The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to address installation issues arising from the satellite broadband subsidy scheme.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Customers can report any installation issues to the supplier, BT or BDUK. BT and BDUK work with suppliers to ensure that any customer issues are addressed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of corporation tax receipts from the digital economy sector in 2015-16.
Mr David Gauke
We cannot make an estimate of the corporation tax receipts from the digital economy.
During the international work on corporate tax avoidance in the digital economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreed that the digital economy cannot be ringfenced for tax purposes. This is because it is becoming impossible to say what is and is not part of the digital economy, due to digital aspects permeating the economy as a whole.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department (a) have moved and (b) are planned to move into the EU Unit.
Joseph Johnson
The new Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are under consideration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of moving from the current system of rooftop valuation for mobile network base stations to a no scheme valuation model on (a) the supply of sites, (b) the revenues received by Newcastle City Council and other public sector organisations from rooftop rentals and (c) mobile phone operator profits.
Matt Hancock
Effective working relationships between network operators and landowners, including avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation, will remain in the interests of both parties. The reforms will not be retrospective and the new valuation basis will have no impact on existing agreements.
The Government’s impact assessment on the reformed Code can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/407579/Annex_4_Electronic_Communications_Code_Reform_IA_-_DCMS075.pdf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government’s strategy is for nursery schools.
Caroline Dinenage
Maintained nursery schools make a very important contribution to social mobility as a result of their being primarily based in deprived areas. That is why, as we introduce new funding arrangements in the early years, we are providing local authorities with supplementary funding of £55 milion a year for maintained nursery schools for at least two years to maintain their stability. This maintains their current funding, and is part of our record investment in childcare – £6 billion per year by 2020. We will work in partnership with providers and consult the sector, including on what happens after this period, in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 11315, whether local authorities (a) retain intellectual property rights over the postal addresses they have helped to create and (b) benefit financially from those rights from Royal Mail.
Nick Boles
Local Authorities have the responsibility for creating the official street naming and numbering under the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 and Public Health Act 1925. Royal Mail has the responsibility under its Universal Service obligations to create the postal address for each home and business in the UK. In creating the postal address Royal Mail utilises the official street name and number where appropriate and adds a number of additional address elements, including the postcode, which forms the basis of the Royal Mail distribution network. Royal Mail also pays Local Authorities £1 per new address that it receives from local authorities. Royal Mail compiles the list of postal addresses in to the Postcode Address File (PAF).
The intellectual property rights over the data contained in the PAF, which occurs once the data is in the PAF format, belongs to Royal Mail as owners and maintainers of the PAF.
In 2015, the public sector licence agreement was introduced which gives Local Authorities, Central Government, Emergency Services and Health, free access to the PAF.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 7 November 2015 on broadband access, whether the Government will consult on the Universal Service Obligation for broadband.
Mr Edward Vaizey
As announced by the Prime Minister on 7th November, the Government plans to launch the consultation in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck donated to the nation by the Duke of Northumberland is hung in Bowes Museum; and what discussions were held on hanging that portrait in a museum which is free to the public.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Individuals donating work to the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) Scheme, administered by the Arts Council, can specify which institution will receive it. In the case of the Portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck, it was made a condition of the offer that the painting be allocated to the Bowes Museum. The painting is a significant acquisition for the North-East and will feature in the Bowes Museum’s forthcoming major exhibition, The English Rose – Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent, which opens in May 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department’s rural satellite broadband voucher scheme, what estimate he has made of the average cost of (a) installation and (b) a 12 months subscription to 2 megabit rural satellite broadband services.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The initiative will be administered by local authorities who will provide a code to eligible homes and businesses upon request. The code does not have a specific fixed value, but when used to obtain a satellite broadband service from one of the selected retail service providers, the use of the code will reduce the total cost (i.e. installation and commissioning costs plus 12 monthly subscriptions) by around £350.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons school reserves are included in local authority balance sheet reserves.
Mr Marcus Jones
The reserves of local authority maintained schools are included in local authority balance sheet reserves. This is because those schools are subject to a level of local authority control. However the reserves of local authority maintained schools are ringfenced, which means that they cannot be diverted for non-schools purposes. The reserves of academies and free schools are not included in local authority balance sheet reserves.