The comments made by David Lammy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 1 January 2022.
This New Year let’s save New Beacon Bookshop. The UK’s first specialist black bookshop, it would be a tragedy if it had to close after 55 years. A loss not just for the black community but our countries collective history. Independent bookshops are vital.
The comments made by Nigel Huddleston, the Minister for Sport, on 1 January 2022.
Fans have long campaigned for the introduction of safe standing, so I’m pleased that Stamford Bridge will launch this pilot programme that will allow us to carry out an in-depth trial at some of our biggest stadia over the remainder of the season, and inform a decision on a widespread roll-out.
Safety will be absolutely paramount at all times. Detailed work is being carried out to monitor these early adopters, and the SGSA will work hand-in-glove with football clubs, supporters groups, local authorities and the police.
The comments made by Lucy Powell, the Shadow Culture Secretary, on 22 December 2021.
Pantos and other cultural events at Christmas are great British traditions, that are now at risk as many productions and live events have seen a dramatic drop off in demand and many, many cancellations due to Covid.
The Government needs to take further action to support the sector before we see the demise of many of our treasured theatres and venues across the country and a nightmare before Christmas for freelancers and workers for whom this should be their boom time of the year.
Labour is calling for the Culture Recovery Fund eligibility criteria to be opened up so businesses and workers don’t fall through the cracks, and for the Government to review the Reinsurance Scheme which as designed is totally inadequate. Ministers have lost their grip, and it is theatres and workers across our towns and cities who are paying the price.
The statement made by Nigel Huddleston, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 10 December 2021.
I wish to inform the House that the Government have today published their response to the report by the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee into concussion in sport.
Sport is a central part of our national identity and culture. The welfare and safety of everybody taking part in sport is of paramount importance, and the Government are committed to taking action to reduce the risks involved. The actions set out in this report do not represent the final word on the subject and we recognise there is more work to do to continue to make sport as safe as possible for all those who participate in it.
The Government are grateful to the DCMS Select Committee for undertaking its extensive inquiry into concussion in sport. The Committee’s report has reinforced the importance of the topic and provided valuable insights that have helped inform the Government’s thinking.
Our response outlines the Government’s approach to reducing the risks associated with concussion and head injuries in sport. This will involve working with partners from across the sport, health, education, academic and technology sectors.
A full response to each of the Committee’s recommendations is also provided in a separate annex to the report.
Within the report, the Government have committed to:
Commission a set of shared high-level protocols around concussion in sport across the UK.
Write to UK Sport and Sport England to explore ensuring funded bodies make use of these shared protocols.
Work across Departments to improve the protocols and pathways for use in treating concussion in sport injuries in NHS A&E settings.
Direct sports to work with Player Associations on training protocols for players’ long-term welfare.
Convene a sports concussion research forum of experts to identify the priority research questions and improve the coordination with research funding bodies.
Write to National Governing Bodies to emphasise the importance of player welfare (including concussion) when formulating their governance procedures.
A copy of the Government response to the DCMS Select Committee report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The speech made by Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 8 December 2021.
Hello everyone,
First, can I just say that I’m delighted to be representing the UK at this important summit.
It’s important because – as President Biden has said – democracy isn’t a given. Every generation has to fight for it.
As one of the world’s oldest democracies, the UK has a real dog in this fight, as the Americans like to say.
And in 2021, in what is officially the “Digital Age” of mankind, much of that battle is now waged online.
So I want to take this opportunity to talk a little about democracy and technology.
About the huge benefits that tech has brought to free nations all over the world.
But also ultimately, what we’re doing in the UK – and with countries around the world – to ensure the tech revolution is a democratic one.
Only last week, I welcomed government officials from around the world to London, for the Future Tech Forum.
And while we were there, we had some really honest and frank conversations about the challenges we’re currently facing.
I think it’s important, as always, to remind ourselves that tech has done so much to improve our lives…
…to make us more prosperous and more productive, to connect us with friends and family all over the world.
But given the vast power of tech today, there’s also, unfortunately, vast potential for it to be used to cause harm.
Algorithms can send dangerous misinformation and poisonous abuse all over the world in seconds.
Authoritarian governments can use tech to track, to intimidate, and to repress.
It’s on all of us to mitigate those risks, and make sure that tech reflects our liberal, democratic values.
Until now, governments around the world have been a little on the back foot with all of this.
The pace of change in tech is so fast, we’re often playing catch-up.
But from what I saw at the Future Tech Forum, there’s now real political will – and real momentum – across the globe to set some solid ground rules: ones that will define the next chapter of tech.
And the UK is helping to write those rules.
A few months ago, we published our draft Online Safety Bill.
This is a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation.
It’s one of the most comprehensive attempts to regulate big tech companies, like Facebook and Twitter and TikTok for the very first time.
And we’ll be going further than any other country to hold them accountable for what’s on their platforms and to enshrine protections for freedom of expression.
