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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June to Question 265492: BBC, what his policy is on funding public service broadcasting in the (a) North East of England and (b) Easington constituency.

Public service broadcasting is funded either through the licence fee for the BBC; or through commercial activities of the commercial public service broadcasters, such as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Public service broadcasters hold a responsibility to ensure that they serve audiences across all parts of the UK and all demographics. The Government continues to encourage all broadcasters to consider what more they can do to increase investment and strengthen their appeal to audiences across the nations and regions, including in the North East of England.