Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the BBC's procedures for (a) identifying and (b) addressing antisemitic (i) content and (ii) tropes in its programming.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.
The BBC is an incredibly important institution, it plays a crucial role in ensuring all communities are heard and feel valued as part of our public life. That is the standard that we expect the BBC to be held to. The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short.
The Secretary of State has had regular conversations with the Chair to understand the BBC’s plans to address concerns that have emerged in recent months, including how the BBC is approaching the issue of antisemitism.
In particular, the Government welcomes the actions taken by the BBC to strengthen editorial quality and standards for the BBC Arabic Service, as set out in the BBC Chair’s letter to the Media, Culture and Sport Committee of 10 November.
What is important moving forward, is that the BBC continues to demonstrate how it is working diligently to maintain the high standards for which it is rightfully recognised.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2025 to question 90762 on BBC: Royal Charters, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of perceived bias in the programme Question Time on the priorities of the new BBC Royal Charter.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent from the Government and this is a crucial component of why people trust it. Under its Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content, and the Government expects the BBC to uphold these standards.
It is then for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences, including on impartiality and accuracy, as outlined in the Charter.
The forthcoming Charter Review will provide an opportunity for the Government to consider a range of issues and to set the BBC up for success long into the future.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the BBC on managing conflicts of interest at BBC Wales.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State meets with the BBC regularly and discusses a range of issues.
The BBC has duties under the Charter to be independent, to act in the public interest and provide impartial services. The BBC is operationally independent of the Government in delivering on those duties, and it is for Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to hold the BBC accountable against these responsibilities. The Secretary of State has been clear that the Government supports a strong independent BBC. In an age of disinformation, the argument for robust and impartial BBC services are stronger than ever.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they intend to take in response to the estimate published by the BBC that during the last five years the adoption arrangements of more than 1,000 children have resulted in those children being returned to local authority care.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Providing support for families at an earlier stage, before needs escalate to crisis point, is critical and we are working with Adoption England to achieve this.
Adoption England are working with their local authority partner safeguarding teams to improve the support adopted families receive when they are in crisis. This includes developing a national protocol which can be used for all adoption support services teams in regional adoption agencies and local authority front door safeguarding services.
We have provided funding of £8.8 million to Adoption England to improve adoption services, including support to adoptive families This includes implementing a new framework for an early support core offer which covers the first 12 to 18 months after placement.
This financial year the department has also invested £50 million into the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to ensure that adopted children can access therapeutic services which help stabilise placements and address complex needs.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why those entitled to a free TV licence have to apply for it, rather than receiving it automatically, and whether they will ask the BBC to remove the need to apply for such licences.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC is responsible for administering the Television Licence, and as the BBC is independent from the Government, this is an operational issue for the BBC. The BBC does not hold the necessary information to automatically determine which households are eligible to receive free TV Licences. However, the BBC is able to verify automatically whether a person applying for a free TV Licence is on Pension Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions, meaning in most cases eligible applicants can apply online or over the phone without any need to supply additional paperwork.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the BBC about introducing pro-rata refunds when a TV licence is cancelled part way through the year, as is currently the case with road tax.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The BBC is responsible for administering the Television licence, and as the BBC is independent from Government, refunds are an operational issue for the BBC. The Television Licensing website sets out that households can apply for a refund if they won’t need their licence again before it expires, and they have at least one complete month left on it. Households eligible for an over 75 or blind concession can apply for a refund at any time and for any length of time left on their licence.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the BBC about abolishing the licence fee.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current Charter period, meaning that there will be no changes to the model until at least 31 December 2027.
Looking further ahead, the forthcoming Charter Review will consider a range of issues, including how the BBC can continue to prosper supported by a sustainable funding model. DCMS has been engaging with the BBC on a range of issues as we prepare to launch the review.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what action the Department is taking to support the growth of British film and television production outside London.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to spreading the benefits of our world-leading film and TV sector across the country. The Creative Industries Sector Plan was published in June and announced a £75 million Screen Growth Package. This includes funding to assist productions filming across England, alongside support for the British Film Commission, to build on its work in doubling UK studio capacity outside London, including Space Studios Manchester and The Depot in Liverpool.
The recent Budget announced plans to maintain the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, giving emerging production hubs in places such as Hartlepool and Digbeth a strong foundation on which to build.
We are also investing directly in regional creative ecosystems. Our £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is providing £25 million over three years to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities: West of England, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the North East. Unleashing the full potential of cities and regions is a core objective of the Sector Plan and is already delivering results, including the recent agreement between the BBC, the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Create Central to expand regional production investment.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas a) the Department for Culture Media and Sport, b) the Arts Council, c) the National Archives, d) the British Library, e) the British Museum, f) Historic England, g) the Imperial War Museum, h) the National Gallery, i) the Science Museum Group, j) the Victoria and Albert Museum, k) the Wallace Collection, l) the BBC, m) Channel 4, n) Historic Royal Palaces and o) the Royal Parks have sponsored since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of allegations of the use of bromobenzyl cyanide by Georgian authorities against demonstrators.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I was deeply concerned by the BBC report alleging that Georgian police used toxic chemicals against protesters in Tbilisi in late 2024, and we expect Georgia to fulfil its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention to ensure that any alleged breaches of the Convention's prohibitions on uses of toxic chemicals are properly investigated.