Draft Local Digital Television Programme Services (Amendment) Order 2024

Stephanie Peacock Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Local Digital Television Programme Services (Amendment) Order 2024.

It is a pleasure to open the debate under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I am pleased to speak to the order, which was laid before the House in draft on 5 November.

In just over 10 years since the first service launched, local television continues to provide local content, including news and current affairs, to audiences across the UK, and in so doing to complement our national public service broadcasters. From Sheffield Live and Leeds TV, both of which broadcast in areas neighbouring my Barnsley constituency, to London Live, which broadcasts just a few miles up the road in Kensington, and NVTV in Belfast, there are now 34 local TV services broadcasting across the UK.

I was pleased to meet members of the Local TV Network and Comux last month and hear more about their services and the work they do. Both organisations also sit on the Future of TV Distribution stakeholder forum, which I am pleased to chair. These services bring social and economic benefits to the areas they serve through the making and showing of programmes that reflect the interests of their local communities, but more than that, in a television sector that is all too often centred around London and the south-east, local TV provides a training ground for those looking to embark on a career in the sector. One service, KMTV, has developed a partnership with the University of Kent to train journalism students, while another, Notts TV, has seen former trainees build on that experience and go on to work in the national media.

There are 11 services based in the north of England, five based in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. All 34 of those services are carried on the local TV multiplex, which enables them to be broadcast on digital terrestrial television, also known as Freeview. The multiplex is operated by Comux UK, which is co-owned by the local TV services themselves. The multiplex plays a central role in the local TV ecosystem by providing subsidised carriages for all the local services.

The local TV sector has not been without its challenges. Some services have struggled to maintain consistent audience numbers and to develop stable revenues from advertising. Last year, the TV advertising market in the UK experienced its biggest decline since the 2008-09 financial crisis. Although all commercially funded broadcasters have been affected, local TV services have been particularly impacted as they have smaller audiences than their national counterparts.

The previous Government made a commitment to extend the local TV multiplex until 2034 and to consult on the options for the renewal or relicensing of the licences for the 34 local TV services. That consultation ran from June to September last year and received responses from existing licence holders, media and telecoms companies, and members of the public. In the consultation, the then Government outlined their preferred approach of a light touch renewal process for the multiplex licence, led by Ofcom, and the conditional renewal of the licences for all 34 local TV services, subject to Ofcom’s assessment of their performance to date and their plans for the next licence period.

Respondents to the consultation were broadly supportive of this approach. Some respondents, particularly current licence holders, raised concerns about the burden this approach may have on licensees. They also emphasised the importance of the renewal process being completed swiftly in order to provide certainty to both the sector and its commercial partners. My Department has taken those responses into account in the drafting of this order, and worked closely with the independent regulator, Ofcom, which will administer the renewals process, to refine its provisions.

A previous version of this order was laid in draft before Parliament on 7 May 2024, but was withdrawn due to the general election. The subsequent delay to the order coming into force meant that Ofcom would not have had the time necessary to conclude the renewals process and, in the event that any of the licences were not renewed, to conduct a competitive relicensing process. The updated order therefore includes additional powers for Ofcom to extend local TV licences, with the consent of current licence holders, by a period of 12 months. The extension will ensure that Ofcom is able to complete the renewals process at least 12 months before the extended licences would otherwise expire.

The order has been considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which raised no concerns. The Government believe that the approach set out at consultation and provided for by the order gives the sector the best chance for long-term success and sustainability by balancing the certainty and stability of a streamlined renewals process with a proportionate degree of regulatory oversight, which will be provided by Ofcom.

The Government recognise the importance of local media, including local TV. Our vision is of a thriving sector that continues to play an invaluable role by reporting on the issues that matter to communities, and keeping communities informed about local issues and decision making that affects them. The renewal of local TV licences is an important step on that journey, and I commend the draft order to the Committee.

