Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the creation of programmes for young people since they stated that "the availability of new, engaging and relevant content for young audiences is of great societal importance", in their Contestable Fund Pilot: Supporting Young Audiences and Audio Content, published on 19 October 2018.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government is committed to ensuring that young listeners and viewers benefit from a system of public service broadcasting which remains relevant and which can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences in the future. That is why we are conducting a strategic review of public service broadcasting – drawing on the work of Ofcom, Select Committees in both Houses of Parliament, and the Government’s own expert PSB Advisory Panel – to work out how best to achieve this in light of the challenges the sector is currently facing.
The three-year pilot Young Audiences Content Fund was designed to test a new way of financing public service TV content. A full evaluation of the pilot Fund will take place following its conclusion to determine its impact on the children’s television industry and the provision and plurality of public service content for young audiences across the UK. The potential for further investment of public funding will be assessed against the Fund evaluation and alongside future public service broadcasting needs.
The Government is committed to the success of our world-leading TV production sector. UK-wide tax reliefs continue to play a vital role in driving production across children’s, animation, and high-end television, supporting approximately £2.2 billion production spending in these sectors through tax reliefs in 2019 alone. The Government continues to act to support the industry in developing the physical infrastructure and skills pipelines it needs to sustain success - success which has seen 2021 being a record-setting year, with total high-end TV production spend reaching more than £4 billion.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that Ofcom’s regulation of the BBC is enhanced in the next five years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government established Ofcom as the BBC regulator to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account as the nation's broadcaster. Ofcom is independent of the government and the government has no say over Ofcom’s operational decisions
However, the Mid-Term Review of the Royal Charter offers an opportunity for the government to consider whether current governance and regulatory arrangements for the BBC are working effectively, including the effectiveness of the regulation by Ofcom. We will start the preparations now, ahead of the review starting formally next year, as the Royal Charter sets out.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how their mid-term review of the BBC Charter will be informed by Ofcom’s review of the BBC’s operating licence.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ofcom is independent of the government and the government has no say over Ofcom’s operational decisions. A review of the BBC's operating licence and service requirements is therefore for Ofcom as the BBC’s regulator.
The Mid-Term Review of the Royal Charter offers an opportunity for the government to consider whether current governance and regulatory arrangements for the BBC are working effectively, including the effectiveness of the regulation by Ofcom.
We will start the preparations now, ahead of the review starting formally next year, as the Royal Charter sets out.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the BBC does not reduce the number of quotas related to delivering public value content, including those related to (1) radio, and (2) children’s programming.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is clear that the BBC has to provide high quality, distinctive content and services. However, it is ultimately a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator on how to enforce these obligations through appropriate regulation. It is therefore for Ofcom, not the government, to set and amend quotas for the BBC’s public services.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why cuts were made to the final year of the Young Audiences Content Fund pilot; what assessment they made of (1) the effectiveness of that Fund, and (2) the need to provide notice of any changes to its funding.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following a successful Spending Review, the Young Audiences Content Fund will continue into its third year and receive up to £10.7m for year 3 of the pilot scheme, totalling up to £44.2m for the three years.
As set out in the Contestable Fund scoping paper published in 2018, monitoring and evaluation of the Fund would inform the annual budget allocation over the course of the pilot. The 2021/22 funding awarded demonstrates a commitment to the value of children’s television programming in an exceptionally challenging fiscal climate, where some tough decisions have had to be made. DCMS has engaged continuously with the BFI, who administers the Fund, throughout the funding determination.
Although assessment of the funds is ongoing, the Year One review sets out a number of successes for the fund. As planned, a detailed evaluation of the scheme, against the criteria set out at launch, will take place this year before a decision is made on whether to close, continue or expand the Contestable Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the cuts of the Young Audiences Content Fund pilot, what steps they are taking to ensure the pilot leads to a secure, well-supported and long-term future for that Fund.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following a successful Spending Review, the Young Audiences Content Fund will continue into its third year and receive up to £10.7m for year 3 of the pilot scheme, totalling up to £44.2m for the three years.
As set out in the Contestable Fund scoping paper published in 2018, monitoring and evaluation of the Fund would inform the annual budget allocation over the course of the pilot. The 2021/22 funding awarded demonstrates a commitment to the value of children’s television programming in an exceptionally challenging fiscal climate, where some tough decisions have had to be made. DCMS has engaged continuously with the BFI, who administers the Fund, throughout the funding determination.
