Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of freezing the BBC licence fee until April 2024 on the people of (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

Under the new licence fee settlement, the fee will remain at £159 until April 2024 and then rise in line with inflation for the following four years. Television is important to people across the UK, including those in Newport West and Wales as a whole. This settlement shields licence fee payers from the current inflationary pressures for the next two years, while providing billions of pounds and secure funding for the BBC for the next six years. This settlement strikes the right balance between protecting households and allowing broadcasters to deliver their vital public responsibilities, while also encouraging them to make further savings and efficiencies.

The licence fee offers a strong settlement for S4C, providing £88.8 million per annum for the first two years, then rising in line with inflation thereafter. This includes a new commitment of £7.5 million per annum to support S4C’s digital development, ensuring S4C’s offering remains sustainable in the digital age. Overall, this settlement delivers a 9% increase in funding for S4C following a five-year funding freeze.

As the only Welsh language broadcaster, S4C is vital to the people of Newport West and Wales overall, and this settlement will enable S4C to continue to reach more Welsh language speakers, including younger audiences, and contributes to the UK Government’s commitment to support the ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050.