division_name: Bbc White Paper
motion: <p class="indent" pid="a1208.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House believes that the Government&#8217;s White Paper on the BBC fails to provide an acceptable basis for Charter renewal; notes the threat the White Paper poses to the editorial and financial independence of the BBC; expresses concern about the re-writing of the BBC&#8217;s founding mission statement; further notes the concerns about the White Paper expressed by Members of this House and the House of Lords; and calls on the Government to reconsider the proposals contained in the White Paper.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1210.2/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;The board as a whole will have responsibility for setting the overall editorial direction and the framework for editorial standards.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1210.3/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;will be subject to a confirmatory hearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee&#8221;,</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1210.4/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;there remain a number of concerns relating to independence&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1210.4/8" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;the licence fee is not solely for the use of the BBC&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;It will be for the government of the day to determine the precise scope&#8221;&#8212;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/5" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;consulting the BBC&#8217;s unitary board and Ofcom&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/9" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;strong board of independent directors&#8221;.&#8212;[Official Report, House of Lords, <phrase class="date" code="2016-05-12">12 May</phrase> 2016; Vol. 771, c. 1825.]</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/12" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;an explicit requirement to be distinctive, high quality and impartial&#8221;?</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/14" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;A requirement that the BBC should be substantially different to other providers across each and every service&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/17" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;The government is clear that it cannot and indeed should not determine either the content or scheduling of programmes.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1212.1/19" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;Fewer high-output long-term titles.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1215.0/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;notes the positive response from the BBC to the publication of the BBC White Paper which sets a clear framework for a stable and successful future for one of the United Kingdom&#8217;s finest institutions, enhancing its independence and empowering it to continue to create distinctive, high-quality and well-liked programmes and content; welcomes the open and consultative process that has informed the Charter Review including the second largest ever public consultation and the detailed contribution from committees of both Houses to the Charter Review process; and notes the Government&#8217;s intention to publish a draft Charter, in good time, for debate in the devolved administrations, as well as both Houses, before the Charter is finalised.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1215.0/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;editorial and financial independence of the BBC&#8221;&#8212;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1217.3/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;I welcome the broad principles outlined in today&#8217;s BBC White Paper about how appointments will be made to the new Unitary Board. To put these into practice, there will need to be a robust, independent process which attracts a broad range of candidates for these posts.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1220.5/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;This White Paper delivers a mandate for the strong, creative BBC the public believe in. A BBC that will be good for the creative industries&#8212;and most importantly of all, for Britain.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1220.5/6" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;constructive engagement between the Government, the BBC and the public&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1220.5/8" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;has delivered a White Paper that sets good principles, strengthens the BBC&#8217;s governance and regulation and cements a financial settlement&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1220.5/10" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;This is an historic charter for the UK&#8217;s entire production sector and recognises the world-leading creativity British producers bring across every genre of production. This white paper will give BBC commissioners the freedom to choose the very best ideas, wherever they come from, whether that&#8217;s BBC Studios, the smallest or the largest production companies, while ensuring diversity of supply and regionality is rightly protected.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1227.5/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;not qualified to judge the BBC&#8217;s output in Scotland or the reasons for its unpopularity.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1227.5/5" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;I obviously welcome any investment at the BBC that will create additional jobs, particularly in Scotland&#8221;.&#8212;[Official Report, <phrase class="date" code="2016-03-03">3 March</phrase> 2016; Vol. 606, c. 1083.]</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1228.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;might have concerns if he felt that the central place of the BBC in providing a nationwide news bulletin was being changed&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1228.1/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;has a responsibility to bring the nation together and news is part of that.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1234.0/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;fails to provide an acceptable basis for Charter renewal&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1235.1/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;the threat the White Paper poses to the editorial and financial independence of the BBC&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1235.1/7" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;expresses concern about the re-writing of the BBC&#8217;s founding mission statement&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;If an individual has a licence already, then they are automatically covered to watch BBC on-demand services under the new proposals.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/7" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;significant support for reform or modernisation&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/9" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;committed to modernise the licence fee to include BBC on-demand programmes&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/11" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;there should be some sort of licence fee reform&#8212;including closing the iPlayer loophole.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/15" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;I&#8217;m acutely aware of the huge sums of money required for a student to live and study away from home...Today&#8217;s students will leave University with an average debt of about &#163;45,000. A TV licence would add &#163;436.50 during a 3 year course, adding yet more debt to an already unaffordable education.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="a1243.0/19" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;The iPlayer offers access to BBC radio, for which a licence fee is not required, and to archive material, for which there could be strong academic reasons necessitating access. This change would unfairly prohibit continued free usage of the services. And, at a more basic level, with the gap in available financial support and the average cost of living for students running to thousands of pounds a year, the idea that students have spare cash to cover this proposed additional cost is bordering on the ridiculous. The simplest solution is to offer an exemption for students who solely access BBC iPlayer, and we support calls on the Government to revisit this decision.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="italic" pid="a1248.0/11" pwmotiontext="yes">The House divided:</p>
  
  <p pid="a1248.0/12" pwmotiontext="yes">Ayes 216, Noes 286.</p>