The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to his Department was of commissioning and publishing the report, entitled BBC television, radio and online services: An assessment of market impact and distinctiveness, published in March 2016.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The costs of this piece of independent research was £98,900 excluding VAT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the future availability of protected sporting events on free-to-air television; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Ofcom Code on Listed Events ensures that key sporting events are made available for free-to-air channels. Our sport strategy, Sporting Future: A new strategy for an active nation, published December 2015, made clear that the Government does not propose to review this list.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department allocated to the Football Association in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16.
David Evennett
Through Sport England the Government has invested a record £47.5 million in the Football Association (FA) directly since 2010 to help grow and sustain grassroots football participation in this country. That equates to £8,176,302m in 2010/11; £5,550,910m in 2011/12; £5,042,685 in 2012/13; £10,287,050m in 2013/14; £9,175,259m in 2014/15 and £9,345,964m over this last year.
Since 2010 the Government has also provided £10m each year to improving grassroots facilities in partnership with the FA and the Premier League through the Football Foundation, and we will look to invest a further £40m over the next 5 years to the FA’s Parklife programme that aims to deliver 150 football hubs in 30 English cities by 2020. Funding for Parklife began in 2015/16.
The Government is also supporting the FA’s aim to increase the number of qualified coaches in this country by providing £10m over the next 5 years up to 2020, with a particular emphasis on supporting coaches from under-represented groups. This builds on the £3m The Department for Culture Media and Sport provided to the FA in 2012 for that purpose.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government’s targets for participation in grassroots football were for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16.
David Evennett
Through Sport England’s Whole Sport Plan process the FA has been challenged each year to demonstrate an increase in the number of people playing grassroots football in this country. In 2010/11 the target number of people aged 16 and over playing football for at least 30 minutes every week was 2,219,700; in 2011/12 it was 2,257,200; in 2012/13 it was 2,294,700; in 2013/14 it was 2,150,050; in 2014/15 it was 2,208,902 and in 2015/16 it is 2,267,386.
As set out in ‘Sporting Future’, The Government has set out our intention to increase the number of people who engage in all types of sport and physical activity. However, from now on will move away from our historic focus on how many people are playing one sport or another at a particular moment to understanding how active people are overall. As part of this, we will also target funding at groups which have traditionally had lower participation rates, including by extending Sport England’s remit to engage people from as young as five, to help create a much healthier and more active nation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to pages 13 and 39 of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, published in May 2016, what his Department plans to spend the £85 million of new funding for the World Service on.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The additional Government funding for the BBC World Service was agreed as part of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 and will be provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It will be used to provide additional language services subject to agreement by the Foreign Secretary and the BBC Trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government will bring forward legislative proposals to close the iPlayer loophole by the Summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, published in May 2016, if he will provide details of how the more flexible payment plans for payment of television licence fees will help people on lower incomes.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The government intends to update legislation to allow clearer and more flexible payment schemes, especially for those facing difficulty in paying the licence fee. This will enable the BBC to trial alternative payment plans, including removing the requirement for individuals to pay the cost of a 12-month licence over six months. This would help those who struggle to make higher initial payments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department’s budget arising from the Government’s decision not to automatically roll-out broadband to all households and businesses.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government’s plans to implement a broadband Universal Service Obligation will have no impact on the Department’s budget for the roll out of superfast broadband. The contracts we have put in place with Openreach mean that the more homes and businesses that sign up for superfast broadband, the more money Openreach has to return to local authorities to extend the roll out even further. So far, Openreach has confirmed more than £200 million of savings that can be reinvested, over and above the £1.7bn of public funding already allocated, and we expect more funding to be confirmed in due course. We will be reinvesting that funding to extend superfast broadband to as many additional rural homes and businesses as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of how much people in rural areas will have to contribute to receive a basic 10 Mbit/s broadband connection as a result of his Department’s decision not to automatically roll-out broadband to all households and businesses.
Mr Edward Vaizey
This information is not yet available. Ofcom’s call for evidence on the the design of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) invites views on how a reasonable cost threshold for a broadband connection might be determined. The new broadband USO will give all households and businesses the legal right to request a fast broadband connection. This would work similarly to the telephone USO, where there is a reasonable cost threshold above which the hardest to reach properties are expected to contribute to the cost of the installation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how his Department plans to allow rural communities to table collective requests for broadband connections.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ofcom has been commissioned to provide technical analysis and recommendations to help inform the design of the broadband Universal Service Obligation. One of the issues that they have been asked to advise on is how individual consumer requests for a broadband connection can be aggregated so that communities can benefit. Ofcom have published a call for inputs to support this work, which will run until 23rd June and this is available at:- http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/broadband-USO-CFI/ Ofcom has been asked to report on its findings by the end of the year.
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