Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she take steps to (a) reopen and (b) reconsider submissions made to her Department's consultation on a potential change of ownership of Channel 4 Television Corporation.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants it to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness.
As set out in our recent white paper, Up Next - the Government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, Channel 4 - along with all broadcasters - is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing, streaming platforms.
As the Prime Minister has said, it is right that we look at the business case for a sale of Channel 4, and the Secretary of State has confirmed she is doing that. We will set out further detail in due course.
The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4 last year and has no plans to reconsult at this time.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to publish a new consultation on the future ownership of Channel 4 Television Corporation.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants it to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness.
As set out in our recent white paper, Up Next - the Government’s vision for the broadcasting sector, Channel 4 - along with all broadcasters - is facing challenges to its future success and sustainability. This is due to the rapidly evolving media landscape, including unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly growing, streaming platforms.
As the Prime Minister has said, it is right that we look at the business case for a sale of Channel 4, and the Secretary of State has confirmed she is doing that. We will set out further detail in due course.
The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4 last year and has no plans to reconsult at this time.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on the proposed privatisation of Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is a great UK success story and, in a rapidly changing media landscape, the government wants Channel 4 to have the necessary tools to thrive in the long-term while maintaining its distinctiveness. It is right that the government looks again in detail at the business case for a sale of Channel 4, and I will announce next steps in due course.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the financial impact of Channel 4 on the independent television production sector.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders has informed the Government’s assessment of any potential impact of a change of ownership. The Government published its sale impact analysis on 28 April.
Channel 4 has done an excellent job in supporting the UK production sector and thereby delivering on one of its founding purposes. Forty years on, independent production in the UK is now booming, with revenues having grown from £500 million in 1995 to £3 billion in 2019. Companies are increasingly less reliant on Channel 4 for commissions. According to Pact’s 2020 census, only 7 per cent of the UK’s independent production sector revenues come from Channel 4 commissions.
More broadly, the independent production sector is now a mature industry, driven principally by medium sized and larger companies. The majority of revenues flow to a relatively small group of large companies in the independent production sector. Pact’s figures suggest that 63 per cent of sector revenues were captured by companies with £25m+ revenues in 2020, and 34 per cent of revenues were captured by companies with £70m+ revenues.
Under new ownership, Channel 4 will still be required to commission a minimum volume of its programming from independent producers, in line with the quotas placed on other public service broadcasters, ensuring its continued contribution to the sector.
Channel 4 has excellent relationships with independent producers right across the UK and there is no reason this should change. The Government expects a new owner to want to build on and develop those relationships. Ultimately, the Government believes that in the long run the UK production ecosystem will benefit from a more sustainable Channel 4. A change of ownership that improves Channel 4’s access to capital could increase spending on production. For example, Channel 5’s overall content budget increased following its acquisition by Viacom in 2014, with first-run spending up by an average of 7% per year between 2014 and 2018.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2022 to Question 18050 on Channel Four Television, how many times she has met the Chief Executive of Channel 4 in 2022 as of 20 June.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS ministers and officials continue to meet with Channel 4.
The Secretary of State made clear in her oral evidence session with the DCMS Select Committee on 19 May that the Government wants to work collaboratively with the Channel 4 Management and Board to secure the best future for the broadcaster.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff does her Department employ specifically to identify people smugglers aiding migrants cross the Channel.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
18772:
2021 | Arrests | Convictions |
Jan | 10 | 17 |
Feb | 14 | 5 |
Mar | 15 | 9 |
Apr | 19 | 4 |
May | 28 | 7 |
Jun | 35 | 13 |
Jul | 17 | 1 |
Aug | 6 | 7 |
Sep | 20 | 11 |
Oct | 15 | 6 |
Nov | 16 | 8 |
Dec | 4 | 12 |
Grand Total | 199 | 100 |
2022 | Arrests | Convictions |
Jan | 3 | 5 |
Feb | 4 | 3 |
Mar | 18 | 5 |
Apr | 13 | 1 |
May | 10 | 2 |
Grand Total | 48 | 16 |
18773:
Criminal & Financial Investigation teams currently have 74 live people smuggling cases that are considered ‘Post Charge’. These are cases where charging of suspect(s) has been agreed by the CPS. These will be at various stages of the court process, ranging from being warned for court, to a trial being underway and to trial concluded, but awaiting sentencing.
