13 Facts About BBC Parliament

BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees of the British Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd.

Until 2008, BBC Parliament was unique amongst the BBC channels in being broadcast using non-BBC facilities, with ITV's Millbank Studios in Westminster supplying the engineering and playout facilities.

BBC Parliament was taken off the air during the 2012 Summer Olympics on Freeview in post-digital switchover areas to enable BBC Three to broadcast 24 hours a day.

The BBC Parliament had done the same during the 2008 Summer Olympics as it used the space to provide an additional BBC Parliament Red Button option for Freeview users.

BBC Parliament HD has been confirmed as launching from 20 October 2021 and rolling out across various platforms at different times right up to the end of 2022, the standard definition service will continue on Freeview.

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In July 2018, the BBC announced that the output on the channel was to be cut back, discontinuing all programming produced for the channel other than parliamentary coverage, and closing the channel entirely during summer months when Parliament and the devolved assemblies are not sitting.

Whenever the House of Commons is sitting, BBC Parliament carries the chamber live without interruption, with any simultaneous House of Lords sitting being shown in full later the same day and the following morning, often in sections that fit around the sittings of the Commons.

BBC Parliament provides full, recorded coverage of the House of Commons' second chamber Westminster Hall during weekends, when they will broadcast selected evidence sessions from different select committees of the House of Commons.

Since 2002 BBC Parliament has broadcast programmes that have a historical or broader social significance, often encompassing major events both in the United Kingdom and in the world.

Also in 2005, BBC Parliament marked the 30th anniversary of the first referendum over Europe by reshowing interviews with the two main party leaders, and broadcasting the two hours of the Referendum results coverage which the BBC retains in its archives.

David Dimbleby, who anchored the BBC Parliament's coverage, said a few words at the beginning and end of the rerun.

On 3 June 2019, BBC Parliament showed the BBC's coverage of the results of the 2016 United States presidential election which saw Donald Trump elected as President of the United States.

Until 2021, BBC Parliament had broadcast a range of political and current affairs programmes from across the BBC, including:.