Oral Answers to Questions

Graham P Jones Excerpts
Thursday 9th February 2017

(7 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Karen Bradley Portrait Karen Bradley
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I know that my hon. Friend has strong views on this subject. I assure him that we are looking at all options, and we will report to the House in due course.

Graham P Jones Portrait Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)
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As my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) said, the question of whether Channel 4 will or will not be privatised is one of the longest running soaps in this House. Can the Secretary of State confirm that there will not be a shareholder solution, that it will not be privatised and that it will not be for profit—that it will be not for profit? I expect that she is coming under pressure from Government Back Benchers to privatise Channel 4.

Karen Bradley Portrait Karen Bradley
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I know that the hon. Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) is particularly interested in long-running soaps on Channel 4, given that “Hollyoaks” is set in his constituency. I want to make sure that “Hollyoaks” and other programmes set across the UK are able to prosper so that we have a plurality of broadcasting that works for everyone.