[The Chair]

I remind members of the Committee, and other Members, that if they wish to catch my eye they must bob, as we do in the Chamber. I call the Opposition spokesperson, Saqib Bhatti.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephanie Peacock]

It is a pleasure to conclude the debate. I am grateful for the contributions that all Members have made. It is clear that both sides of the House want to see the local TV sector thrive long into the future, and continue to provide valuable news and current affairs content that meets the needs and interests of those living and working in the communities they serve. A number of issues have been raised in the debate, which I will take in turn.

First, the shadow Minister rightly talked about balance, which the Government and I agree with. In my opening remarks, I acknowledged that the majority of the work was carried out under the previous Government. In terms of the process and timescale, which was raised by a number of Members, we will work with Ofcom on any open competition and any future licences. That is incredibly important.

In response to the issue raised by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East on the 12-month extension, that is the key change from the previous statutory instrument laid on 7 May. TV operators can apply for it if they would like it, and that will make sure there is enough time for the process to take place. We agree on the need for a proportionate process for renewal and will continue to impress this upon Ofcom in discussions.

There were also questions about our wider support for the sector and the local media strategy. The Secretary of State has announced plans to develop a local media strategy in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We are working across Government as we develop this strategy, because our vision is of a thriving sector that continues to play an invaluable role by reporting on the issues that matter to communities and keeping them informed about the decision making that is relevant to them.

The right hon. Member for Maldon and others asked about the ability of local TV services to make genuinely local content that meets the needs of local audiences. We recognise that sustainable funding of genuinely local content is not without its challenges, but that requirement is central to local TV and the audience it serves, so it is appropriate to consider it as part of the renewal process. Before renewing a licence, Ofcom will need to be satisfied that an applicant can comply with the conditions set out in their licence renewal, which in the case of local TV services will include specific and enforceable local programming commitments.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Guildford, and the right hon. Member for Maldon and others raised concerns about local TV services not receiving prominence for their on-demand apps as part of the new online prominence regime established in the Media Act. I recall spending many happy hours in Committee with the right hon. Gentleman debating the then Media Bill. I am familiar with his, as he describes it, rather unusual amendment. It is a shame that it was not a Government amendment.

At present, local TV services do not have on-demand apps; as a result, and as the right hon. Gentleman will appreciate, it is difficult to have confidence that such an app would provide significant quantities of public service content which would be put front and centre. Those are the two requirements, as Members will know, of the new prominence regime. None the less, we are aware of the concerns raised by the sector that apps that might be developed in future or are currently being developed would not have the potential to be included in the new online prominence regime, and we are committed to keeping that under review. As I outlined in my opening remarks, we are very aware of the changing nature of television distribution. That is why I am chairing a forum to discuss and explore those issues in further detail.

Earlier this year, Ofcom published a statement following a monitoring exercise and set out in further detail about how it will assess whether a service is meeting its commitments. The conditional renewal of the 34 licences provided for by this order will ensure a proportionate level of regulatory oversight that an automatic renewal process would not. An automatic renewal process would lead only to a period of post-renewal uncertainty, so we think we are doing the right thing in the way that the SI has been constructed and laid.

As I said earlier, it will be Ofcom that administers the renewal process. To ensure that licence holders understand what is required of them, Ofcom published a statement last month outlining how it will run the renewal process and what applicants will need to do to have their licences extended and renewed. This has ensured that local licence holders have sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the requirements and can begin preparing their applications before the legislation comes into force.

Renewing the local TV licences will ensure that local TV services receive the same regulatory benefits that they have received since 2013. Services will continue to receive access to and prominence on Freeview as well as on regulated electronic programme guides for simulcast satellite, cable and internet-delivered TV services. It will also mean that local TV is able to continue to make its important contribution by providing pathways for the next generation of journalists and broadcasters to take their first steps in the television industry up and down the country. This is particularly important in a sector where, despite some positive progress in recent years, opportunities are still disproportionately concentrated in London and the south-east.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has made one of her top priorities increasing opportunities in the creative industries across the whole of the UK, including in the TV sector, and we recognise the role that local TV can play in helping to achieve that. I am grateful to Members for their contributions and the interest they have shown in the continued provision of local television across the UK.

Question put and agreed to.