Channel 4
Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Ashton of Hyde
Of course, I completely agree with the importance of that—and when we have the consultation, it will be one of the things that can be taken into account. Channel 4, along with other public service broadcasters, has a responsibility to look at diversity and take it very seriously.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)
My Lords, will my noble friend agree that, in essence, the mission of Channel 4 is pretty clear: optimisation of revenue to deliver on a very clear remit? To this end, anything which seeks to maximise that should be considered; anything which would detract from it should not be considered. Perhaps the best example of the channel doing something which probably no other channel in the United Kingdom could do was the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games coverage. In asking this question, I declare my interests as set out in the register.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
My Lords, I do not completely agree that its object is to maximise revenue. As a public service broadcaster that is commercially funded, mainly at the moment by advertising, of course it has to stand on its own two feet, with the Government as the lender of last resort. However, I absolutely endorse my noble friend’s words on its excellent job as far as the Paralympic Games are concerned.
Disability: Football Stadiums
Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Ashton of Hyde
I think this was the subject of the Private Member’s Bill of the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner. The problem is that the statutory basis for the Sports Grounds Safety Authority did not cover this area. Parliament has decided under the Equality Act that the EHRC should be given responsibility for this. I take the noble Lord’s point, and we are very concerned about this. We are waiting anxiously to see what will happen and whether the Premier League will abide by its commitment. I assure the noble Lord that Ministers are in contact frequently with the Premier League and the English Football League on this, among other subjects.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest in the register. Does my noble friend agree that there is no realistic prospect of all Premier League clubs complying with the guidance by next summer? Best estimates demonstrate that probably more than one-third of clubs will still not be compliant with the guidance. Does the Minister agree that the Government and the EHRC should take another look at this because it may be the richest football league on the planet, but on disability access it is morally bankrupt?
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The noble Lord speaks with experience as a commissioner of the EHRC. I was not aware of the information that he has. The Premier League has written to the DWP and the DCMS giving its half-time reports on this subject, which will be released to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee soon. As I say, we expect a more detailed report in January and we will see whether what the noble Lord has said is true then.
Banks: Unbanked and Underbanked
Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con)
My Lords, improving access to banking services is central to the Government’s agenda. This is why the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK already offer basic bank accounts that are truly fee-free. Basic bank accounts help people who are unbanked or who may be ineligible for a standard current account to access basic banking services. In addition, the nine banks will be legally required to offer basic bank accounts from September 2016.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)
My Lords, on an individual basis this is about empowerment; on a business basis, this is about unleashing currently frustrated economic growth. What will the Government do to ensure that the unbanked and underbanked are a priority across Whitehall, and will they do everything they can to benefit from all that digital and FinTech offer?
Lord Ashton of Hyde
My Lords, the Government committed in the Budget this year to publish basic bank account market share data for the first time this autumn, which will show how the banks are meeting their commitments. This will enable government departments to look at how this is progressing and what more they can do. My noble friend is also right to highlight FinTech and the digital sector, as there are many opportunities for technology to support inclusion. I am pleased to say that my honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury today announced a package of measures to further support UK FinTech, and we will announce further measures in the not-too-distant future.
Financial Services: Competition
Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Holmes of Richmond
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into personal current accounts and banking services for small and medium-sized enterprises, whether they intend to support further the financial technology sector in providing greater competition across financial services.
Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to improving competition in financial services and welcome technological innovation that incentivises firms to provide the best products and services to customers. The UK is already a global hub for financial technology—fin-tech—and our ambition is to make the UK the global hub for fin-tech. We have already taken a number of steps to achieve this and we continue to look at ways to support this exciting sector.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)
My Lords, alternative finance is, indeed, a great British success story. We have a real opportunity to close the finance gap which has held back small and medium-sized enterprises for decades. I congratulate the Government on what they have done so far in this area, and ask my noble friend what more they will do to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are aware of the full breadth of finance options available to them.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
My Lords, to support the development of diverse finance markets for smaller businesses, the Government have established the British Business Bank, which brings together new and existing schemes into a single, commercially minded institution. The Chancellor also announced the launch of the Business Banking Insight survey. This will help the UK’s SMEs to understand their options, make decisions about who they should bank with and plan how they will finance their growth. Lastly, the Federation of Small Businesses survey found that more SMEs reported that credit was affordable and available than at any time since 2012.