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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the capacity of broadcasters to meet their access service obligations of their being permitted to spend only a maximum of one per cent of their turnover on doing so.

The capacity of broadcasters to meet their access service obligations is for Ofcom to assess. Ofcom’s Code requires broadcasters to achieve the highest level of provision that they can afford. Broadcasters are free to over deliver on access services, and Ofcom research shows that many do. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky voluntarily commit to providing at least 20% of their programming with audio description, which is double their statutory obligation.