Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission and (b) the US Administration about the top-level Internet domains .bank and .insurance; and if he will make a statement. [181021]

Mr Vaizey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The application round for the creation of new top level domains is being undertaken by the private sector-led, US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The UK, the European Commission and the US Government are active members of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) which advises the ICANN Board on matters of public interest relating to the internet's domain name system. Following consultations with national financial regulators in 2012-13, including the Financial Services Authority in the UK, the GAC agreed that all applications for domains intended to target the financial services sector required specific safeguards in order to mitigate any risk of fraud or other consumer harm. The GAC communicated its advice on these additional safeguards to the ICANN Board on 11 April 2013 and the Board accepted this advice in its entirety.

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