The government is committed to supporting high-quality, UK-made children’s TV and video content, and the diverse benefits it brings. The government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available.

Through the Media Green Paper we are also working with industry to promote voluntary arrangements to make content from our public service media providers, including children’s content, more prominent on video sharing platforms. We want all parts of the sector to work together to meet audiences where they are and ensure high-quality programming is easily accessible. The government has not ruled out the use of legislation in the event voluntary solutions are not realised.

The UK’s creative sector tax reliefs are internationally competitive.

Under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, children’s television programmes benefit from an enhanced credit rate of 39 per cent, compared with the standard 34 per cent rate for film and high-end television. In 2024-25, £29 million of tax relief was provided to children’s television productions.

Government takes the threat of foreign interference seriously and works across departments, intelligence partners and regulators to identify and respond to state-linked information threats. However, it is not this department’s function to routinely assess individual television series. We work closely with other departments, including the Home Office and FCDO, to respond to existing and emerging threats.

Ofcom is the independent communications regulator, and any assessment of compliance with relevant broadcasting requirements is a matter for Ofcom.

The Government is committed to growing the UK screen sector across all nations. Glasgow, identified as a high-potential creative cluster in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, is well placed to benefit from the Government's £75 million Screen Growth Package.

This includes the UK Global Screen Fund, with Scottish-led co-productions securing significant awards and Screen Scotland contributing to the Fund's Advisory Board. The British Film Institute also supports Scotland's screen sector through UK-wide funding, including the National Lottery Skills Cluster, which helps address skills and crew shortages.

We are also investing in skills through the National Film and Television School, including its Glasgow hub at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay and the Edinburgh-based Sean Connery Talent Lab. This complements our refreshed £9 million Creative Careers Programme, which was piloted in Scotland.

We continue to work with Screen Scotland and the wider sector to strengthen screen production across Scotland and the UK, supported by stable and competitive tax reliefs that benefit all nations. The BBC Charter Review also provides an opportunity to support the BBC's central role in Scotland's screen economy.

The Government recognises that the illegal streaming of content negatively impacts the revenues of UK broadcasters, which is why we have committed in our Creative Industries Sector Plan to ensure UK intellectual property rights are the best protected in the world.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in conjunction with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), recently announced that its funding for the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit Unit (PIPCU), hosted by the City of London Police, will continue until 2029, and strengthen their ongoing partnership in UK intellectual property enforcement. This partnership actively targets websites and platforms providing illegal access to copyrighted material, such as the illegal streaming of television content.

We want to ensure the future sustainability of the broadcasting sector so that they can continue to commission and produce high quality content in the UK. That’s why we have committed to taking action to support the sector through our implementation of the Media Act 2024. We are also considering the findings in Ofcom’s Public Service Media (PSM) Review, which includes a number of recommendations looking to support the future sustainability of public service media.

The Secretary of State meets regularly with the BBC to discuss a wide range of issues.

The Royal Charter places obligations on the BBC to observe high standards of openness and seek to maximise transparency and accountability. It also requires the BBC to report a range of information in its annual plan and its annual report and accounts, including how it ensures provision for the United Kingdom’s nations and regions.

The government launched the BBC Charter Review last year. The Green Paper set out our ambition for the BBC to tell a unifying national story that represents all communities across the UK, and to drive growth in the nations and regions. It also set out proposals for enhancing transparency in a way that supports wider public trust in the content and services the BBC delivers. We are looking at a range of options to deliver this, which include further obligations relating to programme making and spend outside of London.

The Secretary of State regularly meets with the BBC to discuss a range of issues. However, the BBC is editorially and operationally independent of the government and decisions regarding the coverage of the Commonwealth Day service are a matter for the BBC.

The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.

The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.

The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.

More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.

The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.

The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.

More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.

The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.

The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.

More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of children’s programming and the positive impact it can have on a child’s development. This can be supported not only through educational programming, but through high-quality narratives and storytelling, building their understanding of the world around them. We are committed to supporting high quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content and the considerable benefits it brings.

The Government provides generous tax reliefs at a rate of 39% of UK production costs for children’s TV and for animation (equivalent to 29.25% net after tax), with no cap on the total funds available. Additionally, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we are investing in the future of film and TV - including through a £75 million Screen Growth Package over three years, aimed at making the UK the premier global hub for screen content production.

The Government continues to engage with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high quality content. We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, and look forward to its conclusions.

More broadly, we recognise that news media plays a vital role particularly at local level in aiding social cohesion and civic engagement, and acting as a key source of trustworthy information to help counter mis and disinformation. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of local journalism. One pillar of the Strategy will focus on helping local media over the longer term to adapt to changing online audience habits, including by promoting the value of journalism to young people, who are the most likely segment of the population to use alternative sources of news and information. More will be announced on the Strategy in due course.