Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of Ofcom's role in regulating the BBC's impact on fair and effective competition in radio.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the government. It has a responsibility under its Royal Charter to have particular regard for the effects of its activities on competition in the United Kingdom. This includes requirements to work collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations and to seek to avoid adverse impacts on competition which are not necessary for fulfilling their Mission and Public Purposes. It is for Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to hold the BBC to account in meeting its obligations to audiences and in terms of its market impact. In respect of its broadcasting regulatory functions, Ofcom is operationally independent of government and directly accountable to Parliament.