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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage television networks to increase their accessibility to people with visual or hearing impairments.

The government recognises that as part of a digitally inclusive society, television content should be accessible for all UK audiences. Under the Communications Act 2003 and Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996, broadcasters are required to meet accessibility requirements for their linear TV services. Statutory targets on subtitling, sign language and audio description are also set by Ofcom, the UK’s independent broadcasting regulator.

The government also asked Ofcom to provide recommendations on how legislation could make on demand services more accessible. Ofcom published this report in December 2018, and has since completed a further targeted consultation looking at how a legislative framework should work in practice. This consultation closed on 16 September 2020. Once Ofcom has reported back to DCMS, we will review their recommendations and set out next steps.