But like a lot of countries, including the U.S., we’re also looking at how our democratic values can be baked in from the start – which brings me to the theme of this event.
Of all the democracy-affirming technologies, we’re particularly interested in ones that can help us use personal or sensitive data responsibly.
And so the UK government is actively exploring the role of privacy-enhancing technologies, or PETs, to support confidential data sharing, access and use.
The US and UK have both been doing cutting edge work in this area.
But we felt we needed to go further.
And so today I am very pleased to announce that together, the US and UK are launching a joint prize challenge next year on privacy-enhancing technologies.
These technologies can help democracies unleash the power of data and AI to tackle big societal challenges – from financial crime to the race to Net Zero – while respecting fundamental rights like privacy.
We’re both very hopeful that this new prize challenge will give the R&D of these particular technologies a big boost – and we’re looking forward to updating you all on our progress at next year’s Summit.
By working together on projects like this, democracies can make sure that tech serves citizens, rather than seeking to control them.
Tech is global by its nature. It doesn’t recognise borders – and neither should we.
By teaming up, we can ensure our version of the tech revolution – one that is open and democratic – prevails.
Which is why, as I said at the start, summits like this are so important.
And with that, I’ll hand back to the moderator for the panel session.
The comments made by Owen Paterson, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 15 July 2010.
When I was in the City last week I was hugely impressed by the quality of the bid to become the UK’s first City of Culture.
Those behind the bid have done a magnificent job and I congratulate them on this success.
For those who call this great place Londonderry and for those who call it Derry, they can be as one in their pride in this huge achievement.
The statement made by Julia Lopez, the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, in the House of Commons on 3 December 2021.
Broadband plays a pivotal role in today’s society. Its significance has been highlighted by covid-19 and its importance will only increase in future years. Tackling the digital divide means ensuring that everyone in the UK can access and use digital communications services. Achieving this means ensuring the right infrastructure is in place to deliver nationwide connectivity for all.
In 2020, the Government committed to a new programme of work which would see a £5 billion investment in fixed broadband infrastructure and £0.5 billion in mobile broadband infrastructure over the coming decade. The programmes are a top priority for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and represent a significant increase in ambition and scale from previous schemes.
The organisation responsible for delivering the investment in broadband infrastructure, Building Digital UK (BDUK), has historically delivered spending commitments as a directorate within the Department. However, BDUK requires expert and independent board oversight, appropriate operational autonomy and delegated authority to further drive effective delivery.
I am therefore announcing my intention to establish BDUK as a specialist delivery Executive agency of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in April 2022, to drive the effective execution of BDUK’s substantial portfolio of delivery commitments.
As an Executive agency, BDUK will be a clearly designated unit that will be administratively distinct but will remain legally within the Department.
The objectives for BDUK are complex, challenging and on a demanding timescale. The move to an Executive agency will improve the likelihood of success by enabling BDUK to deliver in a manner tailored to its specific requirements, reducing dependencies on central departmental functions for critical path activity.
The Parliamentary answer given by Lyon Playfair, the then Liberal MP for South Leeds, in the House of Commons on 10 May 1886.
We have already made arrangements to enable Dr. Russell, F.R.S., and Captain Abney, F.R.S., to carry out an exhaustive series of experiments on the action of sunlight, diffused light, and electric light on the various pigments used by painters in water colours. When these are complete, we shall be in a position to determine whether a more extended inquiry is necessary, and a scientific basis will be furnished for such further inquiry. At the same time, I may inform the hon. Member (Mr. Agnew) that from the statements made by the officers who have had charge of the Water Colour Collections at South Kensington, I have reason to believe that the works there exhibited have undergone little, if any, change since they were received. The skylights are made of rolled glass, so as to break and diffuse the light, and have blinds under the glass. Every care is, and will be, taken of the pictures, compatible with that exhibition to, and use by, the public for which they were acquired, whether by purchase or gift. The conditions of bequest frequently enjoin that the water colours shall be exhibited as freely and openly to the public as the oil paintings.
The comments made by Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 29 November 2021.
From world-class AI discovering new treatments for Covid-19 to green energy solutions paving the way to a net-zero future, UK tech is transforming the world for the better.
Our ‘impact’ startups are raising investment with nearly £2 billion in funding this year to help fight some of the most pressing problems we face as a planet.
We want to harness the power of technology to make greener, healthier and safer choices and today I’m hosting the first Future Tech Forum in London to discuss how we can make that happen through future governance, policy and cooperation.
The speech made by Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 29 November 2021.
Good morning everyone.
It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome you all to London, to the inaugural Future Tech Forum.
It’s the first major summit I’ve hosted since becoming Digital Secretary in September and what better place to be hosting a discussion about the future of tech, than in the Science Museum?
As you wander around this building over the next couple of days, you will spot “NeXTcube” – the computer that Tim Berners-Lee was sitting at when he designed the World Wide Web. With his invention in 1989, Berners-Lee set off a chain of events that have led us all here today.
