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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the significance of BBC Monitoring to (1) UK, and (2) global, security will be a factor when they make decisions about the future funding level of the licence fee at the next spending review.

The BBC is responsible for the funding, staffing and administration of Monitoring, which is provided under a specific agreement between the BBC and government. The monitoring service is funded through the licence fee and there are no plans to change this arrangement.

It is the Licence Fee Settlement, not the spending review, which will determine the BBC’s public funding for at least 5 years from April 2022. On 10 November the government announced the formal opening of the process and subsequently the Secretary of State has received evidence from the BBC about its financial needs.

Negotiations for the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement are ongoing and the Secretary of State will update the house in due course.