Category: Culture

Paul Scully – 2022 Statement on Government Amendments to the Online Safety Bill

The statement made by Paul Scully, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 30 November 2022.

The Online Safety Bill is a vital piece of legislation, and this Government are committed to ensuring that it does more to protect children and ensure that any provisions for adults consider the importance of free speech. On 29 November, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan), issued a written ministerial statement (WMS) setting out a number of policy changes to achieve this aim.

The approach we are taking has three main aims. We are strengthening the protections for children in the Bill, ensuring that adults’ right to legal free speech is protected, and also creating a genuine system of transparency, accountability and control to give the British public more choice and power over their own accounts and experience. The Secretary of State’s WMS yesterday set out these changes in detail, alongside additional changes we are seeking to make.

Given the Bill’s stage of passage, it is not possible to make the majority of these changes at Report stage, as the amendments relate to clauses that were debated on the first day of Report. Therefore, as mentioned in the Secretary of State’s WMS of 29 November, the Government intend to return a limited number of clauses to a Public Bill Committee. This process would allow the proposed changes to go through robust and thorough scrutiny in the Commons, and would provide for line-by-line scrutiny of the amendments being made. The recommitted clauses would then come back to the whole House for debate at a third day of Report stage. A vote on this recommitment motion will take place immediately after Report stage on 5 December.

As amendments for consideration at Committee cannot be formally tabled before that vote has passed, I am therefore setting out alongside this statement indicative drafting to demonstrate the amendments we will be tabling should a Committee stage take place, so that parliamentary colleagues can consider them in detail and understand the Government’s intentions with the Bill. These amendments are substantively final and the policies that they reflect will not change; the draft amendment paper, attached as annex A, includes explanatory statements of each amendment. However, small tweaks to the drafting may be required before the amendments are formally tabled, to ensure that they are as clear and effective as possible. Amendments in the paper are based on the most recent Bill print, which follows amendments at the Bill’s previous Public Bill Committee stage.

I am acutely aware of, and fully agree with, Parliament’s desire to see this legislation enacted. I will therefore be seeking to keep the recommittal process as short as possible within the bounds of allowing proper consideration of the changes, and anticipate that should the recommittal process proceed, the Bill will be passed to the House of Lords for consideration in January. I intend to work closely with Parliament to ensure that we are able to get this vital piece of legislation on to the statute book in this parliamentary Session.

The attachment can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2022-11-30/HCWS403/.

01/12/2022
Wes Streeting – 2022 Comments on FIFA and OneLove Armband

The comments made by Wes Streeting, the Labour MP for Ilford North, on Twitter on 21 November 2022.

FIFA is a disgrace.

But we know where @England and @FAWales stand and it’s appreciated. Players have been put in an impossible position.

Will be cheering England on today. A great team with a strong moral backbone – excellent role models for our country.

21/11/2022
John Whittingdale – 2022 Question on Government Funding for the BBC World Service

The question made by Sir John Whittingdale, the Conservative MP for Maldon, in the House of Commons on 8 November 2022.

What funding his Department provides to the BBC World Service.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (David Rutley)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is providing the BBC World Service with a flat cash three-year settlement of £94.4 million annually. Since 2016, the FCDO has provided over £468 million to the World Service via the World2020 programme, funding 12 language services and enhancements to BBC Arabic, Russian and English.

Sir John Whittingdale

Does my hon. Friend agree that the BBC World Service plays an ever more important role in countering disinformation, particularly from Russia and elsewhere? Will he therefore look to increase the amount of support that his Department gives to the World Service, and does he share my concern that the BBC is proposing to reduce funding by £28 million with the loss of 10 radio services?

David Rutley

I recognise my right hon. Friend’s long-standing interest in this issue. The FCDO greatly values the World Service’s role in countering disinformation, particularly President Putin’s harmful narratives, and it has provided an additional £1.44 million this year to support this work on top of our annual £94 million funding. The changes reflect the BBC’s ambition to become a digital-first organisation and, as a result, audiences will still retain access to all 42 language services.

09/11/2022
Michelle Donelan – 2022 Speech at the Rugby League World Cup Number 10 Reception

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 8 November 2022.

Hi everyone, thank you very much for having me here. I want to start by saying a huge thank you to the Elmbridge Eagles for their amazing display. I don’t think anything like this has happened before in No10, and I’m sure you can all go home knowing you’ve smashed some records.

We’ve had such a great year of major sporting events in this country – first with the Women’s EUROs, then the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and also the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool.

