Recommendations & Conclusions
8 items
10
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 more concern was that the long-delayed response simply provided further …
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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 more concern was that the long-delayed response simply provided further uncertainty. The issue of decriminalisation could be used as a bargaining tool by the Government during the ongoing licence fee settlement negotiations with the BBC and S4C, and thereby undermine one of the core principles of public service broadcasting: that it should be removed from Government interference. We call on the Government to provide assurances that the issue of decriminalisation will not be used as a bargaining tool during the ongoing licence fee settlement negotiations with the BBC and S4C. We also recommend that the Government conclude its further work on enforcement schemes, and publish its findings, by the end of the current parliamentary session.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
12
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 The future of public service broadcasting licence fee model, not …
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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 The future of public service broadcasting licence fee model, not least given the disruption and expense of doing so and on balance, the licence fee remains the preferred option for that period. The Government either needs to come out with a strong alternative to the licence fee that it can put to Parliament, or strongly support the current model for at least the next Charter period (2028–2038) and actively aid the BBC in driving down evasion.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
18
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 with the logo of the PSB from which the content …
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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 with the logo of the PSB from which the content originated. Secondly, streaming services should be required to share top line viewing data—at the very least, the number of viewers—for PSB content they host with Ofcom and the relevant PSBs to enable full analysis of PSB reach, and the audio- visual landscape as a whole.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
23
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 accurate 54 The future of public service broadcasting analysis of …
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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 accurate 54 The future of public service broadcasting analysis of diversity and equal opportunities within the industry. We recommend that a requirement to provide data, including a breakdown by gender, race or ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and socio-economic background should be included in the new primary legislation we have called for to replace the Communications Act 2003.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
24
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 drive down the industry-wide gaps in data that currently exist. …
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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 drive down the industry-wide gaps in data that currently exist. Ofcom should hold PSBs to account if they do not meet the minimum requirements.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
25
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 would encourage the Government to work with Ofcom and broadcasters …
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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 would encourage the Government to work with Ofcom and broadcasters to expand diversity monitoring forms to include the option for people to declare that they are transgender should they wish to. That requirement should also be extended to streaming services to bring the data they collect in line with that collected by broadcasters.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
27
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 to increase diversity, notably disabled people and BAME representation and …
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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 to increase diversity, notably disabled people and BAME representation and particularly in the upper levels of management. PSBs and streaming services alike need to do better, and in the response to this Report, Ofcom and the Government should explain how they intend to ensure that improvements are made much more quickly.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
29
Recommendation
Sixth Report - The future of public ser…
Rejected
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 the UK’s diverse communities.
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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 the UK’s diverse communities.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport