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  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department has allocated to the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    At the Spending Review 2015 £720 million was allocated to fund the remaining four years of the programme. The funding allocated to the Troubled Families Programme is currently £230 million in 16/17, £180 million in 17/18, and £180 million in 18/19. The Department for Communities and Local Government works closely with other government departments which have an interest, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the recent National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme report.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The National Institute of Economic and Social Research Impact Study was just one of 6 reports comprising the independent evaluation of the first Troubled Families Programme. The evaluation found that the programme had many positive achievements. These include:

    • Families feeling more confident and optimistic about being able to cope in the future
    • Joining up local services for families by encouraging a single keyworker approach to work with the whole family on all of its problems
    • Raising the quality and capacity of local data systems
    • Better joint working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus

    The data shows that nearly 120,000 of the families on this programme saw their lives improve – more children attending school, youth crime and anti-social behaviour significantly cut and, in more than 18,000 families, an adult holding down a job. The evaluation does not dispute this fact.

    Unsurprisingly, the ambitious and innovative impact study which used national administrative datasets to track changes in families circumstances over comparatively short time periods, was unable to specifically attribute positive outcomes achieved in employment, youth crime or school attendance to the Troubled Families Programme.

    This was because at that time the level of change achieved was not significantly different from that seen in a group of families not on the programme with whom comparisons were made. This is not the same, however, as saying that the evaluation shows family outcomes did not improve, as some have wrongly inferred.

    Of course, we will continue to review all evidence of how the programme is working, to learn from it and see if there’s more we can do to help families facing such multiple problems. In fact, we have already adapted the new programme in a number of ways, including extending the length of time over which family outcomes will be tracked – from 12 months to 5 years.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a statutory social tariff for broadband services.

    Matt Hancock

    We are committed to introducing a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) within this Parliament. The USO will give households and businesses the legal right to request a broadband connection with speeds of at least 10 Megabits, no matter where they live or work.

    Ofcom are preparing advice and recommendations for Government on the design of the broadband USO, and we have asked them specifically to consider a social tariff to make sure it is affordable for all. Ofcom will report on its findings by the end of the year and we will consider them as part of our decision.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support the Government makes available to businesses to (a) prevent and (b) recover from cyber-attacks.

    Matt Hancock

    The cyber security of the UK is a top priority for the Government which is why we are investing £1.9 billion to protect the nation in cyber space. The new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is helping to make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. The NCSC is the UK’s authority on cyber security and aims to reduce risks to the UK by working with businesses to improve their cyber security.

    The Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme shows businesses how to protect themselves against common cyber attacks and the ‘Ten Steps to Cyber Security” guidance shows organisations how to manage cyber risk and prevent attacks. The NCSC’s Cyber Security Incident Response scheme (CSIR) helps businesses deal with and recover from a cyber incident. A wide range of Government guidance, support and training is available via the NCSC and on www.gov.uk.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ask Ofcom to review communications markets definitions to reflect the role of advertising as a proxy for payment, particularly in regard to the standard SSNIP test.

    Matt Hancock

    As the independent communications regulator it is for Ofcom to determine how it should approach the issue of defining communications markets and how it applies the standard SSNIP test. Ofcom does already take into account developments such as the role of advertising and the role of data as proxy for payments in the course of carrying out its duties and will continue to do so in its assessments of market power and its analysis of competition.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ask Ofcom to review communications markets definitions to reflect the role of data as an effective proxy for payment, particularly in regard to the standard SSNIP test.

    Matt Hancock

    As the independent communications regulator it is for Ofcom to determine how it should approach the issue of defining communications markets and how it applies the standard SSNIP test. Ofcom does already take into account developments such as the role of advertising and the role of data as proxy for payments in the course of carrying out its duties and will continue to do so in its assessments of market power and its analysis of competition.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff (a) of her Department and (b) working in each of its public bodies were employed in NUTS 1 region in the last fiscal year.

    Matt Hancock

    a) DCMS employed 527 payroll staff (and 57 non-payroll) staff at the 31st Mar 16 (end of the last fiscal year).

    b) this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with BT on the removal of phoneboxes in rural areas; and what assessment has been made of the safety implications for people in areas with inadequate mobile phone coverage.

    Matt Hancock

    This is a matter for local authorities to take based on the value of retaining a phone box to the local community.

    We recognise the importance of public call boxes as a means of calling the emergency services. Ofcom requires that there is a period of consultation before a public call box is removed and that one of the factors to be considered by the relevant public body is the potential importance of the call box to contact the emergency services.

    Improving mobile connectivity across the UK, including in rural and hard to reach areas is a priority for the Government, and the December 2014 agreement with industry guarantees that each mobile network operator will provide voice and SMS text coverage to 90% of the UK’s landmass by end-2017. Additionally, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of UK premises over the same period. Taken together these obligations will cut complete not spots by two thirds, resulting in 98% of the UK landmass with mobile coverage.

    The Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service requires that a caller from a mobile phone is able to roam onto another mobile network to make an emergency call if they have no signal from their own provider. The improvements in mobile connectivity arising from the December 2014 agreement will support this.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29379, whether she has had discussions with sporting bodies in the last six months on reducing instances of corruption in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government hosted an international anti-corruption summit in May this year where tackling corruption in sport was a central feature. In the lead-up to, and at the Summit, the Government was, and continues to be, in discussion with a range of sporting bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency on this matter.

    The communique published following the Summit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-corruption-summit-communique.

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its public bodies allocated to (i) the Greater London Authority, (ii) the Mayor of London and (iii) London boroughs to support cultural projects in the last fiscal year.

    Matt Hancock

    a) The Government has been clear that the right balance of funding between London and the regions continues to require attention, and, as such, there has been a shift in spending on National Portfolio funding away from London over the last five years. £25.28 was spent per head in 2015/16 compared with £29.09 in 2011/12. ACE have also confirmed that the amount of funding for NPOs outside London will increase in the 2018-2022 portfolio.

    In addition, in May last year, Arts Council England (ACE) announced they will increase the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70% to 75% by the end of 2018; and invest over £35 million in the Ambition for Excellence fund – over £31 million of which will be spent outside London.

    b) This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.