Media Act 2024: Public Service Broadcasting System Regulations
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)
Part 1 of the Media Act 2024—which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 —amends part 3 of the Communications Act 2003 to modernise the UK’s system of public service broadcasting.
The public service broadcasting system was last substantively updated in 2003, prior to the emergence of video-on-demand services and global streaming services. The changes introduced by the Media Act are therefore vital to ensure that our public service broadcasters have the flexibility to serve audiences across the UK with high-quality programmes on a wider range of services.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has already begun the process of bringing the provisions of part 1 of the Media Act into force. However, before the remainder can be brought into force, secondary legislation will need to be made to implement various technical changes to ensure the legislation will operate as intended.
With that in mind, I am pleased to inform the House that I am today publishing two draft statutory instruments on gov.uk:
The Broadcasting (Regional Programme-making) and Broadcasting (Original Productions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025—If made, these regulations would amend the Broadcasting (Original Productions) Order 2004 to update relevant defined terms to align with the amendments made by the Media Act. The regulations would also confer powers on Ofcom to determine whether “repeats” may be counted towards the modernised original and regional productions quotas of each public service broadcaster (other than the BBC).
The Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025 —If made, these regulations would update terminology and set the level of the modernised independent productions quota for each public service broadcaster in a way that seeks to replicate the effect of their existing (non-modernised) quotas.
The Secretary of State is required to consult Ofcom, the BBC and S4C before exercising her powers to make these statutory instruments. Separately, Ofcom has a general duty to consult each holder of a public service broadcasting licence before amending any licence conditions, including those relating to the determination of appropriate quota levels.
These draft instruments are being published to support this consultation work. It should be noted that they may be subject to further amendment prior to laying and that, once laid, they will be subject to the draft affirmative procedure, requiring debate and approval in both Houses before they can be made. I will provide a further update to the House at that time.
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Veterans Support: A New Approach
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)
As the nation celebrates VE Day, we are announcing a new UK-wide veteran support system, called VALOUR, to ensure veterans have easier access to essential care and support.
The nation owes a duty to those who have served to defend our country, and it is only right that the Government step up our support to them.
This Government’s commitment to veterans was set out clearly in our manifesto: we will ensure veterans have access to the support they need, and we will put the armed forces covenant fully into law. Since entering government, we have worked closely with veterans, the service charity sector and others to understand the needs and experiences of veterans and considered whether the current support system for them is working.
The armed forces set most people up for success in life, but when veterans need help, support is too often a postcode patchwork.
There is a range of brilliant statutory and non-statutory support available to veterans throughout the UK. However, too many veterans still struggle to access the help they need within their communities. That is why we are announcing a new initiative backed by £50 million of funding, known as VALOUR.
The new VALOUR system, named to celebrate the courage of our veteran community, will work with enterprising health, employment, and housing charities to shape more tailored local support for veterans.
We will establish a new network of VALOUR-recognised support centres across the UK to connect local, regional, and national services—while harnessing the power of data to shape better services. New regional field officers will bring together charities, service providers and local government to provide more evidence and feedback driven support for veterans across housing, employment, health, and welfare.
This marks a major milestone in meeting this Government’s manifesto promise to fully implement the armed forces covenant. The field officers will work with local government bodies, to act as conveners and share best practice and guidance. This will include applying the principles of the armed forces covenant, the nation’s promise to support the armed forces community and their families.
Our veterans served with valour. Now our VALOUR support network will help ensure our country repays their courage.
This Government are delivering on our plan for change and renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve.
I look forward to updating Parliament with more detail about VALOUR soon.
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Electricity Security and Decarbonisation: Government Responses
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
I am tabling this statement to inform Members of two publications relating to the capacity market. Both publications are Government responses to the recent consultation and call for evidence on proposals to maintain our electricity security and enable flexible capacity to decarbonise. This supports our goals of making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 and accelerating progress to net zero.
The Government are committed to delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating progress towards net zero, while ensuring the security of supply. Making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 is one of the Prime Minister’s five missions. Being on track for clean power 2030 is the Prime Minister’s plan for change milestone for this Parliament.
To deliver this mission, we will rely even more on renewable power. This will result in a wholesale shift in our long-term power system. The variable nature of renewables makes it critical that we have sufficient flexible capacity that can be ramped up quickly when generation from renewable sources is low, such as on dark, still days. The clean power action plan published in December 2024 projected that we will need 40 GW to 50 GW of dispatchable and long-duration flexible capacity in 2030 to support our power system and maintain security of supply.
This will require accelerated deployment of low carbon flexible technologies. The Government are already investing in low carbon technologies to support the transition away from unabated gas. In the meantime, the clean power action plan is clear that we will continue to rely on around 35 GW of existing unabated gas, until it can be safely replaced by low carbon alternatives that can provide the flexibility needed to keep the system balanced at all times.
Since its introduction in 2014, the capacity market has acted to secure sufficient capacity to ensure consistent and reliable electricity generation. In October 2024, we consulted on proposed changes to the CM to help maintain our existing ageing gas capacity. The Government response to the CM consultation commits to supporting the economic case for lifetime extension of ageing plants, vital for security of supply. It will do this by lowering the scale of planned works needed to access three-year CM agreements.
