charity Scope in July 2014.

    Matt Hancock

    Government is committed to increasing digital inclusion for all, and are taking steps to increase web accessibility for disabled people. The DCMS-led Council for Digital Inclusion includes members who represent the interests of disabled people. The Government has also published guidance on Gov.UK on making digital services accessible for Government departments, local authorities and anyone else who wants to prepare accessible communications.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Russia on Russian military drills in the North Sea in October 2016.

    Mike Penning

    The Department has held no formal discussions with the Government of the Russian Federation with regard to Russian military drills in the North Sea in October. All NATO Allies have a collective responsibility to monitor the path and activity of non-NATO ships and aircraft passing through NATO areas of responsibility. The UK fully upholds its commitments in this regard and will act accordingly. Russia is aware of these arrangements. We expect Russian activity to occur in international waters and airspace, and in accordance with international rules.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal British Legion on the Count Them In campaign.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to support the aspiration of the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) ‘Count Them In’ campaign to include a veteran’s marker in the 2021 census to provide information to better support the commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. In June this year I wrote to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to request that the position set out in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) response to the census consultation was revisited. Following discussions this has been agreed and further work is being taken forward. The ONS and the MOD have established a working group to review the decision not to record veterans in the 2021 census. To date it has met six times. The working group is developing a number of themes which have allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other’s needs, including those of other Government Departments, Local Authorities and the charitable sector. The latest ONS statement on this issue can be found at the following address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/consultations/the2021censusinitialviewoncontentforenglandandwales/updateonmeetinginformationneedsonthearmedforcescommunityveterans The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to seek their further input on this issue. In addition, the MOD and the ONS met with the RBL in July this year to explain the work that both Departments are taking forward.