BBC
Debate between John Whittingdale and Matt Warman
Mr Whittingdale
Obviously, I welcome the BBC’s announcement of additional investment in Birmingham. The local newspaper initiative that I mentioned earlier is going to be based at BBC Birmingham. I am aware that Members representing west midlands constituencies have long pressed the BBC to do more. It is a matter for the BBC, but I welcome the fact that it is responding to that. I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman’s second point: the integrity and impartiality of the BBC is absolutely fundamental. It is the reason the BBC is respected around the world, and we are determined to preserve and, if anything, strengthen it.
Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)
Online, some of the BBC’s content, such as football match reports and many other things, cannot always be found to be distinctive. Can my right hon. Friend reassure the House that this distinctiveness test will absolutely apply online as well as on television and radio?
Mr Whittingdale
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. The BBC rightly wishes to make available its news content on whichever platform viewers and listeners choose to access it, and that includes online. There have been concerns that, sometimes, BBC online services have strayed too far away from that into soft news and beyond, and that represents unfair competition. The requirement for distinction will apply online just as it does to all other BBC services, and that can be adjudicated by Ofcom.
BBC Charter Review
Debate between John Whittingdale and Matt Warman
Mr Whittingdale
I think that members of the BBC Trust will have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said. I certainly think that members of the BBC staff, and, indeed, former members—a number of whom appear to be in the Chamber this afternoon—will have views that they will wish to contribute. I am anxious to hear from existing employees, and I hope that a look at the Green Paper may reassure them a little, because its content is some distance away from what some reports suggested it would contain.
Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)
As a journalist, I had the pleasure of covering a huge amount of the BBC’s programme output, and, subsequently, the launch of the iPlayer. I thought that those were excellent services, but I also endured the launching of an endless stream of apps that seemed to have very little public value. The problem was that there was very little focus on the precise purpose of any specific product. Does my right hon. Friend agree that when it comes to services such as football on the BBC—which would serve very well on commercial channels— versus, for instance, a feature section on the website, we should be a lot clearer about what the BBC is actually for?
Mr Whittingdale
I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. In its online activities, the BBC is operating in a highly competitive space where there are a large number of commercial providers, which is why there has been concern about its impact on commercial activities. That is something that we shall need to consider, as is the exact nature of BBC content. The content currently has to accord with one of the public purposes of the BBC, but it is fair to say that it is almost impossible to think of any programme that could not be deemed to meet at least one of those public purposes, so they may well need to be drafted more tightly.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between John Whittingdale and Matt Warman(9 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Whittingdale
My hon. Friend is completely right that although fibre will, we hope, supply superfast broadband to the overwhelming majority of premises in the country there will be some for which it is not practical. That is why we are piloting alternatives through our three pilot projects testing fixed wireless technologies in rural areas in North Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Monmouthshire. These are being run by Airwave, Quickline and AB Internet. We will consider the results to assess the best way of extending the programme still further into the most difficult areas.
Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)
Mr Whittingdale
Again, I congratulate my hon. Friend on his election. I know that in his capacity as a former technology editor he brings a particular expertise to our debates on this subject. He is absolutely right that there will be some cases where, for the time being, it will not be possible to extend superfast broadband. I hope that we will eventually be able to do so, but in the meantime I entirely agree with him that it is important that people should be aware of that position. We are introducing a seven-digit postcode checker, which is now on the gov.uk website, so that people can be made aware of that position.