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Written question asked by Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 January 2026. It was answered by Ian Murray (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Press: Misconduct

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 45800 on Press: Misconduct, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that arbitration schemes operated by press regulators are available to provide timely and effective redress before the Government directs members of the public to them in guidance.

Answer

The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is vital to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. The Government therefore does not intervene in or evaluate the work of independent press regulators.

However, under Section 179 of the Data Protection Act every three years the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on the use and effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as arbitration, in cases involving a failure or alleged failure by relevant media organisations to comply with data protection legislation. The most recent report was presented to Parliament in May 2024 and was carried independently of DCMS by David Rossington, as the Independent Reviewer. The report is published on the Gov.uk website:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d2ded5fb8db2176d5e97d0/Formatted_240312_SECOND_REPORT_UNDER_SECTION_179_OF_THE_DATA_PROTECTION_ACT_v3__FINAL__accessible.pdf.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
108684
Session
2024-26
Related items
Press: Misconduct
Friday, 25 April 2025
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Compensation Misconduct Press
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk