The future of public service broadcasting

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 27 Mar 2020 Closed: 18 Jun 2021 Parliament page
The inquiry will look at the future of public service broadcasting (PSB) within the wider media and digital ecology, including funding, content and regulation of PSBs and how this compares with alternative subscription, streaming services and Freeview services. In addition to the BBC, there are a number of other broadcasters … Read more
22 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
2 Reports
6 Oral sessions
3 Letters
6 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
3 Nov
2021
Report published
17 Jun
2021
Report published
25 Mar
2021
Report published
25 Mar
2021
Correspondence
15 Dec
2020
Oral evidence
17 Nov
2020
Oral evidence
17 Nov
2020
Correspondence
3 Nov
2020
Oral evidence
15 Sep
2020
Oral evidence
3 Sep
2020
Correspondence
14 Jul
2020
Oral evidence
16 Jun
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
15 Dec 2020
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Dame Melanie Dawes · Ofcom Kevin Bakhurst · Ofcom Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
17 Nov 2020
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Dr Caitriona Noonan · Cardiff University Jacqueline Baker · B Inclusive Task Force John McVay OBE · Pact Professor Jeanette Steemers · King’s College London Professor Philip Schlesinger · Glasgow University
3 Nov 2020
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Chris Bird · Amazon Georgia Brown · Screen Sectors Skills Task Force Iain Bundred · BBC Richard Lewis · YouTube
15 Sep 2020
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Ali Law · Sky Anne Mensah · Netflix Benjamin King · Netflix Maria Kyriacou · ViacomCBS Mitchell Simmons · ViacomCBS Zai Bennett · Sky
14 Jul 2020
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Dame Carolyn McCall · ITV Magnus Brooke · ITV
16 Jun 2020
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Alex Mahon · Channel 4 Clare Sumner CBE · BBC James Purnell · BBC
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
Clear
10 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
It took the Government almost 10 months to respond to the consultation on decriminalisation of...
It took the Government almost 10 months to respond to the consultation on decriminalisation of TV licence fee evasion. Delays of this nature by DCMS in reforming other areas of broadcasting, such as prominence, would be of significant concern. Of … Read more
Government Response
The government is actively considering decriminalisation within the ongoing licence fee settlement negotiations, effectively rejecting the committee's call for assurance that it would not be used as a bargaining tool, and does not address the request to publish findings on enforcement schemes by session end.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
We recognise the problems associated with the licence fee and, in the annex to this...
We recognise the problems associated with the licence fee and, in the annex to this Report, explore the existing alternatives. None of these are sufficiently attractive to justify recommending, for the next Charter period, that they replace the current 52 … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating it does not agree that a decision on the BBC's funding model needs to be made now and will reconsider it ahead of the next Charter Review in 2027.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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18 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
We recommend the Government impose two specific requirements in relation to PSB content hosted on...
We recommend the Government impose two specific requirements in relation to PSB content hosted on other streaming services in new media legislation. First, PSB content The future of public service broadcasting 53 should be clearly labelled as such and branded … Read more
Government Response
The government defers to ongoing reviews for changes to the legislative framework, and for brand attribution and data sharing, views them as matters for contractual negotiation, hoping for voluntary data sharing rather than legislative imposition.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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23 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
The lack of workforce data collected and shared by streaming services in the UK is...
The lack of workforce data collected and shared by streaming services in the UK is of great concern. The Government must ensure that regulators have access to top line data, in line with that provided by traditional broadcasters, to enable … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to include a requirement for streaming services to provide workforce diversity data in new legislation, citing the need to balance regulation burden on enterprises and referencing existing Ofcom powers.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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24 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
PSBs should be leading by example.
PSBs should be leading by example. The current gaps in employment data supplied to Ofcom are of significant concern. We recommend that Ofcom place minimum requirement obligations on PSBs, in terms of the employment data they provide, in order to … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to amend the statutory framework to mandate minimum employment data requirements for PSBs, stating that Ofcom already has powers and citing the need to balance the burden of regulation on enterprise.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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25 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
We are concerned that, without monitoring, there is no way to tell whether transgender people...
We are concerned that, without monitoring, there is no way to tell whether transgender people are being fairly represented in the workplace. Whilst there should be no requirement for someone to declare to their employer that they are transgender, we … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to expand diversity monitoring to include transgender declaration, citing existing frameworks and the need to balance regulation burden on businesses.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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27 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
Diversity within the industry has improved in recent years—for example, there is a better gender...
Diversity within the industry has improved in recent years—for example, there is a better gender balance—but progress continues to be too slow. It is taking too long to address inequality within the industry and much more needs to be done … Read more
Government Response
The government states it is committed to supporting diversity and relies on existing statutory frameworks and ongoing work with the British Film Institute to promote representation, but it does not propose to amend the statutory framework to accelerate improvements.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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29 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - The future of publi…
Increasing diversity in commissioning and production roles is crucial for improving on-screen diversity.
Increasing diversity in commissioning and production roles is crucial for improving on-screen diversity. We recommend that Ofcom introduce requirements for the number of BAME, LGBTQ+ and disabled people in commissioning and senior production roles to improve authentic on-screen representation of … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for Ofcom to introduce specific diversity requirements for BAME, LGBTQ+, and disabled people in senior production roles, citing existing statutory frameworks and the burden of regulation on businesses.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Government Response AI assessment · 30 of 22 classified
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 10
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 8
Total 22 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
25 Mar 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to Tim Davie, Director-General, BBC, re licence fee evasion, 25 March 2021
Parliament page
17 Nov 2020 To committee Letter from Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Secretary of State for DCMS, re BBC Licence Fee settlement, 10 November 2020
Parliament page
3 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from Dame Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive, ITV, re oral evidence follow up, 23 July 2020
Parliament page