18774:
Immigration Enforcement have 550 funded FTE for Criminal & Financial Investigation teams to tackle immigration crime.
18775:
Year | Convictions |
12th Dec 2019 Onwards | 3 |
2020 | 147 |
2021 | 100 |
2022 YTD | 16 |
Grand Total | 266 |
The 2022 total year to date only takes into account prosecutions until the end of May, which makes the number appear artificially low. There are still cases ongoing and the numbers of convictions is expected to increase.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people smugglers who aid migrants to illegally cross the English Channel have been (a) identified and (b) prosecuted by the Government in each month since January 2021.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
18772:
2021 | Arrests | Convictions |
Jan | 10 | 17 |
Feb | 14 | 5 |
Mar | 15 | 9 |
Apr | 19 | 4 |
May | 28 | 7 |
Jun | 35 | 13 |
Jul | 17 | 1 |
Aug | 6 | 7 |
Sep | 20 | 11 |
Oct | 15 | 6 |
Nov | 16 | 8 |
Dec | 4 | 12 |
Grand Total | 199 | 100 |
2022 | Arrests | Convictions |
Jan | 3 | 5 |
Feb | 4 | 3 |
Mar | 18 | 5 |
Apr | 13 | 1 |
May | 10 | 2 |
Grand Total | 48 | 16 |
18773:
Criminal & Financial Investigation teams currently have 74 live people smuggling cases that are considered ‘Post Charge’. These are cases where charging of suspect(s) has been agreed by the CPS. These will be at various stages of the court process, ranging from being warned for court, to a trial being underway and to trial concluded, but awaiting sentencing.
18774:
Immigration Enforcement have 550 funded FTE for Criminal & Financial Investigation teams to tackle immigration crime.
18775:
Year | Convictions |
12th Dec 2019 Onwards | 3 |
2020 | 147 |
2021 | 100 |
2022 YTD | 16 |
Grand Total | 266 |
The 2022 total year to date only takes into account prosecutions until the end of May, which makes the number appear artificially low. There are still cases ongoing and the numbers of convictions is expected to increase.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times she has met the senior management at Channel 4 since her appointment.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
During the consultation period, the Government worked closely with Channel 4’s management to understand the challenges and opportunities the changing market presents and different models and plans that might support Channel 4’s future.
DCMS ministers and officials continue to meet regularly with Channel 4.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with representatives of Channel 4 on whether its higher education partnerships in (a) Belfast and (b) Newry will remain open after privatisation.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government values Channel 4’s work in developing skills and talent pipelines, particularly in the nations and regions.
The Government would expect any new owner to have a business interest in supporting the development of talent and skills across the UK creative industries, as many of our public service and other broadcasters already do.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the privatisation of Channel 4 on its annual levels of investment in independent television and film production companies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government consulted extensively on the future of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders has informed the government’s assessment of any potential impact of a change of ownership. The Government published its sale impact analysis on 28 April.
Channel 4 has done an excellent job in supporting the UK production sector and thereby delivering on one of its founding purposes. Forty years on, independent production in the UK is now booming, with revenues having grown from £500 million in 1995 to £3 billion in 2019. Companies are increasingly less reliant on Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs), including Channel 4 for commissions.
Channel 4 still has an important part to play in supporting the sector and our wider creative economy. Channel 4 will still be required to commission a minimum volume of programming from independent producers, in line with the quotas placed on other PSBs.
Channel 4 has strong relationships with independent producers right across the UK and there is no reason this should change. The Government expects a new owner to want to build on and develop those relationships.
The Government believes that in the long run the UK production ecosystem will benefit from a more sustainable Channel 4. A change of ownership that improves Channel 4’s access to capital could increase spending on production.