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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role she considers broadcast infrastructure plays in ensuring that the Government can communicate with the public during national emergencies.

The government understands how important it is that citizens can access information in times of national emergency. Resilient radio and television play an important role in a range of different emergency scenarios.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its infrastructure is able to support emergency communications.

DCMS works with the Cabinet Office and other Departments to ensure the BBC’s public emergency messaging capabilities are integrated into wider cross government resilience planning.