BBC: Dyson Report

Debate between John Whittingdale and Neale Hanvey

Monday 24th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Whittingdale]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that one of the great challenges that the BBC faces is to reconnect with the people he represents. There is a widespread feeling that the BBC is too metropolitan-centred and has lost touch with the views of a large part of the British population; I think that the BBC itself recognises that. With regard to subscription, the licence fee is in place until 2027 when the current charter expires, but there is bound to be a debate about the future funding. Moving fully to a subscription model would require quite significant changes to the way in which people receive their television, but I have no doubt that that is a debate that has already started and will continue.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba) [V]]

At its heart, the Dyson report speaks to the missing values of integrity, honesty and the value of truth at the BBC. Following the biased coverage of the 2014 independence referendum, this crisis in trust is but a taste of what audiences in Scotland have known for years. The BBC brand is broken in Scotland and broadcasting must therefore be devolved, or at the very least must see the introduction of a new funding model, where all money raised in Scotland is spent in Scotland. Many will be bewildered by today’s handwringing over integrity and impartiality, when the broadcaster saw no issue in giving space to the Scottish leader of the UK Independence party in 2016, yet refused any place for my party in the 2021 debates, despite being led by a former First Minister, two sitting MPs and numerous councillors across Scotland. Why are the UK Government so quick to act when public trust has been broken now, but have been silent on the collapse in trust among viewers in Scotland for years? As a net contributor to the BBC, with a £43 million annual shortfall between income and spending in Scotland, how do the UK Government plan to plug the hole left propping up programming elsewhere upon Scotland’s independence?

[Mr Whittingdale]

The BBC is committed to impartiality in its coverage of all political events, including the referendum in Scotland and the current political debate. It is very important that the independence of the BBC is defended and that it resists political pressure from political parties in Scotland, be it the SNP or indeed some new offshoot from it.