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Written Question
Channel 4 Television: Privatisation
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the privatisation of Channel 4 on its annual levels of investment in independent television and film production companies.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders has informed the government’s assessment of any potential impact of a change of ownership. The Government published its sale impact analysis on 28 April.

Channel 4 has done an excellent job in supporting the UK production sector and thereby delivering on one of its founding purposes. Forty years on, independent production in the UK is now booming, with revenues having grown from £500 million in 1995 to £3 billion in 2019. Companies are increasingly less reliant on Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs), including Channel 4 for commissions.

Channel 4 still has an important part to play in supporting the sector and our wider creative economy. Channel 4 will still be required to commission a minimum volume of programming from independent producers, in line with the quotas placed on other PSBs.

Channel 4 has strong relationships with independent producers right across the UK and there is no reason this should change. The Government expects a new owner to want to build on and develop those relationships.

The Government believes that in the long run the UK production ecosystem will benefit from a more sustainable Channel 4. A change of ownership that improves Channel 4’s access to capital could increase spending on production.


Written Question
Channel 4 Television: Privatisation
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the projected cash return from the privatisation of Channel 4; and on what assumptions that projection has been made.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Channel 4 has a strong reputation for innovative and diverse content, a proactive strategy to be a digital first provider, and huge popularity with a range of audiences, including valuable younger audiences. The Government expects this will appeal to a broad range of different purchasers.

As with the sale of any government asset, any sale of Channel 4 will involve a careful assessment process to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.


Written Question
Channel 4 Television: Privatisation
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's valuation is of Channel 4 as of 9 June 2022; and on what assumptions that valuation has been made.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Channel 4 has a strong reputation for innovative and diverse content, a proactive strategy to be a digital first provider, and huge popularity with a range of audiences, including valuable younger audiences. The Government expects this will appeal to a broad range of different purchasers.

As with the sale of any government asset, any sale of Channel 4 will involve a careful assessment process to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.


Written Question
Channel 4 Television: Privatisation
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in what way her Department intends to treat the revenue from any sale of Channel 4.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government will look to use some of the proceeds from the sale of Channel 4 to deliver a new creative dividend for the independent production sector.


Written Question
Channel 4 Television: Privatisation
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the projected (a) economic and (b) social returns from the privatisation of Channel 4; and on what assumptions those projections have been made.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders has informed the Government’s assessment of any potential impact of a change of ownership. The Government published its sale impact analysis on 28 April.


Written Question
Internet: Herefordshire
Thursday 18th November 2021

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor internet connectivity on rural communities in Herefordshire.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.

For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.

Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.


Written Question
Broadband: Herefordshire
Thursday 18th November 2021

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the rollout of fibre broadband in Herefordshire.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.

For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.

Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.


Written Question
Internet: Herefordshire
Thursday 18th November 2021

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve internet connections in Herefordshire.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.

For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.

Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.


Written Question
Ofcom: Trade Competitiveness
Thursday 26th May 2016

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to make an announcement on Ofcom's review of the Terms of Trade.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The independent television production sector in this country is a fantastic success story, generating around £3 billion in revenue each year. I have considered carefully Ofcom’s report on the television production sector and decided that the regulations continue to be effective and play a key role in supporting a diverse and vibrant production sector. We have therefore decided to make no change.


Written Question
Telecommunications: Rural Areas
Thursday 26th February 2015

Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the combined effect of poor mobile phone signal and poor broadband provision on rural communities and businesses.

Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot

The Government recognises the importance of a good broadband and mobile connectivity to rural communities and businesses. We are meeting the challenge by:

  • Rolling out superfast broadband to over 40,000 premises a week and investing £10m to develop options for the most remote areas;
  • Tackling mobile partial not-spots through an agreement with mobile network operators that is legally binding and guarantees £5bn commercial investment by 2017. Each operator will cover 90% of the UK’s landmass, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by almost two-thirds;
  • Investing £150 million to bring mobile services to remote areas of the UK with no mobile coverage.