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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the report by Ofcom, Diversity and Equal Opportunities in Television, published on 14 September 2017, what assessment they have made of any progress in increasing diversity in this sector.

Ofcom’s annual diversity monitoring report is a key tool in measuring how much progress the industry is making in increasing diversity in the sector. The report, which is attached, can be found here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/121683/diversity-in-TV-2018-report.PDF

Now in its second year, the report makes clear that broadcasters still have much work to do to make their workforces more representative and reduce data gaps so a more accurate picture can be built. The government supports Ofcom’s work and expects broadcasters to voluntarily publish data on all diversity characteristics, not just the ones they are obliged to by law, to ensure that Ofcom is able to produce the most comprehensive reports possible.