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 Board on compliance with statutory obligations on impartiality; and whether her Department plans to bring the BBC's editorial standards under Government control.

As set out in my response to WPQ 89121, the Secretary of State has been speaking regularly to the Chair of the Board in relation to the points raised in a letter written by Michael Prescott. The public expects and deserves the highest editorial standards from the BBC. The Secretary of State has been consistently clear that where these standards are not met, firm and transparent action must follow.

The BBC is editorially and operationally independent from the Government and this is a crucial component of why people trust it. As such, the BBC Board is responsible for setting and overseeing the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards.

It is then for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences, including on impartiality and accuracy, as outlined in the Charter.