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 impact of the proposals in The BBC Across the UK on local newspapers.

The Charter requires the BBC to consider its market impact and to ensure that it seeks to avoid unnecessary adverse impacts on competition, including local news. The BBC’s ‘Across the UK’ agenda sets out plans to move more of its operation and expenditure out of London, to fulfil its duty to support the creative economy across the UK.

As the independent regulator of the BBC, Ofcom assessed the BBC’s plans to increase its online local news output in December 2022. It concluded that the change was not one that may have a significant adverse impact on fair and effective competition, while also committing to monitor the implementation of the BBC’s proposals, with a view to addressing any emerging evidence of adverse impact on competition.

In May 2022, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the BBC Mid-Term Review, and the Terms of Reference, published in May 2022, stated that the Review will look at competition and market impact, including with regard to the local news market.We are engaging with stakeholders on this to understand their views.