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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that under a potential change in ownership model Channel 4 would maintain its current levels of investment in skills and productivity for young people.

The Government believes that a change in ownership could allow Channel 4 the best chance of responding effectively to current market dynamics and opportunities, with greater access to capital and more scope to form strategic partnerships and expand internationally.

We all have a role to play in ensuring that the UK has an effective skills system that meets the needs of employers and learners - including young people - and that everyone with talent and ambition, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to build a successful career in the Creative Industries.

A thriving, sustainable Channel 4 could offer the best prospects for long term job creation for young people in the creative economy. That is why we are considering potential reform to gather views and evidence on how the channel’s future sustainability can be achieved.