Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the BBC board on impartiality in its news coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Ministerial team regularly meets with BBC leadership, including members of the Board, to discuss a range of issues.
The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. In delivering that duty, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decisions around its editorial policies and guidelines are a matter for the BBC. Ofcom is the external independent regulator responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.
The Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear that the BBC’s accuracy and impartiality is critical to viewer trust. It is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive events, such as the terrorist acts committed in Israel on 7 October and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The Secretary of State has regularly stated that point in meetings with the BBC.
Asked by: Lord Botham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people aged (1) 20–30, (2) 31–40, (3) 41–50, (4) 51–60, (5) 61–75, and (6) 76 and over, were prosecuted in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, and (c) 2023, for non-payment of their TV licences.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The requirement to hold, and pay for, a television licence is set out in the Communications Act 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004. Under the Communications Act 2003, the BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the TV licensing system.
The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for the non-payment of TV licence fees annually as part of its quarterly criminal justice statistics, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly
The figures are not broken down in the exact age groups requested. A breakdown of people proceeded against for TV licence evasion in England and Wales broken down by the age groups provided in the Ministry of Justice’s figures is below:
21-29
2021 - 9,767
2022 - 7,498
2023 - 5,705
30-39
2021 - 18,635
2022 - 16,273
2023 - 13,139
40-49
2021 - 12,804
2022 - 11,712
2023 - 9,790
50-59
2021 - 8,337
2022 - 8,050
2023 - 6,927
60-69
2021 - 3,042
2022 - 3,071
2023 - 2,931
70+
2021 - 269
2022 - 279
2023 - 266
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has taken steps to fund the BBC World Service after 2025.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Funding for the BBC World Service after 2025 will be determined as part of the next Government Spending Review.
For the FY2022-25 Spending Review, FCDO provided a flat-cash settlement of £283 million to the World Service via the World 2020/2025 programme. As part of the Integrated Review Refresh in 2023, the Government provided a further £20 million over 2 years to protect all 42 language services from closure. The Government recently launched a BBC funding review, which will report to Ministers in the Autumn.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people were prosecuted for TV licence evasion in England in 2023.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The requirement to hold, and pay for, a TV Licence is set out in the Communications Act 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004. Under the Communications Act 2003, the BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the TV licensing system.
The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the number of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for the non-payment of TV licence fees annually as part of their criminal justice statistics quarterly publications, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce has taken evidence from BBC Persian journalists as part of its review into the UK's approach to transnational repression; and whether it has had recent discussions with the BBC World Service on that review.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
This Government is committed to tackling the issue of transnational repression. Any threats made by a foreign state against individuals in the UK, including journalists, will be thoroughly investigated.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce's review into the UK's approach to transnational repression is intended to ensure the UK has a robust and joined up response across government and law enforcement to this threat to our democracy.
The Taskforce has engaged a range of partners during the review, including other government departments, relevant agencies and law enforcement, and external stakeholders.
I intend to update the House on the review in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Director General of the BBC on the value for money of challenging freedom of information requests on Martin Bashir.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government and the Government cannot intervene in the BBC’s day-to-day operations or decision making.
The Charter sets out that the BBC must exercise rigorous stewardship of public money. The BBC Board is responsible for securing the effective and efficient management of the finances of the BBC.
As part of the most recent Charter Review the Government put in place arrangements for the National Audit Office to become the BBC’s independent auditor. The NAO is responsible for auditing the BBC accounts and ensuring value for money in the way the BBC uses its funds. This ensures that there is appropriate scrutiny of how the BBC spends its public funding.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of big technology digital companies on the online news media market.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, more and more aspects of society are played out online, and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models. The Cairncross Review further concluded that some of the biggest technology companies are able to impose unfair terms on publishers, which limits publishers’ ability to monetise their content and threatens the sustainability of the press. We have introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest technology firms. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help to rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely.
We have also supported news publishers through the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers, and the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8 million it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, which was expanded in 2020 to fund the placement of 165 journalists in newsrooms across the UK.
Separately, Ofcom is exploring the possible impacts of the growth of online news, and the role of online intermediaries in particular, on media plurality, and what, if any, regulatory changes may be necessary to maintain and secure it. We will consider Ofcom’s recommendations when its findings are published.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the BBC on taking steps to ensure that its commissioning processes are subject to independent scrutiny.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent and BBC commissioning is rightly a matter for the BBC, not for the Government.
The Charter requires the BBC to commission programmes in a way that is fair and transparent, allowing non-BBC producers to compete for BBC projects. Due to measures introduced by this Government, by the end of this Charter (2027), 100% of BBC television and 60% of BBC radio will be fully open to competition to support a diverse range of stories and views on the BBC.
The BBC has set out a clear commissioning framework and code of practice, agreed with Ofcom, that governs the commissioning of TV content from independent producers.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of BBC reports that North Korean teenagers have been sentenced to hard labour for viewing K-drama, when they last raised violations of human rights directly with the North Korean Ambassador to the UK and the North Korean regime, and what response they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the many reports of serious and wide-ranging human rights violations in the country, including the recent report by the BBC. The UK regularly raises our concerns about the DPRK's dire human rights record through its embassy in London and we remain committed to using all bilateral and multilateral channels to hold the DPRK to account, and urge the DPRK to address its human rights record to bring about permanent change and improvements for the people of North Korea.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his Department’s plans are for promoting the celebration of Commonwealth Day 2024 across the United Kingdom.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Commonwealth Day on 11 March will be marked by the traditional Commonwealth Day Service, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society in cooperation with HMG, in Westminster Abbey. The event, which will be broadcast live on the BBC, is attended by Members of the Royal Family, Government Ministers, Commonwealth High Commissioners, civil society, and young people from around the country. Local authorities across the UK, as well as our diplomatic missions overseas, will be encouraged to host events and fly the Commonwealth flag to celebrate the Commonwealth's 75th anniversary and underline the UK's ongoing commitment to this family of nations.