But as a proud northerner who grew up just down the road from the Warrington Wolves, I’m particularly pleased to see the Rugby League World Cup rounding off that list.

I was lucky enough to get to a game on Saturday – England’s women vs Canada. Sadly they can’t be here today because they’re preparing for their next game.

But as I said, I watched them on Saturday, and I can tell you it was absolutely brutal. It was such a physical game.

But that’s what makes this sport so thrilling – and it’s why Rugby League fans are some of the most diehard out there.

So to see places where this sport was born, and where it grew…

…places where rugby league is the lifeblood of the local community…

…to see those places now host matches that are at the pinnacle of the international game has been absolutely brilliant.

It’s been a great tournament so far, and we’ve still got all three finals in Manchester next weekend to look forward to.

And it goes without saying that putting on this kind of event requires an incredible amount of hard work and dedication – particularly when a global pandemic gets in the way. That caused all sorts of delays and difficulties.

But this room is full of people who battled through all of those challenges, and ultimately made this event possible…

…from social impact partners, to tournament ambassadors, to the players themselves.

You haven’t just delivered a major international tournament. You’ve delivered an event that has been genuinely groundbreaking.

For the first time ever, it’s one where the mens’, womens’ and wheelchair tournaments have all been held at the same time…

…one where everyone playing has received equal participation fees…

…and one where women and wheelchair tournament winners will all receive prize money – again, for the first time ever…

Together, all of those things have sent a very loud signal across the world that rugby league is a sport for all.

Those kinds of signals really matter. Visibility matters. Particularly for children and other people who might be thinking of taking up the sport, but who assume it’s not for them.

But thanks to your efforts, they’ll be able to turn on the BBC and see that it is.

And that’s all while the tournament is going on.

But of course there’s the legacy, too.

And the last thing that makes this tournament groundbreaking is that we haven’t waited for the event to be over to get going on that legacy.

In fact, we’ve flipped it round.

In the run-up to the event, this tournament had already invested a significant part of the government’s £30 million pot of funding into the grassroots, through its social impact programme.

It did so by partnering with multiple organisations – many of whom are here today…

…and that programme has already funded the refurbishment of dozens of clubhouses, changing rooms and artificial pitches – as well as all sorts of equipment, a mental fitness programme, international development and a special volunteer scheme.

And that was before a single try was even scored.

It’s a fantastic achievement, and proof that in the end, an event like this is about so much more than sport.

It’s about uniting communities…

…it’s about instilling a real sense of pride in the towns and cities that get to host the games…

…and most of all, it gives us all something to feel good about – in a way that we don’t often get with other things.

That’s what makes sport so powerful – and you all played a role in that.

So thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful afternoon celebrating your achievements.

09/11/2022
Michelle Donelan – 2022 Statement on the Arts Council England 2023-2026 Investment Programme

The statement made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 7 November 2022.

Further to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries) on 23 February 2022, I would like to update the House on Arts Council England’s 2023-2026 investment programme. The provisional outcome of this competitive funding round has been communicated to applicants, and will see 990 national portfolio organisations and investment principles support organisations offered £446 million per annum in funding over the next three years.

These provisional offers fulfil the ambitious and challenging targets set for Arts Council England by my predecessor. Specifically—including national lottery funding—these offers would see nearly an extra £45 million in each of 2023-24 and 2024-25 invested outside of London, rising to nearly £53 million extra in 2025-26. This will result in 215 new organisations being funded outside of London—a net increase of 135 organisations. This extra investment outside London is supported largely by the overall uplifts agreed by the Government at the comprehensive spending review, and Arts Council England decisions about its use of national lottery funding.

DCMS worked with Arts Council England to agree on a list of 109 levelling up for culture places, which are areas identified as having historically low cultural engagement. The provisional funding offers that have been announced will increase the number of funded organisations in levelling up for culture places by 79%—from 107 to 192 organisations—and will increase the level of investment in levelling up for culture places by 95%, or £21.2 million per annum. This funding will play a vital role in fulfilling the Government’s intention to tackle cultural disparities, and ensure that everyone, wherever they live, has the opportunity to enjoy the incredible benefits of culture in their lives.

Funding agreements will be finalised over the next few months, so are subject to change, but alongside the levelling-up progress that has been made, I would like to highlight the following:

10% of all library services in England are now national portfolio organisations;

20% more organisations will be funded to deliver work for children and young people, with a total of 79% of the portfolio delivering activity specifically for children and young people, up by six percentage points from the 2018-2022 portfolio;

Improved diversity on boards;

Overall more days of cultural activity provided.

