Oral Answers to Questions

Olly Glover Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to update her on the progress we have made on protecting these vital venues. If I may, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on the long overdue recognition for the work she has put into this Chamber and for what she has done in public life.

Mr Speaker, may I also take this opportunity to have a rare truce between Wigan and Chorley and thank you for the work you have done over a long period of time to campaign for Sir Kevin Sinfield to be given a knighthood? It is an absolute privilege to be the Secretary of State who has been able to ensure that both Sir Billy Boston and Sir Kevin Sinfield have been rightly recognised as the first two people from rugby league ever to receive knighthoods, which were long overdue.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

6. What steps she is taking to help ensure the sustainability of the BBC’s long-term funding.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

The BBC is one of our most important national institutions. Now, more than ever, the need for trusted news and high-quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life. We are currently conducting the charter review, which I believe will be the most consequential in the BBC’s history, given the current political climate. We have already announced that, as part of the charter review, we will be putting the BBC on a permanent charter, so that it exists in perpetuity for all of us, forever.

[Olly Glover]

Yesterday, as part of £500 million cuts, the BBC announced the scrapping of BBC Radio 4’s “The World Tonight” programme after 56 years, among others. It is very welcome to hear the Secretary of State’s support for the BBC, but can she say a little more about what she is going to do to protect the future of the BBC, following the end of the BBC charter consultation in March?

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, because I know this issue has raised significant concerns across all our nations and regions. I met the BBC director general recently to discuss the announcement that has just been made. Obviously, those decisions are a matter for the BBC. What is squarely within the Government’s remit, however, is ensuring that, as part of the charter, the BBC is adequately and sustainably funded. We will not accept a smaller BBC. A core objective of the charter review is to expand both the scope and reach of BBC services.