Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Public Broadcasters

Mike Wood: What steps he is taking to ensure that public broadcasters reflect and provide for the whole of the UK.

Jeremy Wright The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Public service broadcasters should do what they can to spread prosperity and opportunity across the whole country. For example, my Department has supported Channel 4 in moving 300 and more of its staff outside London and increasing its out-of-London commissioning spend. I look forward to other broadcasters following its example.

Julian Knight Conservative, Solihull

First, may I warmly welcome my right hon. and learned Friend and near neighbour to his post? I am sure he will do a superb job.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend think that the decision to run the Government’s 5G pilot in the West Midlands makes the case for Channel 4’s HQ relocation to Birmingham almost unarguable and that that would go some way to closing the regional public broadcast gap?

Jeremy Wright The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

I thank my hon. Friend for his generous welcome. He is right that the 5G testbed announcement is good news for the West Midlands. In the longer term, it is good news for the whole country, because it will give us the opportunity to test what 5G can do across a range of different communities.

As far as Channel 4 is concerned, my hon. Friend will understand that I need to be a little careful. As things stand, the Secretary of State, the Minister of State, the shadow Secretary of State and, indeed, our Parliamentary Private Secretaries all come from the West Midlands. None of us, of course, would be disappointed if Channel 4 came to the West Midlands, but we would all agree that the strongest bid should win and it is up to Channel 4 to decide which that should be.

Mike Wood: As well as the 5G pilot, the West Midlands has a young and diverse population that reflects the country as a whole. May I tempt my right hon. and learned Friend a little further? Does he agree that those are among the many reasons that Channel 4 coming to Birmingham would not only be good for the West Midlands, but would offer some excellent opportunities for Channel 4?

Jeremy Wright The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

It is also worth noting that the West Midlands has a young and diverse range of Members of Parliament too, but my hon. Friend is right: it is important for Channel 4 that it has the benefit of the talent that the many regions of the UK can bring to it. I hope that it will pursue that objective, whether it locates itself in Birmingham or in any of the other candidate cities.