While we need to maintain our existing unabated gas capacity, the clean power action plan is clear that we will see a fundamental shift in the role and frequency of unabated gas generation. Unabated gas will move from generating almost every day, to an important strategic reserve role, used only when essential. By 2030, unabated gas generation will make up no more than 5% of Great Britain’s total generation in a typical weather year.
The Government response published today reiterates our intention to ensure that unabated gas plants can decarbonise once low carbon flexible technologies are available. We are introducing two further CM reforms:
New decarbonisation readiness legislation comes into effect from February 2026 and will ensure that all substantially refurbishing and new combustion plants are built decarbonisation-ready. We will modify the CM to ensure that all plants prequalifying for the CM in 2025 that would be captured under the new DR legislation commit to comply with the DR requirements.
We will introduce a first managed exit pathway to enable unabated gas generators with multiyear CM agreements to exit early without penalty and transfer to bespoke support, facilitating decarbonisation by retrofitting carbon capture.
We are also publishing a Government response to the CM call for evidence, which aimed to inform further option development to support the decarbonisation of unabated gas and the approach to developing longer-term views of future capacity requirements and supply. This Government response summarises the feedback received.
The CM reforms we are introducing will ensure that the CM can continue to uphold its primary objective of ensuring security of supply, while also playing a crucial role in achieving the clean power mission.
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River Basin Management Plans: Court of Appeal Judgment
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
This Government inherited a sector in disrepair and in dire need of widespread reform after 14 years of Conservative failure. The Government know that essential, widespread reform is needed to fix a failing water sector.
The Government welcome the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed) v. Pickering Fishery Association, which was handed down on 2 April.
The judgment clarifies the requirements of the water framework directive and the domestic regulations which implement them.
DEFRA will work together with the Environment Agency on how to deliver improved river basin management planning consistently with the Court’s conclusions.
Given the significance of the judgment, we will lay out more detail on any revised approach in light of the judgment as soon as practicable and we will keep Parliament informed of developments.
This work will also support the development of ambitious future reforms this Government will be making to the water sector to ensure the health of our water environment.
Comprehensive reform is needed to restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health, and ensure that the water sector works for both customers and the environment. Through these reforms we can begin to regain public trust and restore our rivers, lakes and seas for current and future generations to enjoy.
We recognise the current system is not fit for purpose, which is why we launched an independent water commission, which is looking at widespread water sector reform including the effectiveness of the water framework directive and river basin management plans. The commission will report to the UK and Welsh Governments this summer and both Governments will respond and consult on proposals. The commission’s final recommendations will shape future action to transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
[HCWS618]
Independent Commission on Adult Social Care: Terms of Reference
(2 days, 23 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
The Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock DBE CB, formally launched on 29 April with a meeting with people with first-hand experience of the social care system. Today, I am updating the House that we have published the terms of reference. A copy has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-commission-into-adult-social-care-terms-of-reference/independent-commission-into-adult-social-care-terms-of-reference A copy can also be found on the commission’s website at https://caseycommission.co.uk/about/terms-of-reference/
The commission, reporting to the Prime Minister, will work with people drawing on care and support, their families, staff, parliamentarians, local government and the public, private and third sectors to make clear recommendations to define and build the adult social care system that will meet the current and future needs of our population. The commission will consider older people’s care and support for working-age disabled adults separately, recognising that these services meet different needs.
Split over two phases, the commission will set out a vision for adult social care, with recommended measures and a road map for delivery:
The first phase, reporting in 2026, will identify the critical issues facing adult social care and set out recommendations for effective reform and improvement in the medium term. It will recommend tangible, pragmatic solutions that can be implemented in a phased way to lay the foundations for a national care service. The recommendations of this phase will be made within the Government’s spending plans which will be set out at the spending review.
The second phase, reporting by 2028, will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care. It will build on the commission’s first phase to deliver a more preventative model of care needed to support our ageing population, and how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all.
The challenges facing adult social care—from inconsistent standards of care to an undervalued and overstretched workforce, and a lack of support for unpaid carers—are complex and deeply rooted. There have been plenty of good ideas in the past 15 years, but we have been missing the broad consensus we need to find a solution around what our country wants from social care so that it stands the test of time.
That is why Baroness Casey has been tasked with starting a national conversation on what people expect from adult social care as well as building cross-party consensus. Given the independent nature of the commission, Baroness Casey and her team will take any future discussions with political parties forward.
While an independent commission is necessary to address the challenges facing the sector, the Government are taking immediate action to improve it. We are making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025-26, we have increased the carer’s allowance earnings limit and introduced legislation that is paving the way for the first ever fair pay agreement in adult social care. The Government are also taking forward a range of initiatives for 2025-26 including announcing new measures to professionalise the workforce, uplifting the disabled facilities grant, promoting better use of care technologies, enabling frontline care and health staff to digitally share up-to-date information, and changes to the better care fund.
I am confident that, with Baroness Casey’s leadership and experience chairing this momentous commission, and with help and support from across the House, she will set us on the road to fundamental reform that will build an adult social care system fit for the future.
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