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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of not renewing the licences for terrestrial television which expire in 2034 on rural communities.

The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will inform any decision concerning the future of digital terrestrial television services after 2034.

As part of this process, a wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure, including through a stakeholder forum that I chair. Membership of the Stakeholder Forum includes a number of groups representing rural, older and lower income audiences, including the Rural Services Network, Silver Voices and Digital Poverty Alliance.

In addition to independent research led by Exeter University and published last year, the Government has commissioned follow up research to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among a variety of groups including rural, older and low-income households.