Although assessment of the funds is ongoing, the Year One review sets out a number of successes for the fund. As planned, a detailed evaluation of the scheme, against the criteria set out at launch, will take place this year before a decision is made on whether to close, continue or expand the Contestable Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the mid-term review of the BBC Charter not being conducted before the Ofcom review of public service broadcasting; and how will the review by Ofcom be used to inform the mid-term review of the BBC Charter.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ofcom is required to conduct a review into public service broadcasting at least every five years and went out for consultation in December 2020. The report of its third review, "Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age", was published on 2 July 2015.
The concept and principles for the Mid-Term Review are set out in the BBC Royal Charter of 2016. The Royal Charter is clear that “the (mid-term) review must not be undertaken before 2022 and must be completed by 2024.”
Government officials shall be undertaking preparatory work ahead of the mid-term review starting formally next year, and will consult Ofcom on the scope, timing, and terms of reference in due course, as is required by the BBC Charter.
Further, the Charter requires that Ofcom conduct a periodic review of the BBC which looks at the extent to which the BBC is fulfilling its Mission and promoting each of the Public Purposes and addressing any specific issues of concern. This must be concluded in time to inform the Mid-Term Review.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of UK users of the organisations expected to be in within the scope of the draft Online Safety Bill that access (1) pornographic websites, and (2) social media sites that contain pornography
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Online Safety Bill will deliver the most comprehensive approach in the world to protecting children online. Where pornographic websites or social media sites host user generated content or facilitate online user interactions (including video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming), they will be subject to the duty of care. The government has not conducted a detailed sector-by-sector analysis of the services in scope of the Bill and the number of UK users accessing those services, given the breadth of services in scope of legislation. However, the online safety regime will capture both the pornography sites most visited by UK users and pornography on social media, therefore covering the vast majority of sites where children are most likely to be exposed to pornography.
The exact list of Category 1 services has not yet been determined. We have set out how the process will work for designating Category 1 services. Thresholds will be set by the government about the number of users and functionalities of a service, following receipt of advice from Ofcom. This is to ensure the process is objective and evidence-based. Ofcom will then be required to assess services against these thresholds and publish a register of all those which meet both thresholds.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of (1) pornographic websites, and (2) social media sites that contain pornography, that will be (a) Category 1 organisations, and (b) not Category 1 organisations, under the draft Online Safety Bill.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Online Safety Bill will deliver the most comprehensive approach in the world to protecting children online. Where pornographic websites or social media sites host user generated content or facilitate online user interactions (including video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming), they will be subject to the duty of care. The government has not conducted a detailed sector-by-sector analysis of the services in scope of the Bill and the number of UK users accessing those services, given the breadth of services in scope of legislation. However, the online safety regime will capture both the pornography sites most visited by UK users and pornography on social media, therefore covering the vast majority of sites where children are most likely to be exposed to pornography.
The exact list of Category 1 services has not yet been determined. We have set out how the process will work for designating Category 1 services. Thresholds will be set by the government about the number of users and functionalities of a service, following receipt of advice from Ofcom. This is to ensure the process is objective and evidence-based. Ofcom will then be required to assess services against these thresholds and publish a register of all those which meet both thresholds.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of organisations within the scope of the draft Online Safety Bill that are (1) pornographic websites, and (2) social media sites that contain pornography.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Online Safety Bill will deliver the most comprehensive approach in the world to protecting children online. Where pornographic websites or social media sites host user generated content or facilitate online user interactions (including video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming), they will be subject to the duty of care. The government has not conducted a detailed sector-by-sector analysis of the services in scope of the Bill and the number of UK users accessing those services, given the breadth of services in scope of legislation. However, the online safety regime will capture both the pornography sites most visited by UK users and pornography on social media, therefore covering the vast majority of sites where children are most likely to be exposed to pornography.
The exact list of Category 1 services has not yet been determined. We have set out how the process will work for designating Category 1 services. Thresholds will be set by the government about the number of users and functionalities of a service, following receipt of advice from Ofcom. This is to ensure the process is objective and evidence-based. Ofcom will then be required to assess services against these thresholds and publish a register of all those which meet both thresholds.