BBC
Debate between John Whittingdale and John Baron
Mr Whittingdale
There is a long-standing principle that those who enjoy public service television should be required to pay for it through the licence fee. There is no question but that the advent of the iPlayer and catch-up services has created a loophole, which has meant that the BBC has lost a significant, and probably growing, amount of revenue. It was part of the agreement that we reached with the BBC last year that we should close that loophole and, in essence, apply the same rules in today’s age as have always applied in the past: if someone watches public service content, they should pay the licence fee, which funds the BBC.
Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
This statement is welcome and it confirms that the BBC does a very good job overall, but what are the Government doing to ensure fairness in its coverage of the EU referendum campaign, especially given that the BBC receives large amounts of EU funding—tens of millions of pounds in recent years?
Mr Whittingdale
As I have previously set out, we have now put impartiality as one of the first requirements in the public purposes of the BBC. Ensuring impartiality becomes particularly challenging in such a hotly contested issue as our membership of the European Union, which is why I asked the BBC to ensure that it had a fast-track system for resolving complaints of bias from either side of the argument. I was pleased that the BBC Trust agreed that that would be put in place and recognised its importance. I should also say that that requirement for impartiality does not just apply to the BBC; it applies to all those with a broadcasting licence, who are required to be objective and impartial. That includes the commercial broadcasters, as well as the BBC.