Finally, it should be noted that these are preliminary decisions which will be negotiated further with organisations. Arts Council England will need to work closely with organisations to review the aims previously submitted in their applications for this programme to ensure they are still achievable in the current economic context. In particular, my predecessor asked all organisations receiving more than £2 million per annum to work to increase their outreach to levelling up for culture places by 15% as a cohort. Given the economic challenges, this target will not apply for this funding round, noting the considerable outreach work these organisations are already doing.

Arts Council England will also support organisations leaving the portfolio by providing transition funding, and I am glad to inform the House that it has been able to more than double the budget for this. This means that any organisation currently in the portfolio, but due to leave, will have the opportunity to apply for funding to support them until next October while they adjust to their changed income.

I am sure Members across the House will be interested to see the outcomes in their local area, and I would direct them to the Arts Council website where all the provisional offers are listed.

08/11/2022
Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on Arts Funding

The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 4 November 2022.

Many of our world-leading cultural organisations will be left devastated by this announcement of over £50 million worth of Government cuts to London’s arts funding.

These cuts could not have come at a worse time as arts organisations already face a triple whammy of spiralling operating costs, soaring energy bills, and the impact of both the pandemic and the cost of living crisis on audience figures.

London’s cultural organisations contribute billions and power our capital’s economic comeback as well as the wider UK economy every year which is why they need continued investment. A strong London equals a strong UK that’s why I am urging the Government to think again and reconsider the consequences of these detrimental cuts.

06/11/2022
Emma Hardy – 2022 Speech on BBC Local Radio Proposed Reduction in Provision

The speech made by Emma Hardy, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, in the House of Commons on 1 November 2022.

Thank you for granting the urgent question, Mr Speaker. Let me also welcome the Minister to her place and many of the comments she has made today. BBC local radio stations are vital as sources of information and for sharing communal experiences. I recently attended the Radio Humberside “Make a Difference Awards”, which highlighted the work of local people in their communities. In March last year, Chris Burns, the head of audio and digital for BBC England, celebrated these awards saying:

“The power of radio is huge when it comes to connecting local communities in their hour of need.”

I agree. Local radio, especially Radio Humberside, brings a feeling of belonging and companionship, especially to those who are isolated from everyday interactions. Local radio stations also hold democratically elected local politicians to account, and during the covid lockdowns they provided an invaluable service, enabling and publicising local support initiatives and disseminating up-to-the-minute news.

Local radio has 5.7 million listeners—more listeners than Radio 1 and Radio 5 Live—and it is the embodiment of public service broadcasting, remaining true to the principles behind the creation of the BBC 100 years ago. The plans announced yesterday for changes to the content of local radio—without any consultation at all of local communities—effectively mean that local radio will cease to exist after 2 pm. At Radio Humberside, 139 redundancies are predicted; as well as the impact on the individuals affected, those redundancies represent a collective loss of local expertise and knowledge and of campaigning community voices.

Does the Minister agree that local listeners should have been consulted? Does she agree that the loss of provision will be damaging to local communities as they lose an important voice for their experiences and concerns about local services, democracy and accountability? Finally, does she agree that local radio cannot call itself local when it stops being local after 2 pm?

Julia Lopez

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments and for highlighting the work done by Radio Humberside, as well as the power of radio to connect us in times of need and to ensure local democratic accountability. The mission and public purposes of the BBC include provision of output and services to the UK’s nations, regions and communities. That provision is a key part of the BBC’s remit and we hold the BBC to account for it via Ofcom; it is also something we will look at very closely in the mid-term review.

The hon. Lady highlighted the loss of local expertise. BBC local radio stations have traditionally been a fantastic way to develop local talent which has gone on to be incredibly important national talent, so we have concerns about that. She talked about the need for consultation. I would have hoped to have had more chance to examine these proposals before they were released, and I shall be talking to the BBC about that next week. I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising these issues.

02/11/2022
Julia Lopez – 2022 Statement on BBC Local Radio Proposed Reduction in Provision

The statement made by Julia Lopez, the Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 1 November 2022.

I thank the hon. Lady for highlighting this news announcement that we learned about yesterday, as it gives the House an opportunity to demonstrate the value we all place on BBC local radio services.

We are currently celebrating 100 years of BBC radio. With its unique position in the radio market, the BBC has continued to develop and deliver high-quality and engaging audio services to the country and internationally over the years. BBC local radio is one of the BBC’s crown jewels. Developed in the late 1960s and 1970s, the BBC’s 39 local radio services in England still reach 5.7 million listeners each and every week. As hon. Members know, BBC local radio is highly valued outside London, where stations in Derby, Stoke, Humberside, Cornwall, Devon and elsewhere have higher reach or share numbers than the average.

