Oral Answers to Questions

Christine Jardine Excerpts
Thursday 21st December 2017

(6 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Karen Bradley Portrait Karen Bradley
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My right hon. Friend speaks with great experience and knowledge on this matter, and the House does well to listen to his wise words.

Christine Jardine Portrait Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
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Does the Secretary of State agree that, as Channel 4 is not a programme maker but only a programme commissioner, there is limited benefit in moving staff, and surely it should be the programme making that reflects the diversity of the country?

Karen Bradley Portrait Karen Bradley
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This is one of the arguments that has been made about how Channel 4’s business model operates. We have seen what happened with the BBC’s move to Salford—although I accept that the BBC has a different business model. That creativity and clustering of talent has had benefit. One has only to look at the analysis of the amount of programming that is currently commissioned outside London to see that basing Channel 4 outside London could have significant benefits for those independent production companies that are not in SW1.