Thursday Volume 685 10 December 2020 No. 150 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 10 December 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 969 10 DECEMBER 2020 970 right across every sector—over £100 billion for the House of Commons furloughing scheme, the self-employed income support scheme, grants, loans, VAT deferrals—and for freelancers Thursday 10 December 2020 we know the best thing we can do is get our sectors back up and running. That is what the culture recovery fund The House met at half-past Nine o’clock is all about. PRAYERS Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op): Today, research from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre has shown that in the last six months there have [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] been 55,000 job losses in music and the performing and Virtual participation in proceedings commenced visual arts—all that talent, dedication and diversity of (Order, 4 June). voices lost. Our creative workers are desperate to get [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] back to doing what they do best, and we know the simplest way to get money to freelancers is to make BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS shows, but to do that producers need a safety net. Germany has just announced an indemnity fund so INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF MATERNITY event organisers can plan for the second half of 2021 SERVICES without the financial risk posed by a potential covid Resolved, outbreak. Industry predictions suggest a three-month That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, That indemnity here could get the sector back on its feet. she will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid I know that the Minister is receptive to this idea, so can before this House a Return of a Paper, entitled Emerging Findings she explain what is holding things up? Has the Chancellor and Recommendations from the Independent Review of Maternity again said no? Services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, dated 10 December 2020.—(Iain Stewart.) Caroline Dinenage: The hon. Member is absolutely right to highlight that our creative industries are a fantastic success story. They contribute more than Oral Answers to Questions £112 billion to our economy, more than the automotive, aerospace and life sciences sectors combined, so we do need to do everything we can to help them. The next DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT stage of the cultural recovery fund will be announced shortly—that is another £258 million—and we are looking The Secretary of State was asked— very carefully at the German insurance model. It has only been announced this week so the details have not Creative Industries: Highly Skilled Workers been made clear. We have to be sure that it really is the only obstacle to things being able to reopen, but we very Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab): What steps his happy to have those conversations with the Treasury. Department is taking to retain highly skilled workers in the creative industries. [910104] Digital Advertising The Minister for Digital and Culture (Caroline Dinenage): Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con): What steps We recognise the crucial role of high-skilled workers in his Department is taking to reform digital advertising. making our creative industries world leading. The [910105] £1.57 billion culture recovery fund provides targeted support to critical cultural arts and heritage organisations The Minister for Digital and Culture (Caroline Dinenage): during the pandemic and the £500 million film and TV We are carefully considering the extent to which current production restart scheme has supported 4,500 jobs in advertising regulation is fit to tackle the challenges the screen sectors to date. posed by the modern world. Next year we will be Bill Esterson: SSE Audio employed 196 people in the launching a public consultation on the regulation of supply chain of the events industry until March; 75 of online advertising. We are also working on more specific those have already been made redundant. Last year it areas, including high fat, salt and sugar advertising, and paid £2.45 million to freelancers as well. Its freelancers establishing a new pro-competition regime. are among the excluded group who have had no financial support, the business did not qualify for the cultural Andy Carter: I thank the Minister for that detailed recovery fund, 99% of which has gone to venues, not answer. Local journalism is funded on the whole by suppliers, and unless the furlough scheme is extended in local advertising, be that in local newspapers or local January it will have to make the rest of its workforce radio, and the structural impact of the changes in our redundant. Is it not the case that suppliers such as SEE local economies and the move online is having a significant Audio and its freelancers are essential to the recovery of impact on the way that local independent news is produced. this brilliant sector of our economy? Can the Minister give us more details on the steps the Government are taking to protect local journalism, Caroline Dinenage: The hon. Gentleman is right to which is so important to maintaining local democracy? talk about all the amazing parts of the industry that support our creative and cultural venues up and down Caroline Dinenage: My hon. Friend is a great champion the country. Of course this Government have just put in for local media and newspapers in his area. We recognise an incredible amount of unprecedented business support the vital role publications like his own Warrington Guardian 971 Oral Answers 10 DECEMBER 2020 Oral Answers 972 play in supporting communities but also in providing and Aalborg? Will he commit the Government to help reliable information. We strongly welcome the make my Silicon Stoke vision a reality, as part of the recommendations in the Competition and Markets levelling up commitments? Authority report and the setting up of a digital markets unit within the CMA to ensure fairness in regulating Matt Warman: My hon. Friend misses no opportunity digital platforms. The Minister for Media and Data to promote Silicon Stoke. The Government are absolutely meets very regularly with the sector to discuss all its committed to using trials and test beds to support the ongoing concerns about this. kind of innovation he talks about. We are interested in new ideas as part of that levelling up commitment. I Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab): I look forward to continuing our conversations with Stoke do not know who your secret Santa is, Mr Speaker, but I and maybe even visiting one day. do know the Minister’s: Google and Facebook. Only, they are not buying presents—just using our data, Rob Roberts: Mrs Sharp, who lives in Delyn in my behaviour and social contacts to tell us what to buy constituency, has just had a quote for £131,638 to through their domination of online advertising, while install full-fibre broadband for her and her 18 neighbours. our local retailers, who pay significant taxes and employ That works out at about £7,000 per property. When I so many people, lose out. Can the Minister confirm that queried this with Openreach, it said, “Well, she lives in a the digital markets unit’s powers have yet to be defined rural community.Perhaps she could dig her own trenches and that powers in the long-delayed online harms Bill to reduce the cost of the groundwork.” Given that are being watered down? Will she promise now to stop levelling up should not only be for people in towns and tech companies selling on our data, and put us back in cities and those who happen to own heavy machinery, control of our digital lives and Santa back in charge of can my hon. Friend look into this case and others like it Christmas? to come up with a better answer for Mrs Sharp than “dig your own holes”? Caroline Dinenage: I sincerely hope they are not my secret Santa. Online advertising is clearly an important Matt Warman: There are communities that have driver of the UK economy. The Government are really successfully dug their own trenches, but it is obviously committed to supporting the continued growth of the not right to suggest that that would be right for everybody. industry, but it needs to be fairer and better regulated. Ofcom is looking at the universal service obligation, So we will launch a public consultation next year on one of the routes to getting broadband into rural areas, measures to enhance how online advertising is regulated but there are other methods. I encourage my hon. in the UK. That will build on the call for evidence we Friend to ask his constituents to look at the voucher launched this year, and we will consider options to schemes, particularly those supported by the Welsh enhance the regulation of advertising content and placement Government, and other technologies. But I am happy online. The hon. Member asks about the online harms to look into this specific case, because obviously it is not response. It will be published very shortly and it will not likely that everyone owns enough heavy machinery to be watered down—there is my secret Santa gift for her, dig every trench. Mr Speaker. Mobile Coverage in Rural Areas Gigabit Broadband Roll-out Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con): What progress his Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con): What Department has made on improving mobile coverage in steps his Department is taking to roll out gigabit broadband.