BBC
Debate between John Whittingdale and Maggie Throup
Mr Whittingdale
I share my hon. Friend’s admiration for local radio and local services. The BBC’s general requirement to serve the nations and regions is set out clearly. Ofcom will be producing service licences, which will make clear the expectation on the BBC and provide further detail of how we expect it to meet that requirement. That is a matter that Ofcom will be concentrating on in the coming months in drawing up those service licences. However, I said yesterday, and I repeat again today, that I regard local radio as one of those aspects of BBC services that are fundamental to the delivery of its public service remit and that are not provided by the commercial sector.
Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)
I welcome the requirement for more productions to be tendered. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that will help to right an historic imbalance, given the share of production that is lacking across the east midlands? That will inevitably give my constituents more value for their licence fee and help to increase my local creative industries’ business, which is definitely good news.
Mr Whittingdale
I do agree with my hon. Friend. There is no doubt that there are incredibly innovative and successful independent production companies in every part of the United Kingdom, and I have absolutely no doubt that the east midlands is one of those parts. Opening up the whole of the schedule for competition will give much more opportunity to the independent production sector. It will support the companies in her area as it will across the rest of the UK, and it will give more choice to BBC commissioning editors and therefore, ultimately, higher-quality programmes for viewers.