Tag: Chi Onwurah

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of tracking of digital devices through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on consumer rights and privacy.

Matt Hancock

The Government takes both the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously. Under the Data Protection Act owners should be informed how their data will be handled.

The independent regulator for information rights, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has produced guidance on privacy on mobile apps, which is available at;

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1596/privacy-in-mobile-apps-dp-guidance.pdf

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 on levels of unemployment in the North East of (a) the outcome of the EU referendum, (b) the UK leaving the EU in the (i) short-term and (ii) long-term.

Margot James

The Department is currently working closely with the Department for Exiting the EU to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have on businesses, consumers and other economic actors. Due to the decisions this Government has taken, the British economy is fundamentally strong and we are well-positioned to negotiate our departure from the EU. Employment in the UK is at a record high. There are 68,000 more people in employment in the North East compared with 2010 and 23,000 fewer people unemployed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the energy-saving capacity of 5v USB outlets; and what assessment he has made of their potential effect on national domestic energy consumption.

Joseph Johnson

The Department has not made a specific assessment of whether 5v USB outlets offer any energy-saving capacity nor of their effect on national energy consumption.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 12790, whether the licence obligation on Telefonica to provide indoor 4G coverage to 98 per cent of UK premises by 2017 includes coverage in tunnels.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The licence obligation on Telefonica to provide indoor 4G coverage to 98% of the UK population by 2017 does not include coverage in tunnels.The Government recognises that dropped calls and intermittent access to the internet are frustrations felt by many rail passengers. The Government is working with the rail and telecommunications industries to reach a collective understanding of the technical and commercial challenges and the potential solution to this problem.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the financial sustainability of sixth form colleges of (a) VAT and (b) pension costs; and if she will estimate the average proportion of a sixth form college’s budget which is spent on those costs.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) regularly assesses the financial viability of sixth-form colleges on behalf of the department. Those assessments take account of all income and costs for colleges, including costs relating to VAT and pension liabilities.

The department estimates that VAT accounts for about 3% of sixth form colleges’ expenditure each year.

With regards to pension costs, sixth-form colleges may contribute to a number of pension schemes. The SFC financial returns are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfa-financial-management-college-accounts and show employer contributions to pensions. The EFA does not routinely collect data on the cost of other pension schemes through financial returns.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total annual consumption of wifi data on trains operated by each franchise; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

The consumption of data by on-train wi-fi varies by the commercial model and proposition offered by the train operating companies.

We have made no estimate of total annual consumption.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the use of alternative currencies for benefits payments.

Priti Patel

Customers living abroad and in receipt of payments delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions can have their payments made either:

• Direct into a UK bank or building society account in sterling; or
• Direct into an overseas account in the local currency;

All payments made to overseas customers, whether in sterling or local currency, are subject to fluctuating exchange rates. However, for payments made directly to overseas accounts in the relevant local currency, the Department has negotiated a competitive exchange rate which is more favourable that that available on the open Market.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) Talk Talk and (b) other internet service providers on measures that can be taken to prevent breaches of security relating to customer data.

Mr Edward Vaizey

My Departmenthas been in contact with TalkTalk from the early stages of this incident, but this remains primarily a matter for the company itself and for law enforcement

This Governmenttakes issues of customer data protection very seriously, andhas regular discussions with internet service providers and telecommunications companies on the resilience and security of services. I recently wrote to FTSE 350 companies to remind them of the steps the Government expects them to take and the robust procedures businesses need to have in place. I also invited them to take part in the Government’s annual Cyber Governance Health Check to help companies understand and improve their level of cyber security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 18920, how the local body contracts with BT have been funded.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The local body contracts are funded by from the BDUK public funding allocations to projects, local authority or community interest company funding and supplier funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the number of spaces which should be available for disabled people in music venues across the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The huge variation in size, type and location of music venues across the UK makes it impractical to require venue operators to make a specific number of spaces available for disabled people. However, we believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture – having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access, while at the same time seeing how we can share examples of best practice and what more cultural venues need to do to be accessible to people with disabilities. We support the work of Attitude is Everything, which works with audiences, artists, and the music industry to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live events. Ialso recently held a roundtable meeting with Justin Tomlinson, Minister for Disabled People to look at access to cultural venues and events for disabled people. Additionally, provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require providers of services to the public (for example music venues), to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ so that disabled people are not placed at a “substantial disadvantage” to non-disabled people.