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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a system of parental guidance for television dramas and films broadcast after the 9pm watershed.

Ofcom, the independent broadcast regulator, takes the protection of children and young people very seriously. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code contains stringent rules to ensure that under eighteens are effectively protected from harm.

The Broadcasting Code and guidance advises broadcasters to various ways they can warn audiences about graphic content or content likely to offend. In addition, there are a range of audience protection tools, including programme scheduling information, mandatory PIN protections, as well as the 9pm watershed, that parents and guardians can use to ensure that children are protected from broadcast content that is unsuitable for them.

The watershed is an effective way to protect children from unsuitable content. A recent Ofcom survey found that 60% of parents think 9pm is the right time for adult content to be shown on television and that 89% of people understand what the watershed is. However, protections do not cease at 9pm. The transition to more adult material must not be unduly abrupt and the strongest material should appear later in the evening.