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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the BBC collaborates with independent local journalists to tackle misinformation and serve communities through the Charter review process.

The government is currently developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the vital importance of local journalism and its role in countering misinformation at local level. As part of this we are exploring the role of the BBC in the local news market. During her oral statement to the House of Commons on BBC Leadership, the Secretary of State confirmed that the government is looking at how we can help to support and defend local news through the BBC’s work as a part of the Charter renewal process. More will be announced on the Local Media Strategy in due course.