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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the BBC on how the Local Democracy Reporting Service ensures political impartiality in reporting on local councils, combined authorities and other local democratic institutions.

The Secretary of State meets regularly with the BBC to discuss a wide range of issues.

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the government. The BBC’s Principles of Operation for the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) set out that the core purpose of the LDRS is to provide impartial coverage of the regular business and workings of local authorities in the UK, and other relevant democratic institutions. These Principles also make clear that Local Democracy Reporters report to the contract holder, not to the BBC or any other partner, and their reporting should be undertaken according to common editorial standards. The full set of principles is available at https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/lnp/LDRS_operation_principles.pdf.

The Charter Review, launched on 16 December 2025, will ensure the BBC continues to deliver the high standards of reporting that the public expect of a national broadcaster and that it is suitably transparent to the public and to Parliament. The Green Paper discussed how the next Charter could guarantee local news of democratic importance is provided into the future, through initiatives such as the LDRS. In doing so we are evaluating what, if any, changes are necessary to ensure the LDRS operates as effectively as possible.