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  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2015 to Question 227069, whether his Department has yet considered the recommendations of the Use of Dormant Betting Accounts Report, relating to the use of money from dormant betting accounts and unclaimed winnings held by betting operators for investment in good causes.

    David Evennett

    My officials have regular discussions with betting operators on a wide range of issues.

    The Government keeps under review ways to support investment in good causes, including the recommendations of the Use of Dormant Betting Accounts Report.

    Ministers continue to encourage the gambling industry to maximise their contributions to these important areas, including funding programmes of research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm,

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the maximum level of engagement by children and young people with the commemoration of the First World War.

    David Evennett

    DCMS is working with other Government Departments and our delivery partners to ensure that people of all ages can take part in commemorations of the First World War and remember those who sacrificed so much. As part of the FWW centenary commemorations, the government is providing the opportunity for two pupils and one teacher from every state-funded secondary school in England to visit the FWW battlefields on the Western Front. In 2015, 1,140 Schools and 3,489 pupils and teachers visited FWW battlefields on the Western Front. Since July 2014, 54,702 children and young people visited the Imperial War Museums First World War Galleries as part of a school visit. Over 21,400 people from the UK and overseas wrote a letter for the ‘Letter to an Unknown Soldier’ project, engaging over 500 primary and secondary schools across the UK. On 4 August 2014, 1.4 million 16-24 year olds participated in LIGHTS OUT – an initiative to light a candle in remembrance. As well as the official commemoration programme schools across the UK are organising their own individual events and projects to remember those who took part in the First World War in battle and on the home front.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s tax reliefs on (a) the film and (b) other creative industries.

    Mr David Gauke

    Creative sector tax reliefs play an important role in stimulating investment in an industry that employs 1.8 million people and provides world-class cultural experiences to many more.

    HM Revenue and Customs published official statistics in December 2015 showing that a record 220 films claimed the film tax credit in 2014-15, with the relief supporting over £1bn worth of UK expenditure in the sector.

    Since the reliefs came into force in 2013-14, the high-end TV tax relief has supported almost £600m of expenditure in the industry and the animation tax relief has supported £68 million. Official statistics for the creative sector tax reliefs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-december-2015

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  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with mobile telephone companies steps to reduce and standardise the time between a provider unlocking a phone and the owner of that phone being able to use it with another provider.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government wants to reduce the cost and hassle of switching mobile providers for consumers. We expect industry to start automatically unlocking customers’ handsets at the end of their contracts, and will consult this year on ending the practice of handset locking for customers outside their initial contract period.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding streams his Department has for the promotion of tourism to UK regions; and what proportion of those funds was spent on each region in each of the last three years.

    David Evennett

    DCMS funds the promotion of tourism to regions of the UK through the activities of its Arms Length Body, the British Tourist Authority, which trades as both VisitEngland and VisitBritain. In the recent Spending Review, it was announced that grant-in-aid to both VisitEngland and VisitBritain would remain stable to 2020. The Chancellor also announced a new £40m Discover England fund, which will be open to all regions of England. In addition, the GREAT campaign funds the promotion of Britain: its nations and regions, in overseas markets.

    Over the past three years, there have been a number of funding streams for specific regions, including the Northern and South West Tourism Growth Funds in 2015/16 and the Regional Growth Fund ‘Growing Tourism Locally’ programme, which ran for three years from 2012-15. As many projects and campaigns span the whole of England or the UK, investment figures cannot be divided by region.

  • David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter of 9 December 2015 on behalf of a social housing provider in his constituency.

    Brandon Lewis

    A reply was sent on 21 January.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will assess the potential merits of enabling or compelling local authorities to use housing and council tax benefit data to (a) identify children who are eligible for free school meals and the pupil premium and (b) enable parents and guardians of those children to claim free school meals for their children.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We want to ensure that as many children as possible who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) receive them. We have made it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to check eligibility. We are aware that a number of local authorities have been successful in using housing benefit and council tax support claim data to identify children who may be eligible for, but are not currently claiming, FSM.

    We are looking in more detail at the approaches that schools and local authorities have taken so far and we will set out the Government’s position on this issue shortly.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on ensuring that consent is granted before a person undertakes work on a neighbour’s tree.

    James Wharton

    Guidance on the tree preservation legislation is published on the planning guidance website at http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/tree-preservation-orders/ and is available to local authorities and other interested parties. Local authorities are responsible for determining applications for works to trees protected by Tree Preservation Orders.

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  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that vulnerable people are prioritised in the provision of settled accommodation.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, households that include someone who is vulnerable, for example because of old age, physical or mental disability or any other special reason, have a priority need for accommodation. Housing authorities must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for anyone if they are in priority need, are eligible for assistance and unintentionally homeless.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what housing support is provided to ex-offenders on leaving prison; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory requirement to provide settled accommodation for ex-offenders.

    Brandon Lewis

    Under the Ministry of Justice’s Transformation Rehabilitation reforms, Community Rehabilitation Companies are contractually required to deliver a range of ‘Through the Gate’ resettlement services to offenders. This involves working with offenders before release to assess their housing needs, including helping them to secureaccommodation and maintain tenancies post release.