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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals for the Media Bill as announced in the Queen's Speech 2022; and what progress her Department has made on developing proposals relating to the (a) online prominence of Welsh language Public Service Broadcasting content and (b) remit of S4C.

The Government set out its programme for the third session in the Queen’s speech on 10th May 2022 which included a commitment to legislate for a Media Bill.

Regional and minority language broadcasting has an important role to play in the UK’s broadcasting ecology, providing not only an opportunity for speakers to access content in a language familiar to them, but as a means of cultural expression for communities across the UK.

In recognition of this, the government set out its intention in the Broadcasting White Paper - Up Next - to legislate to introduce a new prominence regime which would require designated TV platforms to give appropriate prominence to PSB online services, including S4C. We will also legislate to update the public service remit of S4C to reflect the growth of digital and online services, and remove the current geographical broadcasting restrictions to allow S4C to broaden its reach by offering its content on a range of new platforms in the UK and beyond.

The Government will introduce this legislation when Parliamentary time allows.