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Written question asked by David Reed (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 July 2026. It was answered by Ian Murray (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Public Service Broadcasting

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department last conducted a resilience test of public service broadcasting infrastructure against the scenario of a national telecommunications network failure.

Answer

The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency. Television and radio both play an important role in providing such access in a range of different emergency scenarios, including scenarios where other communications may be disrupted.

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its infrastructure is able to support emergency communications.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks in the National Risk Register is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed DCMS that there are robust plans and procedures in place, which are tested regularly, for maintaining resilient communications to the public via its TV and radio broadcast networks including live tests of its broadcast systems.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16801
Session
2026-27
Registered interest declared
Yes
Subjects
Infrastructure Public service broadcasting Telecommunications Outages
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk