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2024, been governed by laws written over 20 years ago, so the implementation of the Media Act is vital both to reform outdated broadcasting laws and to ensure that our public service broadcasters can compete in the digital world and continue to deliver for audiences.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.
My Lords, in preparing for what will, in general, be a very short contribution—with one or two questions for the Minister —I went back to 1955 and the establishment of ITV in Britain. When it was established, it came in the form of a great number of companies all over the country—admittedly running analogue services, but nevertheless very much based on the regions that those companies wished to represent, with a real flavour.
I emanate from Newcastle, where I had Tyne Tees Television on channel eight—it was a very good television company—and subsequently moved to Yorkshire, where Yorkshire Television still is a substantial regional company, together with the BBC and the regions that have been set up for it. I was also involved as a director of ausb company that applied for a commercial radio licence in the early 1970s. Again, that was very much a company based not only on regional interests: the content to be put out was required at that time by the IBA to be sufficiently broad, not simply playing records one after another. Over many years, I have seen a drop in the regional nature of productions. Luckily, in a region such as ours, in Yorkshire, we are still left with local programming—from the BBC and ITV, of course, as well as some commercial radio stations—although, as I say, this has been massively diminished.
I have a great concern about this whole question of regional output being maintained. With the current threat to ITV—it looks as if it could be sold to a contractor that may not feel so strongly about having the regional identities of different programme-makers and companies—we might lose Yorkshire Television, Tyne Tees, Granada and companies in the south of England. I am really worried about this.
In that context, I want to ask the Minister one or two quick questions. The Minister referred to the fact that we are moving away from free-to-air TV to on-demand services, but, as she knows—indeed, as we all know—on-demand services have to be paid for. I know that free-to-air TV is also paid for in certain ways, but we have here a situation where a different audience, who can financially afford to move to one of these on-demand services, will be established. Therefore, there does not seem to be a level playing field here.
The Minister is right that how people access television has dramatically changed. We need to move with that change. I presume that in the consultation on this SI, the PSBs were broadly in favour —I think the Minister said this. Will the Minister give her thoughts on the fact that when Ofcom implemented uprating spend quotas by 2% each year to reflect inflation—and, secondly, the requirement for coproduction to have a minimum of 25% PSB funding—it kept the former and will review this every three years but have dropped the latter. I think that might be something we need to consider.
Regional productions outside London, as the Minister said, have been hugely important, but it is about not just productions but the commissioning. Sadly, the commissioning arrangements still largely have London at the centre. I do not know whether the Minister has the current figures for the percentage of regional productions, because it would be interesting to know. If she does not have them, perhaps she can send them —mind you, we can get them from the Library.
I want to raise two issues. The first concerns the important point made by the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, about regional news. We see, in our communities, local news and regional news getting less and less. With the demise of newspapers and commercial local radio, and with the cutbacks at local BBC radio, two contributors to local news have shrunk dramatically. I am very concerned about the proposed takeover of ITV by Comcast, which has been raised. What will happen to local news? ITV’s first establishments were local and regional TV stations. I live in Granadaland; we still refer to ITV as Granada Television, believe it or not. It has been hugely important in informing people of local issues. We want to make sure that, in any selling off of what I regard as a crown jewel in ITV, local and regional news are protected; they have to be protected.
The second issue is national news. ITV owns 47% of ITN. Is ITN going to be part of the sales package, or is it going to be sold off separately? What is going to happen to ITN? If you think about it, this will mean Comcast owning Sky News and ITN providing news for three PSBs—is it three? Will they merge the two together? What will happen? It is hugely important that local regional news is protected and that alternative national news is also protected.
I want to raise one other issue; this is perhaps not the right place to raise it, but I am going to get it off my chest. In all of last week’s concerns about a certain “Panorama” programme—rightly so—we failed to remember that many of the so-called scandals faced by the BBC were made by independent production companies. During the furore, I do not recall anybody asking, “What responsibility are the independent production companies taking? Has anybody from the independent production company offered to resign? Has anybody been chastised?” Where does the responsibility lie when a programme is made by an independent company? The BBC has a commissioning editor, of course, and they have some responsibility, presumably, but I would have thought that the independent production company does as well. Finally, we support these SIs.
My Lords, I am glad to have this opportunity to consider these two statutory instruments. They form part of the implementation of the Media Act 2024, which I had the pleasure of taking through your Lordships’ House in practically the final hours of the last Parliament.
I thank the Minister for her introduction to the two instruments in front of us. As she clearly outlined, these instruments are technical but important. They ensure that the quotas applying to our public service broadcasters—whether for independent productions, original productions or regional programme-making—remain meaningful, measurable and fit for purpose both at a time when the balance between how people consume their news and their entertainment is shifting from linear channels to on-demand services and at a time when people are watching not just British broadcasters but streaming services owned by international entities.
I turn first to the regulations relating to independent productions. We on this side of the Committee have no difficulty with the changes that these regulations introduce. They are designed to reflect the clear shift in how viewers consume content and the wider reforms that were implemented through the Media Act. The statutory instrument updates the independent production quota by converting the long-standing 25% requirement into a minimum number of hours; that seems to us a sensible evolution, ensuring that the quota can be applied consistently across linear broadcasting and on-demand platforms. It will help maintain a strong and diverse pipeline of high-quality programming from the UK’s independent production sector.
The SI also updates the definitions of “independent productions” and “independent producer”, while rightly preserving the important principle that qualifying content must be made by companies not owned or controlled by broadcasters. The Government are also correct to uphold the established position that repeats should not count towards the quota, given the importance of commissioning new content and supporting our creative industries. These are proportionate changes which strike the right balance.
My Lords, I think I am right in saying that despite the lack of numbers in Grand Committee today, this has been an important and useful debate with interesting points made. I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed this afternoon.
It is clear from the contributions that we all recognise the important role our public service broadcasters play, both on and off screen, in their contribution across the country and in our day-to-day lives. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, gave an insightful contribution on some of the background and the value of regional output, reflecting the conversation earlier where he also gave some of the broad texture around it. There is a value to having such insights and it is hugely important for people across the country to recognise their own region in the output of public service broadcasters—I will come to that later when I respond to the noble Lord’s questions.
I also recognise the validity of the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, on the importance of regional media in the context of an age of devolution of decision-making, and the importance of making sure that we have an appropriate level of coverage where the decisions are made at a regional and local level. As the noble Lord will be aware, given how speedily he and others made sure it received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, the Media Act 2024 makes much-needed changes to the regulation of public service broadcasting, which was last substantively updated in 2003.
Since then, as I mentioned, internet access and streaming services have fundamentally changed how audiences access content. We are aware that the media landscape is going through a period of rapid change, which is why we are getting on with implementing the provisions in the Media Act designed to modernise the public service broadcasting system, including the PSBs’ quota regime. These regulations simply update and replace existing secondary legislation to implement the changes introduced by the Act, such as permitting the delivery of certain quotas via a wider range of services.
I come to the points and questions raised by noble Lords. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, asked a number of questions about regional commissioning and the extent to which public service broadcasters are doing enough in this area. I will go through a number of those points. We think PSBs are leading the way in this area. On average, they spent 62% of their external production budgets outside the M25 last year, and they are among the largest employers outside London. For example, 69% of ITV staff are based outside the capital. However, we want them and the rest of the sector to go further by investing more and opening up more opportunities for people across the country beyond just these quotas.
This is important. If we simply talk about “regional” output, it could all be just in Hertfordshire, which would have no effect whatever on the north-east of England, Yorkshire, Lancashire or, indeed, anywhere else. That is what we are looking at here—how this is divested downwards, as it were. I should be grateful if the Minister can find out for me the proportions.
Absolutely. I will get in touch with Ofcom about the noble Lord’s point, which was well made. As somebody who has spent a large part of my life in London and the south-east, the one thing I would say is that outside the M25 is not the same as outside London, but, at the moment, it is quite clear that not all the remaining production takes place in Hertfordshire, for example, albeit some of it will. I take some comfort from that, but the noble Lord made the point extremely well. We will get in touch with Ofcom, and I will share the letter with him and others taking part in this debate.
We have seen the model that happened with commercial radio, where they said, “Yes, we’re going to keep local news”, but the local news is commissioned from London and does not involve local people or local journalists; they just literally opt out. We do not want to see the same happen with Herefordshire, Hertfordshire or wherever hurricanes happen; we want to make sure it is actually made in that region.
I will add that point to the list of questions I send to Ofcom, and as I said, I shall share the response I get from Ofcom with noble Lords.
The other point that the noble Lord, Lord Storey, raised was on current media developments around ITV and the current situation regarding the potential purchasing of ITV Media & Entertainment by Sky. I am afraid that, as he is probably aware, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on any live discussions regarding a potential media merger, but we want to make sure that our public service broadcasters continue to thrive and compete.
These statutory instruments are important to ensure that our PSBs remain fit for the modern technological and digital age and so that they can continue to deliver for audiences. The commencement of the modernised PSB framework on 1 January next year will be an important milestone in the implementation of the Media Act, and demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment to ensuring that the regulatory framework that our PSBs operate in keeps pace with changes in the media landscape.
In conclusion, this debate has offered a great opportunity to discuss the value of our PSBs and the vital content they provide for UK audiences. We want to ensure that our PSBs can continue to thrive and compete with global competitors as viewing shifts online, and ultimately so that they can continue to do what they do best. As I said earlier. implementation of the Media Act and introducing the updates to PSB quota systems via these regulations is an important component of that work. Once again, I thank all noble Lords who contributed, and I beg to move.
Motion agreed.
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.
As far as the regional component is concerned, therefore, I would like to know whether there has been any comment from Ofcom, from the Government or from elsewhere about the balance that has to be drawn between regional programming on free to air and those for which a subscription is necessary. Is that going to be clearly defined between the two so that we continue to have sufficient regional programming, hopefully through the retention of regional television stations? That is an important question.
Secondly, I am confused about the question of repeats. They can be counted against quotas in some cases, but what is the position where a programme is first seen free to air and then consigned to on demand, or never intended for free to air showings? What happens with the repeat situation there?
The third question concerns the definition of regions. As I said, it was very clear in 1955, when the television regions were created, although there have been consolidations since. Are we simply stating, as the Minister did, that anything regional just means outside London? Is there no division here between different regions as to what components? I think there is in the case of the Welsh, with S4C, for instance, where there is a separate arrangement, but is there anything that determines different regions, as opposed to one amorphous thing?
The other thing I would like to ask about is the difference between programmes that are commissioned and paid for by a PSB and those that are simply bought in from an intermediary company. There is a reference here to intermediary companies. Are those intermediary companies subject to the same rules as to regional content as those that are actually commissioned directly by a PSB? I think that is important too, because we have, burgeoning around our country— I know there is one in Sunderland, for instance—companies that are now producing a lot of good regional material. Where that goes and how it is utilised is another matter. Are we therefore looking at the emanation of the regional programmes or the actual putting out of those programmes, either free to air or on an on-demand service? I hope those odd questions are of help.
I finish by saying again that I am deeply worried. Most of us in this House benefit from appearing from time to time, if we wish to, on regional programmes. Certainly, the BBC is very good at giving the views of politicians and so on, and allowing them to speak. ITV does this, but not quite as regularly as it used to do in the regions. I just do not want anything to happen here that further diminishes the way in which the public can enjoy programmes that have a clear regional content or regional basis. I hope that these measures will not affect that and I hope that the Minister will not mind me asking her those questions.
The first instrument relates to regional programme-making and original productions. Again, these amendments ensure consistency with the new regime brought in by the Media Act. I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Kirkhope for his contributions based on his own extensive experience in broadcasting—and it was very good to have another contribution from the land of Tyne Tees. I agree particularly with what he said about probing the description “regional”, which must not become a way of saying “not London”. For plenty of us in other parts of the country, London is a region, too. I echo what the noble Lord, Lord Storey, said about the importance of local news. It is particularly important at a time when we have a greater number of metro mayors and further devolution. With decisions made at an ever more local level, it is all the more important that the decision-makers are held to account by rigorous and independent local news productions.
The changes in this SI update the definitions of “original productions” and “regional” programming so that programmes can qualify whether they are first made available via linear broadcasting or online—which, again, is a necessary alignment with modern production and viewing habits. Importantly, they also give Ofcom the discretion to determine how repeats should be treated in these quotas, which is a practical and coherent approach reflecting the operational realities of commissioning and scheduling. It maintains the integrity of the system while giving the regulator appropriate flexibility.
Taken together, the two instruments before us bring significant aspects of our public service broadcasting framework up to date without altering the underlying principles that have long supported the UK’s world-leading broadcasting ecosystem, diversity of supply, strong regional representation, and the central role of independent producers in delivering high-quality British content. They reflect the changing nature of viewers’ behaviour, provide regulatory clarity and maintain the balance between public service broadcasters’ obligations and the flexibility that they need. We are very happy to support both instruments before the Grand Committee today.
The noble Lord also asked about repeats and whether they would count towards the regional production quotas. As with original productions, decisions on whether repeats can count towards the regional production quota sit with Ofcom. Following consultation, Ofcom has proposed excluding repeats from regional production quotas, as is the case currently. Its decision reflects the importance of regional programming and the continued investment in productions in the nations and regions.
Both the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, and the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, asked about the extent to which “regional” is classed as just outside London. Ofcom guidance sets out the definition currently of what can count towards the regional production quota. To qualify as a regional production, at least two of the following three criteria must be met. The production company must have a substantive business and production base in the UK outside the M25; at least 70% of the production budget, excluding some specific costs, must be spent in the UK outside the M25; and at least 50% of production talent by cost must have their usual place of employment in the UK outside the M25. I do not have a more nuanced detail on regional breakdown beyond this. However, I am happy to commit to contacting Ofcom and raising the points the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, raised, because for large parts of the country, outside the M25 does not necessarily count as being close to where they are regionally.