Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, (a) which broadcasters have been sanctioned by Ofcom under the broadcast code in the last 10 years and (b) how many times each of these broadcasters was sanctioned.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The consideration of a sanction follows a decision by Ofcom that a broadcaster has breached a relevant requirement. There are a variety of sanctions available to Ofcom which include, for example, issuing a direction to a broadcaster or imposing a financial penalty. A case will normally be considered for the imposition of a sanction when Ofcom considers that a broadcaster has seriously, deliberately, repeatedly, or recklessly breached a relevant requirement.
Ofcom regularly publishes any broadcasting sanctions and regulatory decisions on its website. Since 1 January 2007 Ofcom has imposed 84 sanctions against 57 broadcasters as follows:
Licensee | Number of sanctions |
30 of GCap Media plc’s ‘One Network’ radio stations | 1 |
Al Ehya Digital Television Limited | 2 |
Al Mustakillah Television Limited | 1 |
ARY Digital UK Limited | 1 |
Asia TV Limited | 1 |
Bang Channels Limited and Bang Media (London) Limited | 1 |
BBA Media Ltd | 1 |
Biditis Limited | 1 |
Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd | 1 |
Channel Four Television Corporation | 3 |
Channel S World Limited | 1 |
Channel Television Ltd | 4 |
Club TV Limited | 1 |
Connection Makers Ltd | 1 |
CSC Media Group Limited | 1 |
Dama (Liverpool) Limited | 1 |
Discovery Communications Europe Limited | 1 |
DM Digital Television Limited | 4 |
DM Global Media Limited | 1 |
E Entertainment UK Limited | 1 |
ESPN (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Limited | 1 |
Gamecast UK Limited | 1 |
GMTV Ltd | 1 |
Granada Television Limited | 1 |
International Television Channel Europe Limited | 1 |
Islam Channel Limited | 1 |
ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1 |
ITV2 Limited | 1 |
Just4Us TV Limited and Playboy TV UK/ Benelux Limited | 1 |
Lakeland Radio Limited | 1 |
Leith Community Mediaworks Ltd | 1 |
Life Show-Case Ltd | 1 |
Life TV Media Ltd | 1 |
LWT (Holdings) Limited | 2 |
Majestic TV Limited | 1 |
Mohiuddin Digital Television Limited | 1 |
More FM Ltd (formerly One Gold Radio Ltd) | 1 |
MTV Networks Europe | 1 |
Neath Port Talbot Broadcasting CIC | 1 |
Playboy TV UK/Benelux Limited | 1 |
Portland Enterprises (C.I.) Limited | 1 |
Press TV Limited | 1 |
Radio Asian Fever Community Interest Company | 1 |
Regis 1 Limited | 1 |
RHF Productions & Portland Enterprises | 1 |
Satellite Entertainment Limited | 4 |
Springdoo Media and User Generated Broadcasting | 1 |
Square 1 Management Limited | 2 |
St Albans and Watford Broadcasting Limited | 1 |
Sunrise TV Ltd | 1 |
Takbeer TV Limited | 1 |
TalkSPORT Limited | 1 |
Teletext Limited | 1 |
The British Broadcasting Corporation (“the BBC”) | 13 |
The Light Academy Limited | 1 |
Venus TV Ltd | 1 |
Voice of Africa Radio Limited | 2 |
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times 21st Century Fox has been sanctioned by Ofcom under the broadcast code in the last 10 years.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ofcom has not imposed a statutory sanction (such as a financial penalty) under the Broadcasting Code on 21st Century Fox Inc or any entity of which we are aware in which it holds shares, in the last 10 years.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times Sky Plc has been sanctioned by Ofcom under the broadcast code in the last 10 years.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ofcom has not imposed a statutory sanction (such as a financial penalty) under the Broadcasting Code on Sky Plc or any entity of which we are aware in which it holds shares, in the last 10 years.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which broadcasters have been found in breach of the broadcasting code without being sanctioned as a result in the last 10 years; and how many times each of those broadcasters were found in breach of the broadcast code in the last 10 years.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ofcom currently licenses 1,175 television services and 871 radio services. These services are required to comply with the rules in Ofcom’s codes. As set out in Ofcom's last Annual Report, they assessed 23,420 broadcasting complaints between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016. During this period, they conducted 205 investigations and recorded 127 breaches of the Broadcasting Code (or other Ofcom codes).
Over the past ten years, Ofcom has recorded over 2,500 breaches of the Broadcasting Code. Any further breakdown of this data would require a disproportionate use of resources.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on whether the UK will be able to protect the territoriality of copyright after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government agrees that copyright owners should remain able to tailor content to different markets and to license on a territorial basis. While we remain in the EU we will continue to take an active part in negotiations regarding the digital single market ensuring British views are heard.
After the UK leaves the EU it will continue to be a member of the Berne Convention and other copyright treaties which recognise the territoriality of copyright.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the diverse needs of the creative industries will be supported after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Creative Industries are one of the UK’s greatest success stories, contributing over £87 billion to the economy (5.7% GVA) and over £19 billion in exports.
We are working closely for example through the Creative Industries Council (CIC), who represent the whole of the creative industries, to understand both the possible opportunities and impacts presented by the UK’s decision leaving the EU.
We have also hosted a series of roundtables with businesses and industry representatives from across the creative industries to discuss these matters. We are committed to helping our world-leading creative industries thrive in a post-brexit Britain. We have also announced a sector review of the creative industries as part of the recently published Industrial Strategy Green Paper to help underpin their future prosperity.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received on the implications for the UK continuing to access the Digital Single Market of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Department has been meeting with a range of stakeholders on this issue. Together with the Department for Exiting the EU we are analysing all the impacts of leaving the EU and continuing to engage on Digital Single Market matters to secure the right deal for Britain.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make representations to her EU counterparts and the European Commission on amending provisions related to take-down notices in the Electronic Commerce Directive 2002.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on artistic remuneration for online content.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ministers and Officials from both Departments meet regularly to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the US government on UK musicians wishing to obtain performance visas for that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
My Department is working closely with the FCO, BIS, the US Government, UKTI and the UK music industry to maximise opportunities for emerging and established musicians to perform to audiences in the United States and around the world. I recognise the US government's desire to strike the right balance between cultural exchange, creative exports and security. I hope together we can pursue practical improvements to the visa system which enable British talent to flourish in the US and around the world
Between 2012 and 2016, the Government invested £460 million in a range of music and cultural education programmes. We introduced tax relief for orchestras and started a successful music export scheme which has helped many musicians to go abroad. Discussions are ongoing about a revamp of the Music Export Growth Scheme and we hope to make an announcement shortly.