Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase (1) racial, and (2) gender, diversity in senior management positions in public service broadcasters other than the BBC.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government remains committed to ensuring that the broadcasting sector – including our public service broadcasters – is representative of the country in which we live, and offers equality of opportunity to people of all backgrounds.
Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom has a duty to promote equality of opportunity in relation to employment in the broadcasting sector.
Responsibility for the appointment of senior managers sits with individual broadcasters. HM Government welcomes the work being done by them and other industry participants to improve diversity at senior levels.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to help establish partnerships with (a) private sector and (b) academic institutions to increase skills training in the creative industries.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Creative Industries Sector Vision sets out the Government’s ambition to maximise the potential of the creative industries. It details our plans to grow these industries by an extra £50bn and create a million extra jobs by 2030, and build a pipeline of talent and opportunity for young people through a Creative Careers Promise.
The Creative Industries Sector Vision sets out a range of interventions across education, skills and job quality to achieve this, working in partnership with the creative sector and those involved in education and training. The forthcoming joint Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Cultural Education Plan will support the provision of high quality cultural education for all school-age children, including careers advice and skills development. This will provide young people with a window into the sector, and access to important foundational skills.
Strengthening talent pipelines for young people is also a priority. This will be delivered through our Creative Careers Programme,, two new creative T-Levels rolling out in September 2024, and multiple national and regional opportunities to participate in apprenticeships and digital and creative Skills Bootcamps. Many of these initiatives are delivered in partnership with the private sector and academic institutions such as Netflix, the BBC and University of Birmingham.
These interventions complement the investment the sector is already making on skills. For example, the BFI’s £9 million National Lottery funded ‘Skills Clusters’ which will support skills development and training across the UK; ScreenSkills’ £19 million Future Film Skills Programme which has helped over 119,000 people progress in screen careers since 2018; and the work of the world-leading National Film and Television School, which received funding from DCMS.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to confirm the next Chair of the BBC.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As per the BBC Royal Charter, the BBC Chair appointment is made by Order in Council. The appointment of Dr Samir Shah CBE as the next Chair of the BBC will be put to the next meeting of the Privy Council for final approval, due to take place in February.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide an update on the steps taken by his Department to implement the recommendations of the Cairncross Review.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
However, as the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, society is increasingly moving online and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models.
The Government supported the majority of Cairncross recommendations and has taken them forward through a range of fiscal and regulatory interventions. This has included delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and our work through the Mid-Term Review of the BBC Charter, exploring how the BBC seeks to act as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, local commercial news outlets. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8m 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.
We have also introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, building on the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into online platforms and digital advertising. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms on which they rely increasingly.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Reach plc on its third round of proposed redundancies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
As society is increasingly moving online and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models, the Government has taken action to support them.
This includes delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and our work through the Mid-Term Review of the BBC Charter, exploring how the BBC seeks to act as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, local commercial news outlets. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8m 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.
We have also introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, building on the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into online platforms and digital advertising. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms on which they rely increasingly.
DCMS Ministers and officials continue to engage regularly with representatives from across the press sector, including Reach plc, on matters relating to the financial sustainability of the press.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 41 of his Department's annual report and accounts for 2022/23, HC1464, published on 19 September 2023, what the distance travelled on domestic flights was that resulted in the emission totals of (a) 434 tCO2e in 2021/22 and (b) 363 tCO2e in 2022/23.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The distance travelled by domestic flights in 2021/22 was 556,491.84 Km which equates to 72 tCO2. In 2022/23 the department travelled 1,772,171.00 Km by domestic flights which equates to 230 tCO2e.
Use of domestic air travel is a long standing practice under successive administrations to make best use of ministers’ working time, for instance by the last Labour Government for flights between London and Teesside, as reported by the BBC, ‘Ministers quizzed on RAF flights’, 12 April 2006, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4900580.stm) and Independent newspaper ‘Blair runs up £1.2m bill using Queen's Flight’, Wednesday 12 April 2006, (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-runs-up-163-1-2m-bill-using-queen-s-flight-6103956.html).
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many black and white television licenses were issued by the Television Licensing Authority in each local authority area in 2023.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, and the Government therefore does not hold information on this issue.
The BBC’s 2022/23 Annual Report and Accounts can be found here.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the BBC’s compliance with the impartiality clauses in its charter.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content under its Royal Charter. As such, the Government has been clear that the BBC must place a firm emphasis on impartiality and maintaining the highest editorial standards.
The Government welcomes that the BBC accepted the findings and recommendations of the Serota Review and has committed to reform through its 10 point Impartiality and Editorial Standards Action Plan. The BBC now needs to demonstrate clear and continued progress as the plan is embedded into business as usual.
The Government established Ofcom as the independent regulator of the BBC in 2017. Ofcom is responsible for holding the BBC to account against its impartiality responsibilities. It remains a priority for the Government to work with Ofcom to deliver an effective and proportionate regulatory framework that holds the BBC to account while maintaining its creative freedom and operational independence.
A key focus of the Government’s Mid-Term Review of the BBC is to look at the regulatory and governance measures which can enable progress on impartiality, more accountability for editorial standards, including the handling of complaints, and a BBC that represents the breadth of the audience it was established to serve.
Our work on the Mid-Term Review is ongoing. The Charter specifies that the review must take place between 2022 and 2024, and we will publish our findings and conclusions in due course.
Asked by: Lord Dubs (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 effect of the licence fee settlement on BBC news and current affairs programmes.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2022, His Majesty’s Government agreed a settlement with the BBC which saw the licence fee remain at £159 until 2024 to protect licence-fee-payers from inflationary pressures, and then rise in line with inflation until the end of 2027 when the BBC’s current Royal Charter is due for renewal.
HM Government will use the annual rate of inflation as calculated by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in September 2023 to calculate the licence fee uplift in April 2024. This decision will ensure the additional cost to licence-fee-payers is kept as low as possible while giving the BBC over £3.8 billion in annual licence fee funding to spend on world-leading content and to deliver on its mission as set out in its Royal Charter: to serve all audiences with impartial, high-quality, and distinctive output and services which inform, educate, and entertain.
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government and decides how it delivers its services, including its news and current affairs programming. We are, however, clear that the BBC must deliver its remit to serve all audiences with impartial, high-quality, and distinctive output and services which inform, educate, and entertain. The Royal Charter makes clear that the BBC has a vital role to play in enabling all audiences to engage fully with major local, regional, national, and global issues, and to participate in the democratic process, at all levels. The Government expects Ofcom, as the BBC’s regulator, to ensure that the Corporation is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duty.
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, whether she has had discussions with the BBC on the potential impact of its coverage of the Israel-Hamas War on community cohesion in the UK.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. That is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive events that could impact community cohesion in the UK.
The events in Israel since 7 October are terrorist acts committed by a terrorist organisation, proscribed in the United Kingdom since 2021 and designated as such by many other governments and international organisations.
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decisions around its editorial policies and guidelines are therefore a matter for the BBC.
However, calling these acts what they are, and accurately labelling the perpetrators, helps audiences to understand what has happened, is happening and its context.
That is why the Secretary of State has communicated with the BBC, and with the public, her disappointment that the BBC has refused to describe Hamas as terrorists, or the atrocities it has carried out as terrorism. The Secretary of State made that point to the BBC on multiple occasions since the terrorist attacks on 7 October.
And on the misattribution of responsibility for the strike on the Al-Alhi hospital, as the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House of Commons on 23 October, “the misreporting of this incident had a negative effect in the region – including on a vital US diplomatic effort – and on tensions here at home. We need to learn the lessons and ensure that in future there is no rush to judgement.”
As the external independent regulator of the BBC, Ofcom is responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.