Because digital technology has fundamentally changed our way of life. In fact, the entire infrastructure of the global economy – and modern society – is now built around tech. The five biggest tech companies are now worth almost $10 trillion – more than the next 27 most valuable U.S. companies put together. Amazon is the third biggest employer on the planet. Apple’s stock is worth more than Belgium’s entire wealth.
These companies track who we are, and what we like, and where we go and what we buy. They are an ever-present fixture of our daily lives. And they’ve done a huge amount to improve our existence. They connect us with friends and family. They’ve revolutionised working life. And given that the economies of some of these tech companies are the size of countries it’s great to see them tackling country-sized challenges like looking at tackling global welfare and development – as you’ll see in the first session with Microsoft today.
Meanwhile, the pace of technological change is astounding. We’ve got doctors performing surgery in a room miles away from their patient, armed with a joystick and some 3D equipment. Groundbreaking companies are exploring wild ways to manipulate biology – like reviving the smell of extinct flowers to create new perfumes.
At the same time, AI is everywhere – and getting more sophisticated by the day. Almost all experts think that within this century we’ll see a situation where machines are more intelligent than humans. In the long history of humanity, we are now officially living in the Digital Age. So it’s no wonder that governments all over the world are racing to set the rules for this new era.
Because if there’s anything we’ve learnt over the last 20 years, it’s that without the right governance and values built in from the start, tech can create some very serious problems. Problems that are hard to fix once they’ve happened.
Algorithms can send dangerous misinformation and poisonous abuse all over the world in a matter of seconds. Authoritarian governments can use tech to track, to intimidate, and to repress. News services can be blocked with the flick of a switch, and competitors crowded out with the tweak of an algorithm.
All of this has ramifications: for our privacy, and prosperity and for society as a whole.
And so I’m gathering you all here today to start a new and frank conversation about the future of tech: About how we can work together to harness its incredible potentially, particularly when it comes to tackling the biggest challenges we face, like climate change while protecting people from the darker side of the Digital Age.
It’s on us, as like-minded partners, to make sure the tech revolution is a democratic one. And together, we’ll be discussing a number of challenges over the next two days.
Like: How do we get the governance of tech right from the start, rather than playing catch-up? What are the issues we need to think about now, before the adoption of new and emerging tech becomes widespread? How do we ensure new technologies reflect our liberal and democratic values? And where do we need international solutions – given tech is global in its very nature – and how do we deliver them? Every country in the world is grappling with these very same questions but the UK is leading the way in answering many of them.
The most obvious example is our Online Safety Bill, which we introduced in Parliament in July. That Bill is a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation. We’ll be going further than any other country to regulate social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
I know that the world will be watching what we do, and looking to follow our lead in many cases. We’ve got a 10-year plan to become a global AI superpower, through our National AI Strategy. We’ve broken yet more ground with a new, pro-competition Digital Markets Unit, to oversee the world’s most powerful tech companies.
We’re at the cutting edge of deepening Digital Trade, and I’m particularly pleased to welcome colleagues from Singapore here today, with whom we’re negotiating a ground-breaking Digital Economy Agreement.
And in a year of international leadership for the UK, we have used our presidency of the G7 to draw a number of lines in the sand about the future of tech: We agreed that as we tackle illegal and harmful content online, we should do so in a way that also protects fundamental democratic rights, like freedom of speech.
We agreed to work together on digital technical standards, and to promote the trusted and free flow of data. We agreed to accelerate the use of digital technologies to boost trade. And finally, we agreed to secure critical digital infrastructure, like our telecoms networks. I want to build on that work over the next two days, as our G7 leadership comes to a close and that’s why I’m delighted that so many people have travelled from all over the world to be here today.
We’ve got representatives from every corner of the planet – from the Republic of Korea to Kenya, Finland and the United States And I’m very excited about the UK’s new Digital Trade Network, which is going to make the most of fast-growing tech markets in the Asia Pacific region.
But we know that governments can’t meet these challenges alone. We’ve got to change the existing model, and bring together government, industry and academia to write the next chapter of tech together. To work together in a way that is more collaborative, more frank and more honest than it has perhaps been so in the past.
So the Future Tech Forum is bringing together the widest group of thought leaders from across government, industry and academia.
As the Prime Minister said when he announced this summit in his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2019, we have pulled together the broadest possible coalition to take on this task. And if we get these questions right, the potential benefits for our countries are enormous. So as I officially open the Future Tech Forum, I’d like to finish by saying that I think we’re facing a fundamental choice about our future:
Is tech going to be a force for good, or a force for bad? We’re all here today because we are determined to make it the former. So without further ado, let’s get things underway with the first session, on tech and democracy.
I’m delighted to welcome to the stage:
Former Danish Prime Minister and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Microsoft Vice President John Frank
And last but by no means least, my colleague Julia Lopez, the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure.