Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to measure whether the requirement for public service broadcasters to produce programmes outside London and across the nations and regions of the United Kingdom has been met; and whether they expect public service broadcasters to work towards population-based production quotas for each nation and region.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The television sector forms a critical part of the fabric of the creative industries and UK society, which is why it is important that programmes are made across the country.
The public service remit for television requires that public service broadcasters (PSBs), taken together, make an appropriate range and amount of their programmes outside the M25. It is a matter for Ofcom, the independent media regulator, to consider whether the public service remit for television has been fulfilled.
To help ensure this, Ofcom has powers to include quotas in individual PSB licences, requiring them to make a minimum proportion of their programmes, and spend a minimum proportion of their commissioning budgets, outside London. Any changes to these quotas is similarly a matter for Ofcom.
The Secretary of State has made clear that she wants broadcasters to be more ambitious in commissioning programmes from every part of the UK. The Government has committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.