Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (i) ensure that people in of Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency have access to public broadcasting, particularly those in low income households and (ii) stop interruption to televised broadcasting during (a) power outages and (b) cyber attacks.

The Government is committed to ensuring universal public service broadcasting remains accessible and affordable, and also to supporting the sustainability of our ‘free to air’ Public Service Broadcasters.

With regard to access to public broadcasting for those in low income households, the government is aware of the financial difficulties faced by some households. The TV Licence gives households access to BBC content on the iPlayer and to all live television, including that of other public service broadcasters. TV Licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, people over 75 and in receipt of pension credit, and people living in qualifying residential care who are disabled or over 60 years old. The government also extended the Simple Payment Plan from February 2025 to allow a greater number of households to split up their annual licence fee payment into more manageable weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments. As part of the ongoing BBC Charter Review, we are looking at how we can fund the BBC sustainably in future so that it can continue to deliver for all of us, drive the growth of the creative industries, nurture talent, and invest across the whole of the UK. Any future model should also be fair to audiences and ensure costs are kept as low as possible to households.

The Government also understands the importance of access to information and the vital role which both television and radio can play when other communications may be disrupted. DCMS works closely with the broadcast critical national infrastructure operators and technical authorities to maintain network resilience. This includes developing and testing plans for a range of scenarios including power outages and cyber attacks.