BBC Local Radio: Proposed Reduction in Provision Debate

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Department: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

BBC Local Radio: Proposed Reduction in Provision

Toby Perkins Excerpts
Tuesday 1st November 2022

(2 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Toby Perkins Portrait Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
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The BBC is uniquely funded, and it needs to provide unique services. In Chesterfield we are well served by both Radio Sheffield and Radio Derby, and the quality of journalism on those stations is outstanding. It is not a public problem if the BBC is losing market share to Amazon or Netflix. Those organisations do what they do well, and the BBC should not be looking to replicate them; it should be looking to preserve those things that are precious and unique, and BBC radio is absolutely one of those things.

Julia Lopez Portrait Julia Lopez
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The hon. Gentleman makes his point powerfully. It is a core mission of the BBC to provide this kind of distinctive local content that relates to British people in the communities in which they live. If it is not concentrating on precisely this kind of content, there are wider questions to ask about whether it is delivering its remit in the right way.