The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)

My Lords, in moving this Motion, I shall also speak to the Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025. I am pleased to be speaking to these regulations, which were laid before the House in draft on 13 October 2025; they were recently debated, and subsequently approved, in the House of Commons on 3 November 2025. The regulations have also been considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Neither committee raised any concerns about the legislation. How audiences access TV content has fundamentally changed with the introduction of streaming services, so it is important that regulation keeps pace with these changes. Our public service broadcasters have, prior to the Media Act 2024, been governed by laws written over 20 years ago, so the implementation of the Media Act is vital both to reform outdated broadcasting laws and to ensure that our public service broadcasters can compete in the digital world and continue to deliver for audiences. Specifically, the Act seeks to modernise the public service broadcasting remit and PSB quota system; it is the quota system to which these regulations relate. Quotas are an important regulatory tool to ensure that our PSBs make and broadcast a range of content. This includes: requirements for PSBs to commission a certain amount of programming from independent producers, known as the independent productions quota; requirements to broadcast programmes commissioned by the PSB, typically called the original productions quota; and requirements to produce programming outside London, referred to as regional programme-making or the regional productions quota. PSBs are required to comply with these quota obligations in exchange for certain benefits, such as prominence on TV guides. Currently, PSBs can deliver against these quotas only via their main linear broadcast channel. However, once fully commenced, the Media Act will permit their delivery via a wider range of services, including on-demand services. This is in recognition of the fact that audiences are increasingly choosing to watch PSB content via on-demand content. Historically, our PSBs generally meet—and often surpass —these quotas, so our overall ambition is to replicate the effect of the existing quotas, enabling them to be fulfilled by making on-demand content as well as traditional linear broadcasts available. To make this operable, the Act amends the quota system by converting the existing percentage quota to a specific number of hours so that they can apply to on-demand programming. Although the Secretary of State sets the minimum level of the independent productions quota, as set out in the Schedule to the SI, the responsibility for setting the levels of the original and regional productions quotas is delegated to Ofcom. With this in mind, this Government took the decision to use the power to delegate responsibility for determining the treatment of repeats for these quotas to Ofcom, in order to make sure that any decisions it makes regarding these quotas are made in the round and operationally make sense. Ofcom leads this process and has been engaging with the PSBs on their approach to determining quota levels, as well as the treatment of repeats. More widely, Ofcom has overall responsibility for monitoring the delivery of the public service broadcasting quotas. These regulations bring forward the necessary amendments to implement all of the changes that were set out in the Media Act. For example, the draft Broadcasting (Regional Programme-making and Original Productions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will, if approved, update relevant definitions in the Broadcasting (Original Productions) Order 2004 to align with the amendments made by the Media Act, as well as introducing a requirement on Ofcom to determine whether repeats may be counted towards the original and regional productions quotas. Meanwhile, the draft Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025 will, if approved, revoke and replace the Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Order 1991 and update relevant definitions, as well as setting the level of the modernised independent productions quota for each PSB. As required by the Communications Act 2003, the department has consulted the BBC, S4C and Ofcom, as well as the other PSBs and PACT, throughout the drafting process. An initial draft of both instruments was shared with the statutory consultees and all other PSBs on 19 March this year. Both draft regulations were then published in draft on 6 May 2025. We have used this engagement with industry to inform the drafting of these regulations. No substantive concerns were raised; I want to take this opportunity to thank the PSBs, Ofcom and PACT for their constructive engagement throughout to ensure that the regulations work. DCMS is continuing to progress the implementation of the other remaining provisions in the Act, recognising that the Act delivers important reforms to support the future sustainability of our PSBs. A key priority is to ensure that our PSBs are equipped to face the challenges posed by changes in technology, consumer behaviour and increased competition on demand. The commencement of the modernised PSB remit and quota system on 1 January 2026, alongside bringing forward these draft regulations for debate today, is an important part of this work. I beg to move.