Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with the BBC Trust measures to increase coverage of life, history and culture in Lancashire across the BBC national television and radio network.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the BBC Trust but has no plans to discuss this issue. Under the terms of the BBC’s Charter and Agreement, the BBC is required to “promote awareness of different cultures and alternative viewpoints, through content that reflects the lives of different people and different communities within the UK”. The BBC is however operationally and editorially independent of Government and there is no provision for the Government to intervene in the corporation’s day-to-day operations.