The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what statistics his Department collects on the use of computers in libraries.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The annual library statistics compiled, and published in December 2015, by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy indicate that from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 there were 26 million recorded hours of use of computers in public libraries in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Council of Data Science Ethics will first meet; and whether the minutes of that meeting will be published.
Matthew Hancock
The Science and Technology Committee report on the Big Data Dilemma recommended that a Council for Data Ethics be established. The Government response was published on 26th April 2016 and can be found at the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmsctech/992/99204.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a long-term spectrum plan for broadcast television.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The most recent assessment was made by the independent regulator, Ofcom, in their report: The Future of Free to View TV (May 2014). This is a fast moving market and as it evolves, the Government will keep these issues under review.
Detailed spectrum planning is a matter for Ofcom.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contract staff are employed in his Department; and what the total wage bill (a) is in 2016-17 and (b) was in 2015-16 for such staff.
Matthew Hancock
The number of Cabinet Office non payroll staff (excluding contractors) as of May 2016, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data
The overall total spend on agency and temporary staff in FY 2015/16 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on research funding across all disciplines in universities in the North East.
Joseph Johnson
The Government is committed to maintain and enhance the strength of our research base. This is why we have protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015-2021 – including £65 million in the North East in 2014/15.
The Treasury decision to underwrite the grants of competitively bid for EU research funding will give British participants and their EU partners the assurance and certainty needed to plan ahead for projects that can run over many years. We will ensure that the UK, including science and research in the North East, continues to be a world leader in international research and innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of online and mobile applications which require automated access to a user’s banking details for (a) accessibility of banking, (b) digital inclusion, (c) users’ banking security and (d) consumer rights.
Simon Kirby
The government is committed to increasing competition in banking to improve outcomes for consumers. This includes establishing a competitive and innovative environment where banks deliver greater choice and value to their customers. A key element of this vision is ensuring the UK remains the world-leader for financial technology (FinTech).
The Competition and Markets Authority recognised the potential of FinTech and open banking in its retail banking market investigation by requiring the nine largest UK banks to develop and adopt an open banking standard for application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII) which comes into force in January 2018.
This will deliver a common standard for technology that allows the sharing of bank data, allowing authorised third parties to access information such as customer banking details and usage, prices and service quality.
Harnessing the potential of open banking means that customers will be able to more easily access high quality, low cost banking services, and improve digital engagement with financial services by helping customers better understand where they could get a better deal. PSDII will set out requirements for enhanced security and consumer protections for online and mobile applications accessing users’ banking details from January 2018. The government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received on increasing the number of English and mathematics teachers in further education and sixth form colleges.
Nick Boles
Ministers and officials at both the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have on-going discussions with stakeholder organisations and colleges about the need to ensure well qualified and skilled teachers of English and mathematics in both FE colleges and sixth form colleges, as we set out in our FE Workforce Strategy and National College for Teaching and Leadership business plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.
To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Parliamentary Digital Service is taking to protect constituency casework data.
Tom Brake
We do not comment on matters of digital or physical security. I understand the Director of the Digital Service has discussed the matter with the hon. Member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reduction to local government spending announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on (a) local and (b) national arts and culture organisations.
Mr Edward Vaizey
TheSpending Review settlement puts national arts and culture organisations on a strong footing. It will ensure continued free access to national museums and galleries and allow them to pursue an ambitious agenda across this Parliament. As the Chancellor said in his Spending Review speech, "one of the best investments we can make as a nation is in our extraordinary arts, museums, heritage, media and sport".
Forecast increases to other sources of income (including business rates and council tax) mean that local government spending is forecast to be higher in cash terms in 2019/20 than in 2015/16 . Local authorities understand the importance of investing in cultural activities in their areas, and are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17745, whether provision was made for investments in Newcastle Station with a payback period longer than the East Coast Franchise Agreement, when his Department concluded that Virgin Trains East Coast were the best value to the public purse and passengers to continue as manager of that station.
Claire Perry
Mechanisms exist within the Franchise Agreement that allow stakeholders and operators to propose long term investments with payback periods beyond the length of the Franchise term. We are encouraging such investment proposals at Newcastle station.