Changes in patterns of listening mean that the BBC needs to look at its services, and the details about new investment in local investigative reporting are very welcome. But overall we do have concerns about the proposals, which we were not given notice of. I want to take this opportunity to stress that the BBC is rightly operationally and editorially independent from the Government, and that decisions on service delivery are ultimately a matter for it. However, the Government are disappointed that the BBC is reportedly planning to make such extensive cuts to its local radio output. We await to hear more from the BBC about how it expects those changes to impact local communities, including in respect of the provision of local news and media plurality.

At its best, as was particularly shown during the pandemic, BBC local radio is able to bring communities together and it plays a vital role in reflecting local experiences and delivering local news. For older residents living in rural areas, it can be a particular lifeline. The BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local radio services, with content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK.

We recognise that in the current political context the BBC, like other organisations, is facing difficult financial decisions, but we are also concerned that the BBC is making such far-reaching decisions, particularly about its local news provision, without setting out further detail on how it will impact its audiences and the communities it serves. In the context of a £3.8 billion licence fee income, we do not have any details about how much this proposal is likely to save. The BBC board must make sure that the BBC complies with its charter duties. The Government are clear that Ofcom, as the BBC regulator, must make sure that the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its mission and public purposes.

We note that as part of this announcement the BBC is also proposing establishing 11 investigative reporting teams across England. That will see the creation of 71 new journalism roles, delivering original stories across TV, radio and online services. As the House will be aware, we are currently undertaking a mid-term charter review, which we have set out and which will evaluate how the BBC and Ofcom assess the market impact and the public value of the BBC in an evolving marketplace and how that relates to the wider UK media ecology, including with regard to commercial radio and local news sectors. Handily, I am scheduled to meet the BBC next week, when I shall see the chairman and director general, and I shall raise with them the concerns that are brought to the Chamber today. We also expect the BBC to brief parliamentarians on its announcements shortly.

01/11/2022
Matt Hancock – 2022 Statement on Appearing I’m a Celebrity

Part of the statement made by Matt Hancock, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, in The Sun newspaper on 1 November 2022.

Some may think I’ve lost my marbles or had one too many drinks, swapping the comfortable surroundings of Westminster and West Suffolk for the extreme conditions of the Australian outback, going where there will be few creature comforts, not enough food, and a load of physical tasks involving snakes, spiders and plenty of other creepy-crawlies.

While there will undoubtedly be those who think I shouldn’t go, I think it’s a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics, even if they care very much about how our country’s run.

It’s our job as politicians to go to where the people are — not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster.

There are many ways to do the job of being an MP. Whether I’m in camp for one day or three weeks, there are very few places people will be able to see a politician as they really are.

01/11/2022
Cambridge United Football Club – 2022 Statement on Disorder and Criminal Damage Caused by their Supporters

The statement made by Cambridge United Football Club on 31 October 2022.

Cambridge United is extremely disappointed to learn of a number of incidents by supporters at Saturday’s game against Peterborough United…

The first Cambridgeshire Derby in the league for 21 years was a hard fought match that was played in the right spirit and whilst the majority of fans from both sides helped contribute towards a tremendous occasion, a minority of supporters from both sides let our Clubs down.

Cambridge United strongly condemns the actions of the small group of so called fans who committed criminal damage at the Weston Homes Stadium. This behaviour is unacceptable and the Club has passed on its apologies to Peterborough United for the damage and inconvenience caused and will be addressing potential costs in due course. A Police investigation has opened and evidence has already been supplied from the Club’s supporter base.

The Club also condemns the offensive chanting that came from a section of the away end which made reference towards sex offences. Songs of such nature will not be tolerated and anyone found participating will be banned from future games.

We are also deeply disturbed by the chants from a section of Peterborough United supporters about Simon Dobbin, a Cambridge United fan who tragically lost his life in 2020 after being cruelly and senselessly assaulted, following a football match which left him with permanent brain damage.

We have today contacted Simon’s widow, Nicole, to offer our full support, whilst Peterborough United have also provided an apology to the family.

The Club is saddened that a great occasion was marred by such behaviour and Cambridge United will be working with Peterborough United and Cambridgeshire Police to identity those responsible. Any supporters found guilty are likely to face Club bans and criminal prosecution.

31/10/2022