Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department of the report by BBC Children’s & Education entitled Socioeconomic Impact of BBC Children’s and Education, published on 3 March 2026.

The Government has noted the BBC report on Socioeconomic Impact of BBC Children’s and Education, published on 3 March 2026, and strongly supports the BBC providing high quality children’s and educational content.

The BBC’s Royal Charter sets out its Mission and Public Purposes, including to inform, educate and entertain; support learning of people at all ages, including children and teenagers. The BBC is a significant provider of original UK children’s programmes, and in 2024, accounted for 88% of all first-run UK-originated children’s programming by Public Service Broadcasters. The volume of informal learning content on BBC iPlayer has also grown by 60% since 2021.

The Government published a Green Paper on BBC Charter Review last year, which also sets out our ambition for the BBC to support ‘at risk’ content, including children’s and educational content. We also want the BBC to build on its work helping people of all ages build digital skills and confidence - through services like BBC Bitesize - to ensure that everyone can continue to benefit from its services.

The BBC is a cornerstone of our world-leading creative economy because of its reach and impact - nurturing home-grown talent, driving technological change, and encouraging investment into the UK creative sector. The Charter Review is a vital way we can support this ecosystem and will focus on ensuring the BBC is able to continue playing a central role in the growth of the UK’s creative economy, including entering into mutually beneficial partnerships.