Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the freeze in the licence fee on the funding allocated to S4C through partnership agreements with the BBC.

The UK Government has a strong record of demonstrating its commitment to minority language broadcasting to ensure that our broadcasting sector services all audiences of the UK nations and regions. This has been reflected in the strong settlement for S4C, providing £88.8 million per annum for the first two years, then rising in line with inflation thereafter, which 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.

The licence fee settlement will also provide the BBC with billions in annual public funding, allowing it to deliver its mission and public purposes and to continue doing what it does best.

As the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government, how the BBC uses their funding is therefore a question for them, including any partnerships with minority language broadcasters. However, the Secretary of State has been clear she wants to see the BBC deliver the best quality services and output possible with the public funding they receive.

The BBC’s Royal Charter also contains a general duty to "support the regional and minority languages of the United Kingdom through its output and services and through partnerships with other organisations".