Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Thankfully, the BBC is nothing like the public service broadcaster in Hungary—I was there monitoring elections; the winner, Péter Magyar, said that it is like North Korean propaganda. To protect Auntie Beeb, will my right hon. Friend reconsider the anomaly that, despite being a fixed-income public body—I am ex-staff myself—the BBC has not been given relief from the 2% rise in employer national insurance contributions, unlike schools and hospitals, leaving a yearly £20 million black hole at a time of falling licence fee income? Can the BBC be granted a partial or total waiver, so that we can keep getting good quality output and stop staff cuts?

[Lisa Nandy]

My hon. Friend alludes to the fact that many countries around the world are investing heavily in propaganda. The BBC is a light on the hill for people in many parts of the world through its World Service, and other international services. We want to ensure that we safeguard that through the charter review. She talked about financial pressures on the BBC. Colleagues will know that yesterday the BBC interim director general announced significant cuts to staffing, which I know has had a strong effect on staff and is of real concern to people out in the country. I had the pleasure of meeting the new incoming director general of the BBC yesterday, and one of the first things we discussed was how we put the BBC on a sound financial footing going forward. I will of course look into the issues raised by my hon. Friend.